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Game No. 21
Washburn Ichabods vs Pittsburg State Gorillas
Saturday, February 9, 2008
7:30 p.m.
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Where: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena
Capacity: 4,179
Rankings: Both teams unranked in February 5 NABC national poll
WU Record: 12-8, 4-7 MIAA
PSU Record: 14-6, 5-6 MIAA
Series Record: WU leads 86-72
Last Meeting: PSU 82-69 on 01/26/08 (A)
Last WU win: 71-58 on 01/18/06
WU Coach Bob Chipman: 640-248 (.721) in his 29th season at WU and overall
PSU Coach Gene Iba: 239-133 (.642) in his 13th season at PSU; 464-336 (.580) in his 28th season overall
Ichabods make season debut on KTWU with home game against Pittsburg State
Washburn will play its first of three games televised on KTWU as it hosts Pittsburg State Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Arena. The Ichabods are 12-8 overall and eighth in the MIAA at 4-7 while Pittsburg State is 14-6 and seventh in the league at 5-6. Washburn fell at Missouri Southern Wednesday while the Gorillas won against Fort Hays State Thursday.
The game will be carried live on 106.9 FM 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 10-0 when leading at the half and 9-1 when leading with five minutes remaining.
• The Ichabods are 7-1 at home and outscoring opponents by 20 points in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods have not won two straight games since winning eight straight early in the season.
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Andrew Meile is eighth in school history with 136 3-pointers and 339 attempts in his four years. He needs one assist and seven steals to move into the WU career top 10 in those categories.
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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.
• Washburn's 21-point win last Saturday was its first double-digit win since December 17. It is the only time in the last seven games that the Ichabods led at halftime. They have trailed at the half in nine of the 11 MIAA games.
• With seven games remaining on the schedule, the Ichabods play five of them at home as they look to stay at or above eighth in the conference.
About the Pittsburg State Gorillas
Pittsburg State improved to 14-6 overall and 5-6 in the MIAA after snapping a two-game losing streak with a win over Fort Hays State Thursday. Cory Abercrombie led the team in scoring for the 13th time this year with 24 points and he led in rebounding for the 10th straight time with 11. He leads the team in scoring with 18.2 points a game and 10.6 rebounds and he's picking up 12.5 rebounds a game in conference play. He also leads with a .593 field goal percentage. Carlost Taylor is second on the team with 10.5 points a game and he's shooting 39 percent from 3-point range with a team-high 29 makes.
WU-PSU series notes
• This is the 159th meeting between these two schools in a series that goes back to 1919-20. The Ichabods lead the series 86-72 but have lost four straight.
• This is the second most played series for Washburn behind the Emporia State series, which has been played 187 times.
• These two teams have met at least once each year since 1941-42.
• Washburn holds a 22-2 lead in the series in Lee Arena. Prior to last year's loss to PSU, the Ichabods have not lost at home to the Gorillas since 1998-99.
• Washburn is 2-0 against PSU in overtime but the two haven't played overtime since 1992.
Lee Arena provides Ichabods with homecourt advantage
Washburn improved to 7-1 at home this year after a 90-69 win over Missouri Western last Saturday. The Ichabods are out-scoring their opponents by 20.3 points in Lee Arena. They score 84.2 points a game at home and shoot 47 percent while the visitors score 63.9 points with 38 percent shooting.
James Williams leads the Ichabods with 13.0 points a game at home and Angel Santiago and
Grant Hargett are both adding 10.8 a game.
Paul Byers is scoring 8.6 and leads the team with 58 percent shooting.
Washburn began playing in Lee Arena in 1984-85 and has gone 314-56 (.849) in the 24th season there.
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 will be 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.
Ichabods have four second half comeback wins this season
The Ichabods have trailed at some point in the second half 12 times this year and have come back to win four times. They have trailed in the second half in 10 of the 11 MIAA games so far this year and have come back to win three of them.
The Ichabods had trailed at halftime in five straight games until leading by four during last Saturday's halftime against Missouri Western. They have been behind at the half in 9 of the 11 conference games. When the Ichabods do lead at the half they are undefeated at 10-0.
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.
