FHSU Athletics
(#6 seed) #19 Fort Hays State (23-7)
vs.(#3 seed) #10 Minnesota Duluth (25-6)
Saturday, March 16 • 12 p.m.
Mankato, Minn. • Taylor Center
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The Fort Hays State men's basketball team makes its 14th appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament on Saturday when it faces Minnesota Duluth in the opening round of the Central Regional in Mankato, Minn. The game features a pair of NABC Top 25 ranked teams, with Minnesota State ranked No. 10 in the nation and Fort Hays State ranked No. 19. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. at the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.
Fort Hays State is the No. 6 seed in this regional, while Minnesota Duluth is the No. 3 seed. This is the second time the Tigers are playing in an NCAA regional in Mankato, Minn. and the last time they played in Mankato they were the No. 6 seed as well.
Fort Hays State and Minnesota Duluth are among five NABC Top 25 teams competing in the Central Regional of the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Only the South Central Region matched the Central Region in amount of nationally ranked teams in its field, while the Atlantic and Southeast regions each have four. No. 1 seed Minnesota State is ranked No. 2 in the nation, No. 2 seed Northwest Missouri State is ranked No. 4 in the nation, and No. 4 seed MSU Moorhead is ranked No. 11 in the nation. The Central Region has been so strong perennially, which has made it very difficult to get an at-large bid. This year the Tigers won 23 games and it was good enough to get in, but in 2021-22 they did the same and did not get in.
This matchup will feature the nation's best scoring defense in the Tigers, allowing just 57.9 points per game, against a Bulldog team that averages 81.2 points per game. The Bulldogs have the second-highest scoring average among the eight teams competing in the Central Regional, only behind Minnesota State (86.5).The Tigers are making their first appearance in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament since the 2016 season. That year Augustana (S.D.) was the top seed and tournament host and the regional was held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Fort Hays State met Nebraska-Kearney in the opening round and fell by a score of 79-67. FHSU will be looking for its first win in an NCAA regional since the 2010-11 season, when it defeated West Texas A&M in the opening round of the South Central Regional in Edmond, Okla.
Fort Hays State is no stranger to the Taylor Center in Mankato. They are returning 10 years later after playing in the Central Regional there in 2014. That year, the Tigers fell to No. 3 seed Missouri Southern in the opening round of the tournament 80-69. Fort Hays State was also the No. 6 seed that year.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Fort Hays State and Minnesota Duluth in men's basketball. UMD is one of seven schools in the NSIC that the Tiger men have never played. FHSU has met all of the other teams in the Central Regional field in its men's basketball history.
The Bulldogs are making an appearance in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament for a third-straight year. The Bulldogs were the Central Regional champions last year and advanced to the Elite Eight, where they lost to Black Hills State in the national quarterfinals.
Spearheading the offensive attack for Minnesota Duluth is Drew Blair, who is the second-highest ranked active scorer in NCAA Division II with 2,738 career points. Only Kelvin Jones of Emmanuel (Ga.) has more at 3,064. Blair averages 19.4 points per game, which is the fifth-best scoring average in the nation entering the national tournament. The aforementioned Jones has the top average at 21.7 per game.
The winner of this game will play in Sunday night's semifinals against the winner of the game between No. 2 seed Northwest Missouri State and No. 7 seed Southwest Minnesota State.