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Game No. 23
Washburn Ichabods at Truman Bulldogs
Saturday, February 16, 2008
3 p.m.
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Where: Kirksville, Mo.
Arena: Pershing Arena
Capacity: 2,600
Rankings: Both teams unranked in February 12 NABC national poll
WU Record: 14-8, 6-7 MIAA
TSU Record: 4-18, 3-10 MIAA
Series Record: WU leads 31-17
Last Meeting: WU 59-50 on 01/19/08 (H)
Last TSU win: 60-45 on 01/13/07 (A)
WU Coach Bob Chipman: 642-248 (.721) in his 29th season at WU and overall
TSU Coach Jack Schrader: 146-208 (.412) in his 13th season at TSU and overall
Ichabods look to continue conference climb with trip to Truman Saturday
Washburn will look for its third straight win with a chance to climb out of a four-way tie for fifth in the MIAA as the Ichabods travel to Truman for a 3 p.m. game Saturday in Pershing Arena. The Ichabods improved to 14-8 overall and 6-7 in the conference with a 71-68 win over No. 15 Southwest Baptist Saturday while Truman lost for the fifth straight time, 61-49 at Northwest Missouri to drop to 4-18 overall and tied for ninth in the MIAA at 3-10.
The game will be carried live on 106.9 KTPK throughout the Topeka area and will also be streamed live at wusports.com for free by following the link under men's basketball. Fans can also watch the game for $5.50 at themiaa.tv through a live video stream.
Notes of Interest
• Washburn is 12-0 when leading at the half and 11-1 when leading with five minutes remaining.
• The Ichabods are 9-1 at home and outscoring opponents by 17.7 points in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods have not won three straight games since winning eight straight early in the season.
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Kyle Snyder is shooting 70 percent in six games as a starter.
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Andrew Meile needs five assists to move to sixth in WU career history and three steals to move into the top 10.
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Paul Byers needs two more blocks to move into a tie for fifth in WU school history. He has 64 in three years.
• The Ichabods need one more win to guarantee their first winning season since 2004-05. They currently have eight losses and could potentially lose 15, including two in the postseason. One more win would mean they could lose no more than 14 games this year and they would have 15 wins.
• With six games remaining on the schedule, the Ichabods play four of them at home.
About the Truman Bulldogs
The Bulldogs enter the game losers of their last six. Their last win was January 26 against Southwest Baptist. They are averaging 58.0 points a game during the losing streak and have not scored more than 78 points in an MIAA game. Nick Certa leads the team with 14.5 points a game and is shooting 36 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the free throw line. Banks Estridge is second with 11.9 points a game and leads with a .446 field goal percentage.
WU-TSU series notes
• This is the 49th meeting between the two schools in a series that goes back to 1956. Washburn leads the all-time series 32-16.
• Washburn will be going for its first sweep against TSU since 2004-05.
• The two teams split last year with the home team winning both times. Washburn's 60-45 loss at TSU on January 13, 2007 was its lowest offensive output since joining NCAA Division II in 1989-90.
• Washburn is 9-7 against Truman on the road and 23-9 in MIAA games against the Bulldogs.
• Washburn is 1-0 against Truman in overtime games with the win coming last year, 68-58 on February 10, 2007.
Lee Arena provides Ichabods with homecourt advantage
Washburn improved to 9-1 at home this year and has won three straight in Lee Arena after a 71-68 win over . The Ichabods are out-scoring their opponents by 17.7 points in Lee Arena. They score 81.2 points a game at home and shoot 47 percent while the visitors score 63.5 points with 39 percent shooting.
James Williams leads the Ichabods with 106 points at home with 10.6 a game and
Grant Hargett is averaging 10.3 while shooting 47 percent from 3-point range.
Kyle Snyder is scoring 8.0 points and shooting 62 percent while pulling in 9.4 rebounds a game.
Washburn began playing in Lee Arena in 1984-85 and has gone 316-56 (.849) in the 24th season there.
Ichabods unbeaten when leading at halftime
The Ichabods are 12-0 when leading at halftime this year after holding off No. 15 Southwest Baptist Wednesday. Conversely, they are 2-8 when trailing at the half. Washburn has trailed at halftime in nine of the 13 MIAA games this year and the Ichabods have trailed at some point in the second half 12 times this year and have come back to win four times.
Washburn trailed by a point at halftime to Truman on January 19 and by as much as five in the second half before coming back for a 59-50 win. They were down by as much as 11 at Fort Hays State and at Southwest Baptist before coming back and then falling short in one-point losses.
