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Game No. 27
Washburn Ichabods at Central Missouri Mules
Saturday, March 1, 2008
3:30 p.m.
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Where: Warrensburg, Mo.
Arena: Multipurpose Building
Capacity: 8,500
Rankings: Both teams unranked in February 26 NABC national poll
WU Record: 17-9, 9-8 MIAA
UCM Record: 17-9, 10-7 MIAA
Series Record: Tied 40-40
Last Meeting: WU 82-76 on 01/05/08 (H)
Last UCM win: 78-62 on 02/24/07 (H)
WU Coach Bob Chipman: 645-249 (.721) in his 29th season at WU and overall
UCM Coach Kim Anderson: 127-53 (.706) in his sixth year at UCM and overall
Ichabods wrap up regular season at UCM with one last chance to move up in standings
At sixth place in the MIAA standings, the Ichabods will enter Saturday's regular season finale at Central Missouri with a chance to move into a tie for third. The two teams, both with 17-9 overall records, will tip off at 3:30 p.m. in the UCM Multipurpose Building. Washburn fell to 9-8 in the MIAA after a loss Wednesday against Fort Hays State while the Mules are 10-7 and tied for third in the conference after losing Tuesday at Southwest Baptist.
The game will be carried live on 106.9 FM KTPK throughout the Topeka area and will 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
• The game will be Senior Day for UCM with the four seniors being honored prior to the game.
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Andrew Meile will move into a tie for seventh with his 79th career start if he starts Saturday.
• Washburn is 15-0 when leading at the half and 13-1 when leading with five minutes remaining.
• Snyder is shooting 60 percent in 10 games as a starter.
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Andrew Meile has recently entered the WU career top 10 lists in 3-pointers, assists and steals.
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Paul Byers needs one more block to move into a tie for fifth in WU school history. He has 65 in three years.
• The Ichabods have guaranteed their first winning season and trip to the MIAA tournament since 2004-05.
About the Central Missouri Mules
The Mules had a four-game winning streak snapped Tuesday with a loss at Southwest Baptist. Central Missouri is 10-7 in the MIAA and in a three-way tie for third. Joe Young leads the team in scoring and is 10th in the MIAA with 14.3 points a game and he's second in the conference with 2.58 3-pointers per game. The Mules are last in the conference with a .413 field goal percentage but they are first in the league holding teams to .398 shooting.
WU-UCM series notes
• Washburn's win earlier this year tied the series record at 40-40 as the two prepare for the 81st meeting. The Mules had won seven straight in the series before the 82-76 WU win on January 5.
• Washburn's last win against before that UCM was January 3, 2004, 88-80 in Lee Arena, the final win in a streak of 12 straight.
• Washburn is 7-9 against the Mules on the road and 18-13 against them in MIAA matchups.
• The series dates back to 1912-13 when the Ichabods won one game.
• WU and UCM have met twice in overtime with UCM winning both meetings. The last was a 78-76 decision on February 28, 2004.
Ichabods unbeaten when leading at halftime, have five second half comebacks
The Ichabods are 15-0 when leading at halftime this year. Conversely, they are 2-9 when trailing at the half. Washburn has trailed at halftime in 10 of the 17 MIAA games this year and the Ichabods have trailed at some point in the second half 14 times this year and have come back to win five times.
Washburn was behind by six, 49-43 with 10:38 remaining February 20 against Northwest Missouri. The Ichabods fought back and tied the score three times before taking the lead for good at 2:30. The Ichabods 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 6-2 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field this year. The win Wednesday against NWMSU was the first MIAA win when shooting that well. Before that, 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 85.3 points a game when shooting at least 50 percent and is holding opponents to 69.9 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 15-4 overall this year when out-shooting their opponents and 1-5 when their opponent shoots at least 50 percent.
Ichabods enjoyed strong homecourt advantage at Lee Arena
The Ichabods finished the season 11-2 in home games this year after losing by three points to FHSU Wednesday. Overall, they out-scored opponents by 15.5 points a game. They score 78.8 points a game at home and shoot 47 percent while the visitors score 63.3 points with 39 percent shooting.
Grant Hargett led the Ichabods in scoring in home games with 10.6 per game after he had a career-high 18 last Saturday against ESU.
Kyle Snyder led the team shooting 59 percent in Lee Arena and
Andrew Meile was second on the team with 9.7 points a game. Snyder also leads the team with 9.2 rebounds a game.
Washburn began playing in Lee Arena in 1984-85 and has gone 318-57 (.848) in the 24th season there.
Meile at or near top 10 in six Washburn career records
Senior guard
Andrew Meile entered the top 10 in career steals after he had five February 20 against NWMSU. He now has 107 in his four years, the ninth most at WU. He needs two more to catch Mike Dickerson, who had 109 from 1986-90.
He also entered the top 10 in assists after he tied a career high with eight of them February 9 against Pittsburg State. He currently has 265, the sixth most in school history, and he needs 12 more to move into a tie with Keith Downing, who had 277 from 1983-87.
