No. 21/RV Fort Hays State (22-5, 17-5 MIAA) vs.
Missouri Southern (14-14, 11-11 MIAA)
Friday, March 4 • 8:15 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. • Municipal Auditorium
2022 MIAA Basketball Championship Quarterfinals
Radio: KJLS (103.3-FM)
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Fort Hays State is the No. 3 seed in this week's MIAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, presented by Citizen's Bank and Trust, held at historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Tigers finished the regular season at 22-5 overall and 17-5 in the MIAA, just one game back of first place in the standings. They will face a 14-14 overall Missouri Southern squad that was also .500 in conference play at 11-11. Game time is set for 8:15 pm on Friday evening (Mar. 4).
This is the sixth time the Tigers and Lions have met in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament, as FHSU owns a 4-1 record in the previous quarterfinal matchups. The Tigers have a 5-1 record overall against Missouri Southern in the MIAA Tournament, the only other meeting being in the 2011 championship game that FHSU won by six points. That is the only MIAA Tournament title the Tigers have won since joining the conference in 2006-07. The FHSU men have played Missouri Southern more than any other school in the MIAA Tournament.
The Tigers went 7-2 in the month of February to threaten for the MIAA regular season title. The race came down to the final game of the regular season to determine a conference champion between FHSU, Central Oklahoma, and Northwest Missouri State. UCO and NWMSU ended up tying for the regular season title and FHSU finished one game back.
With solid play throughout the regular season, the Tigers have earned their way into the NCAA Central Region Rankings. In the first release of the rankings, the Tigers were No. 6, but have been No. 7 in each of the last two releases. The Tigers are right on the cutline to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament since Minnesota State-Moorhead won the NSIC Tournament and took one of the eight spots in next week's Central Regional field. MSU-Moorhead has not been in any of the regional rankings released prior to the conference tournaments. The Fort Hays State men are trying to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015-16.
The 22-5 regular season record is Fort Hays State's best since producing that same record during the 2009-10 regular season. FHSU finished at 23-7 that season playing three postseason games (one MIAA Tournament and two NCAA Tournament games).
Jared Vitztum continues to lead the Tigers at 15.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. With 920 career rebounds, he is 60 shy of the record held by Barton Snow (980). His 1,544 points ranks fifth in FHSU men's basketball history. He earned All-MIAA First Team honors for the second straight season.
Kaleb Hammeke, the 2021 MIAA Freshman of the Year, earned All-MIAA Second Team honors this season and adds 14.4 points and a team-best 3.7 assists per game. Nyjee Wright, an honorable mention All-MIAA selection, gives the Tigers three players averaging double figures in scoring at 11 points per game. Bjarni Jonsson was one of five Tigers named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team this season. He has helped the sound defensive Tiger team to the best scoring defense in the MIAA and second-best in the nation at just 56.7 points per game.
The Tigers won the only meeting with Missouri Southern in the regular season by a score of 89-71 in Hays on January 20. Vitztum and Hammeke tied for a team-best 22 points each, while Wright added 18. Elijah Nnanabu provided an 11-point spark off the bench.