At Northwest Missouri the Ichabods trailed the Bearcats by four points, 49-45 at the 6:40 mark of the second half before rallying for a four-point win. Washburn's biggest second half comeback this year came at home against Central Missouri on January 5. The Ichabods trailed by five at halftime and then three minutes into the period they were down by nine points. Washburn came back for an 82-76 win. Washburn also managed a comeback at home December 4 against Central Oklahoma, turning around a four-point deficit at 4:08 for a 71-68 win.
The Ichabods when shooting 50 percent or better...
The Ichabods are 5-2 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field this year. All five of the wins came in the non-conference season with the most recent being December 18 at St. Mary's when the Ichabods were actually out-shot, 53 percent to 50 percent, but held on for a 77-75 win. That game was also the last of three straight that the Ichabods made at least half of their shots.
Washburn is averaging 89.7 points a game when shooting at least 50 percent and is holding opponents to 69.7 points. Washburn's most efficient night from the field came November 16 when it was 54 percent, making 37 of 68 field goals. The Ichabods were also 53 percent from 3-point range that night (10 for 19).
The Ichabods are 10-3 overall this year when out-shooting their opponents and 1-5 when their opponent shoots at least 50 percent.
Meile at or near top 10 in six Washburn career records
Senior guard
Andrew Meile entered the top 10 in career assists after he tied a career high with eight of them last Saturday against Pittsburg State. He currently has 258, the seventh most in school history, and he needs five more to move into sixth with Bobby Sumler who had 263 from 1985-88.
Meile is also in the top 10 in 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, 3-point percentage and games started. He has 143 3-pointers in his four years and needs six more to catch Eric Carter, who had 149 from 1997-2001. He is also seventh in 3-point attempts with 354 and eighth in 3-point shooting percentage at 40 percent.
Meile has started every game the last two years and 74 in his career, the eight most in school history. If he starts the final five regular season games he will be in a tie for seventh.
Meile is also nearing the top 10 in school history in steals. He is 12th in career steals with 101 and he became the 12th Ichabod to reach 100 career steals after getting two Saturday. He needs three more to move into the top 10.
Meile is averaging 8.5 points a game after scoring a career-high 25 Wednesday against Southwest Baptist with a career-high six 3-pointers. In the last five games he leads the team with 12.4 points a game and is shooting 56 percent from the field and 57 percent from 3-point range.
Ichabods are 9-2 when Sisk scores in double figures
Senior forward
Brady Sisk leads the team in scoring with 10.4 points a game and he's second shooting .541 from the field. He has reached double figures 11 times this year after leading the team with 18 points last Saturday against PSU and the Ichabods are 9-2 when he does so.
Sisk scored a season-high 19 at Fort Hays State and in 12 MIAA games he is scoring 10.4 points a game with 55 percent shooting.
Sisk had started the last six games for the Ichabods before coming off the bench the last two games. In eight starts this year he is averaging 10.6 points a game and shooting .654 percent from the field.
Point guard Mario Scott leads the Ichabods offense
Sophomore guard
Mario Scott leads the team with 91 assists and his 4.14 per game is third best in the MIAA. At Missouri Western he had 10 assists to become the first Ichabod to reach double figures since Jerad Head did it in 2004-05. Scott also leads the team with 39 steals and 1.77 per game. Scott had 19 points against Missouri Western and he scored a season-high 20 points off the bench at Fort Hays State. He has reached double figures seven times and is averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Byers moves to sixth on career blocking chart
Junior forward
Paul Byers has moved alone into sixth all-time at Washburn in career blocks, now with 64. He needs two more to move into a tie for fifth and three more to move to fourth. He had 17 blocks last year and in 2005-06, his freshman year, he had 31, the eighth highest single-season total at Washburn. Byers begins the year fifth in school history with 0.9 blocks a game. Byers has 16 blocks this year with a team season-high of three three times this year.
Overall Byers is scoring 8.5 points a game and he's second on the team shooting .547 from the field.
James Williams third in scoring, leads WU at home
Junior guard
James Williams is third on the team with 9.4 points a game. Williams scored 14 points off the bench against Missouri Western and he has reached double figures 12 times and he has led the team in scoring five times this year. His season high was 17 points against then-No. 17 Central Oklahoma. Williams is second on the team with 26 steals and he leads the Ichabods with 106 points in 10 home games to average 10.6.