Ichabods playing too close for comfort
Saturday's 21-point win against Missouri Southern was the first double-digit win for Washburn since a 33-point win December 17 against Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Ichabods are 5-7 in their last 12 games with 10 of them being decided by nine points or less. In those 10 games Washburn has lost three one-point games.
The Ichabods' one-point loss at SBU came after they got within one but couldn't score on their final possession. The loss at Fort Hays State came on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that erased a two-point deficit for the Tigers. At Missouri Western the Ichabods led by six points with over three minutes to play and then gave up a late 3 to lose the game.
Washburn suffers first loss when shooting 50 percent
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 has entered the top 10 in career 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, 3-point percentage and games started. He has 136 3-pointers in his four years and needs 13 more to catch Eric Carter, who had 149 from 1997-2001. He is also eighth in 3-point attempts with 339 and eighth in 3-point shooting percentage at 40 percent.
Meile has started every game the last two years and 72 in his career, the eight most in school history. If he starts the final seven regular season games he will be in a tie for seventh.
Meile is also nearing the top 10 in school history in assists and steals. He needs one more assist to move to 10th, currently with 247. Jerad Head had 248 from 2002-05. He is 12th in career steals with 97 and he needs seven more to move into the top 10.
Ichabods are 8-2 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 .561 from the field. He has reached double figures 10 times this year after scoring 13 against Missouri Southern last Saturday and the Ichabods are 10-2 when he does so.
Sisk scored a season-high 19 at Fort Hays State and in 11 MIAA games he is scoring 10.5 points a game with 58 percent shooting.
Sisk has started the last six games for the Ichabods and 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 started the first 12 games at point guard for the Ichabods and then returned to the starting lineup in the last six games. He leads the team with 85 assists and his 4.25 per game is second 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 38 steals and 1.90 per game. Scott had 19 points last Saturday 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 8.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.
James Williams tied for second in scoring, leads WU at home
Junior guard
James Williams is tied for second on the team with 10.2 points a game. Williams scored 14 points off the bench against Missouri Western last Saturday 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 13.0 points a game in seven home games.
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 8.6 points a game and he leads the team shooting .561 from the field. He's second on the team shooting .435 from 3-point range.
Santiago second on the team in scoring
Washburn's leading bench scorer Angel Santiago is second overall on the team with 10.2 points a game and he leads the team with 12 double figure scoring games this year.
Santiago had a stretch of eight straight games scoring in double figures earlier in the year with a season-high 22 coming in a win against Central Missouri on January 5. In WU's first three MIAA games Santiago scored 20.3 points a game off 46 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range.
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 four at forward. He leads the team with 7.2 rebounds this year and he is scoring 5.6 points a game off 52 percent shooting.
Snyder reached double figures in rebounding for the fourth time this year with 11 against Truman and for the fifth time with 11 at SBU. He led the Ichabods with 10 rebounds at Emporia State and he had a season-high 13 rebounds against UCM. He had his third career double-double on December 4 against then-No. 17 Central Oklahoma with 11 points and 11 rebounds. In his four games as a starter he is averaging 8.3 points and shooting 67 percent (14 for 21).
Hargett continues to start for Ichabods
Senior guard
Grant Hargett has started six straight games and seven of the last eight this year after earning 13 starts last year. 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.
Hargett is scoring 7.7 points a game and shooting 46 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. Last Saturday against Missouri Western he was 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range for 13 points. In eight home games he is second on the team with 10.8 points a game.
Bods and Ends
• Washburn leads the MIAA in rebounding with 39.5 a game and in rebound margin at +5.1.
• The Ichabods are 10-0 when leading at halftime this year and 9-1 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 Missouri Southern game
• In the 63rd meeting between the two schools Washburn holds a 43-20 lead in the all-time series but has lost four straight, getting swept in each of the last two season series.
• The Ichabods had a season-high 28 turnovers against MSSU. The previous season high was 23, suffered on January 30, also to the Lions.
• The Lions had 13 steals against Washburn, a season high allowed by the Ichabods.
• The 56 points scored is a season low for Washburn. The five free throws made and 10 attempts are also season lows.
A winning history
• The Ichabods are 1,348-933 (.591 in 2,281 games) and are in their 103rd season of basketball.
• Starting their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 314-56 (.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.
