Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney men's basketball team will try and pick up the program's 21st win in a national tournament when it faces rival Fort Hays State in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional Saturday in Sioux Falls.
The game, part of the 64-team
NCAA Division II Tournament, ends the first day of the Central Regional. UNK (20-11) and Hays (20-10) are slated to tip at 8:00 p.m.
The Lopers are 10-12 in 11 previous NCAA Tournament appearances with then-Kearney State College posting a 10-14 mark in 13 trips to Kansas City for the NAIA Tournament. Consolation games were played in a couple of those seasons.
UNK's last NCAA win came in 2007 over then-Division II member South Dakota, 95-88, in Winona, Minn. The next night, the Lopers fought hard but fell to defending national champion Winona State, 81-70.
About to meet for the 125th time, the Lopers and Tigers played seven games in the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) Tournament. Those games were either played in Kearney or Denver with Hays coming out on top four times.
The Tigers have a large 78-46 all-time series lead but the series has been relatively close in recent years. Back in early December in Kansas, Hays posted an 84-75 win despite senior guard Craig Nicholson being out with injury. The Lopers were also shorthanded as senior post
Ethan Brozek was also sidelined.
Both Nicholson and Brozek returned soon after and the pair played in UNK's 90-64 win in the Health & Sports Center on January 30th. In that game, the Lopers shot 54% from the field, went 21 of 22 at the line, committed nine turnovers and had a plus 11 rebounding margin.
Loper sophomore
Trey Lansman went for 15 points in victory, going 3 for 4 from behind the arc. He tallied a career-best 35 points last season at Hays and then went for 30 more points in this year's tilt in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers have used a balanced attack to reach the Central Regional for a second time in three seasons. Four average double figures, led by first-team All-MIAA pick Rob Davis (17.1). The 5-11, 185 pound junior guard is shooting 50% from the field and 79% at the line.
Next, senior post Dom Samac (13.5 points & 7.0 rebounds pg) has given UNK trouble before. He is shooting a team-best 54.2% from the floor and even is a 48% 3-point shooter (13 of 27). Finally, Nicholson has come back from a serious leg injury to be at 11.5 points and 4.5 assists per game.
The Loper/Tiger winner faces either top-seed Augustana or eighth-seed Ouachita Baptist on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Augie and OBU play Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