Kyle Snyder leads Ichabods in rebounds
After limited playing time last year with an injury, senior
Kyle Snyder has played in every game this year and has started six at forward. He leads the team with 7.8 rebounds this year and he is scoring 6.5 points a game off a team-high 56 percent shooting.
Snyder has had two straight double-doubles and third this season with a career-high 19 points and a season-high tying 14 rebounds Wednesday against Southwest Baptist. He had his second double-double of the year and fourth of his career with season highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds last Saturday against Pittsburg State. He had his third career double-double on December 4 against then-No. 17 Central Oklahoma with 11 points and 11 rebounds. In his six games as a starter he is averaging 11.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and shooting 70 percent.
Hargett gets another start for Ichabods
Senior guard
Grant Hargett started Wednesday against SBU and has now started seven of the last eight games this year. Overall, Hargett is scoring 7.8 points a game and shooting 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
In a start against Truman on January 19 he scored 17 points, all in the second half as the Ichabods won 59-50. He was 5 of 7 from the field in the second half and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
In nine home games he is scoring 10.3 points a game after scoring 12 against SBU.
Bods and Ends
• Washburn leads the MIAA in rebounding with 39.7 a game and in rebound margin at +5.5.
• The Ichabods are 12-0 when leading at halftime this year and 11-1 when leading with five minutes remaining.
• Scott's 10 assists at Missouri Western still stands as the highest total amongst MIAA players this year.
• The Ichabods are 31-24 all-time in overtimes with one win this year. Washburn is 6-7 all-time in 13 games that went into at least double-overtime.
Final notes on the Pittsburg State game
• In the 29th meeting between the two schools Washburn improved to 26-13 and broke a five-game losing streak against the Bearcats. WU improved to 14-3 against SBU in Lee Arena.
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Andrew Meile and
Grant Hargett started at guard for Washburn while
Paul Byers,
Kyle Snyder and
Darnell Kimble started at forward. This is the first time this combination has been used and the eighth different starting lineup of the year. Meile and Byers have started all 22 games and Meile has started 62 straight games. His last non-start was December 30, 2005 at Truman. Kimble made his 10th start, Hargett started for the eighth time and Snyder made his sixth start.
• The win was the first mid-week MIAA win of the season. WU was previously 0-6 on Tuesday and Wednesday conference games.
• Washburn improved to 12-0 when leading at the half, 11-1 when leading with five minutes remaining and 9-1 at home.
• Meile scored a career-high 25 points off a career-high six 3-pointers. His previous high for points was 20 at Central Missouri on February 25, 2006 and his previous 3-point total was five, set three times in his career.
• Snyder scored a career-high 19 points and tied a career high with eight field goals. His previous point high was 18 against Kansas Wesleyan on November 22, 2003 and his previous field goal total of eight also came against KWU in 2003.
• Snyder had his second straight double-double, the third of this year and fifth of his career. He tied a season high with 14 rebounds.
• Meile's two steals gives him 101 in his career and makes him the 12th Ichabod to reach 100 steals.
• Meile's point total of 25 is the most this year for an Ichabod. The previous high was 22 by Angel Santiago on January 5 against Central Missouri.
• Washburn improved to 3-1 against ranked teams this year.
• The Washburn bench scored just seven points off 2-of-15 shooting from the field. The Ichabod bench had been averaging 35.8 points a game beforehand.
A winning history
• The Ichabods are 1,350-933 (.591 in 2,283 games) and are in their 103rd season of basketball.
• Starting their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 316-56 (.849).
• In 19 seasons now as an NCAA II school, the Ichabods have 10 NCAA tournament appearances and nine MIAA titles.
• Washburn won the 1986-87 NAIA national championship with a 35-4 record under head coach
Bob Chipman in his eighth year as coach.
• The Ichabods suffered their first losing season in 2005-06 since 1976-77 and first of head coach
Bob Chipman's career. They also failed to advance to the MIAA tournament for the first time since joining the league in 1989-90.
Ichabods on TV
Once again, Washburn's three home games against its three MIAA opponents from Kansas will be broadcast live on KTWU from Lee Arena. The first broadcast was February 9 against Pittsburg State. The next will be the February 23 game against Emporia State and the final broadcast will be the February 27 game against Fort Hays State.
All three games are set for 7:30 p.m. tip offs and can be seen on channel 11 in Topeka and on K30AL, channel 30, in Iola, Kansas. KTWU is also available on various cable systems throughout the state including Cox Cable channel 8 in Topeka.