Meile is also in the top 10 in 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, 3-point percentage and games started. He is seventh with 153 3-pointers in his four years and needs 6 more to catch Jordan Canfield, who had 159 from 1992-97. He is also seventh in 3-point attempts with 374 and eighth in 3-point shooting percentage at 41 percent.
Meile has started every game the last two years and 78 in his career, the eight most in school history. If he starts Saturday against UCM he will be in a tie for seventh.
Meile has scored 20 or more points in two of the last five games and he's averaging 14.2 in the last five games off 51 percent shooting from the field and 52 percent shooting from 3-point range. He was 4 of 8 from the field Wednesday against FHSU and 3 of 6 from 3-point range for 13 points.
Meile leads the team in scoring during conference games with 10.5 per game and he's a 51 percent shooter from the field and from 3-point range. Overall he is averaging 9.0 points a game after scoring a career-high 25 against Southwest Baptist with a career-high six 3-pointers. He matched that total against NWMSU and scored 24 points.
Ichabods are 10-3 when Sisk scores in double figures
Senior forward
Brady Sisk leads the team in scoring with 10.3 points a game and he's third shooting .528 from the field. He has reached double figures 13 times this year and the Ichabods are 10-3 when he reaches double figures and 5-1 when he leads the team in scoring. Sisk led Washburn with 19 points Wednesday against FHSU, marking the first time the team lost when he led in scoring.
In nine starts this year he is averaging 11.6 points a game and shooting .661 percent from the field. Off the bench he is just a 47 percent shooter.
Point guard Mario Scott leads the Ichabods offense
Sophomore guard
Mario Scott leads the team with 101 assists and his 3.88 per game is fourth 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 1.50 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 eight times and is averaging 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds. He led the team in rebounding for the second time this year when he had five last Wednesday against NWMSU.
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 65. He needs one 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 17 blocks this year with a team season-high of three three times this year.
Byers scored a season-high 17 points against ESU Wednesday and overall he is scoring 8.9 points a game and he leads the team shooting .539 from the field.
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 10 at forward. He leads the team and is third in the MIAA with 8.0 rebounds this year and he is scoring 6.9 points a game and shooting 53 percent.
Snyder has reached double figures in rebounds in five of the last six games and he has double-doubles in four of the last six games. In that six-game stretch he is averaging 11.3 points and 10.7 rebounds a game and he's shooting 57 percent.
As a starter Snyder is averaging 10.1 points and 9.3 rebounds and shooting 60 percent from the field. He started Wednesday on Senior Day and had 11 rebounds and 14 points off 6-of-9 shooting.
Last Saturday against ESU he had 15 points and 10 rebounds and February 13 against SBU he had a career-high 19 points and a season-high tying 14 rebounds. He had his second double-double of the year and fourth of his career with season highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds 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.
Hargett continues to start for Ichabods
Senior guard
Grant Hargett has started the last five games and 12 of the last 14. Hargett led the Ichabods in 13 homes games with 10.6 points a game while shooting 50 percent. Overall he is averaging 8.2 points a game and is shooting 47 percent. In the last five games he leads the team with 3.0 assists per game and 1.8 steals while averaging 10.6 points.
Hargett started against ESU last Saturday and tied his career high with 18 points with four 3-pointers. 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.
Ichabods going to postseason for first time since 2004-05
The Ichabods are locked into their first trip to the MIAA postseason tournament since 2004-05. At 9-8 in the league, they are alone in sixth place in the standings. A win against the Mules and losses by Fort Hays State and Missouri Southern would give Washburn a tie for third place after finishing last the last two years.
The Ichabods will play next Friday in Kansas City, Mo., in Municipal Auditorium in a first round game. The semifinals take place Saturday and the final is Sunday. Pittsburg State and Emporia State are locked into the seventh and eighth seed, respectively, so Washburn could finish no worse than a No. 6 seed with the possibility of moving to No. 4.
Bods and Ends
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Andrew Meile leads the MIAA shooting .473 from 3-point range.
• Washburn leads the MIAA in rebounding with 39.3 a game and in rebound margin at +5.6.
• The Ichabods are 15-0 when leading at halftime this year and 13-1 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 Fort Hays State game
• In the 143rd meeting between the two schools Washburn leads the all-time series 82-61 but has now lost three straight to the Tigers.
• The loss was the first in Lee Arena to the Tigers since 1995-96.
• Washburn had a five-game winning streak overall snapped and a five-game winning streak in Lee Arena snapped.
• All four seniors started on Senior Day. Guards
Andrew Meile and
Grant Hargett and forwards
Brady Sisk and
Kyle Snyder joined junior forward
Paul Byers as the starting lineup. This is the first time this year this lineup has been used and it is the eighth different starting lineup. Meile and Byers have started every game this year and Meile has started 66 straight games. His last non-start was December 30, 2005, at Truman.
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Brady Sisk tied a season high with 19 points. He also scored 19 points at FHSU on January 16. In five games in his career against FHSU he is averaging 13.6 points a game.
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Kyle Snyder had his seventh career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He has five double-doubles this year and four in the last six games.
A winning history
• The Ichabods are 1,354-933 (.592 in 2,287 games) and are in their 103rd season of basketball.
• Starting their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 318-57 (.848).
• 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.
