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Starting Introductions
Washburn will look to rebound from an overtime loss at Missouri Southern as the Ichabods take the court hosting Pittsburg State at 3:37 p.m. in Lee Arena in the MIAA Television Game of the Week. The Ichabods (18-7, 12-5 MIAA) are coming off an 85-79 overtime loss to No. 16 Missouri Southern while the Gorillas (14-11, 10-8 MIAA) have won their last two games after topping Emporia State 61-44 on Feb. 15. The Ichabods are in third place in the MIAA standings tied with Central Missouri with identical 12-5 records. Northwest Missouri leads the standings at 14-3 while Missouri Southern is 13-5 in second place. After Saturday's game with the Gorillas, the Ichabods will travel down the turnpike to face Emporia State in their final regular season road game of the season  on Feb. 22 before wrapping up conference play with Lincoln on Feb. 25. The MIAA Tournament will start on March 2.

Game Quick Facts . . .
Game No. 26 - Washburn (18-7, 12-5 MIAA) vs Pittsburg State (14-11, 10-8 MIAA)
Game Notes: Washburn | Pittsburg State
Date: Feb. 18, 2012
Time: 3:37 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena
Radio: AM 580 WIBW
Online Audio: Through wusports.com (free)
Online Video: Through America One
Television: MIAA Game of the Week (carried on these stations)
Live Stats: Through wusports.com
Media Stats: Through wusports.com
Washburn Head Coach: Bob Chipman (Kansas State, 1973) - 714-295, 33rd season
Pittsburg State Head Coach: Kevin Muff (Kansas State, 1986) - 27-22, 2nd season
Series History / Streak: WU leads 93-73 / PSU - 1
Last Meeting: PSU won 79-70 on Jan. 11, 2011


Ichabods on radio
Washburn basketball games can be heard live on AM 580 WIBW. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “Live Audio” link on the basketball schedule page. Mark Elliott will have the call on the radio with Jake Lebahn providing color commentary.

Ichabods on Television - MIAA Game of the Week
The Washburn-Pittsburg State game can be seen locally on Cox Cable channel 22. Mark Ewing will call the play-by-play action with Jayice Pearson providing color commentary.

The coaches
Washburn Ichabod head basketball coach Bob Chipman is in his 33rd season at the helm of the Ichabod basketball program. Chipman is 714-295 (.707) overall and he has 472 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA - the most of any teams in the league since the 1991-92 season. Chipman has led the Ichabods to the MIAA Tournament 19 times collecting an all-time league-best 29 wins going 29-16 with a .675 winning percentage during tournament play. In home games, Chipman has amassed a home record of 415-77 (.840) record going 362-66 in Lee Arena and 54-12 in Whiting Fieldhouse. Chipman is 11th amongst all NCAA II coaches in winning percentage who have coached at least 10 seasons. Among that group, he is second in all-time coaching victories in active coaches in career victories. Among all coaches who have at least 10 years experience in DII, he is 25th in winning percentage and seventh in victories. At Washburn he has led the Ichabods to 11 conference regular season titles (9 MIAA), 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1987 NAIA National Championship. Chipman 47-17 against Pittsburg State in 64 previous meetings.
Pittsburg State head coach Kevin Muff is in his second season leading the Gorillas. Muff (Kansas State, '86) became the Gorillas' 14th all-time head coach on Apr. 5, 2010, after spending 12 seasons at Cloud County Community College, where he helped the Thunderbirds to an average of 21 wins in each of the last five seasons. He has a 27-22 record in his short tenure with the Gorillas. He is 1-2 in three match-ups against Washburn.

Last time out for the Ichabods • #16 MSSU 85, WU 79 • 2/15/12
JOPLIN, Mo. -- Washburn was outshot from the free throw line 38 to 17 as the Ichabods fell in overtime to the No. 16-ranked Missouri Southern Lions 85-79.
To open the overtime, Jeff Reid scored on a layup and the Lions came up empty on their first possession. The Lions took a 74-73 lead with just over three minutes left. Washburn was held without a bucket and Jason Adams hit a jumper to put the Lions up 77-74 with just over two minutes left.
Kyle Wiggins was fouled on a drive and hit one cutting the lead to 77-75 with 1:55 left. A lay up by the Lions put them up four at 79-75. Washburn fouled and the Lions hit both going up six at 81-75 with 48 seconds remaining. The Lions would hit their free throws the remaining of the game to take the six-point win.
The Ichabods opened a 15-point lead in the second half on back to back 3's by Jeff Reid and a bucket by Zack Riggins giving Washburn a 42-27 lead with 17:38 to play in the game forcing a Missouri Southern timeout.
The Lions came back to tie the score at 70 and with 54.4 seconds left, Will McNeill hit two free throws to give the Ichabods a 72-70 lead. On the Lions' next possession, Marcus Addison hit a leaner in the lane with 23 seconds left to tie the score at 72-all. After a timeout the Ichabods dribbled out the clock for McNeill to attempt at jumper at the buzzer but it fell short sending the game to overtime.
The Ichabods led 34-25 at the half after not hitting their first field goal of the game until the 16:20 mark of the half on a Bobby Chipman jumper. Washburn was cold from the field hitting only 1 of its first 10 shots. The Ichabods finished the half 13 of 33 going 12 of 23 from the field the remainder of the half. The Lions were 9 of 25.
With the score tied at 17 with eight minutes remaining in the half, Jeff Reid scored six straight points over a 93-second period to push Washburn up six and back-to-back 3-pointers by Christian Ulsaker and Kyle Wiggins propelled the Ichabods out to an eight point lead at 27-19 with just over four minutes left in the half. Wiggins hit another three with 2:52 to play to put Washburn up 11 at 32-21.
Reid led the Ichabods with a career-high 20 points on 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range. McNeill scored 13 and Wiggins and Chipman each scored 11. Chipman recorded a double double with 11 rebounds.
The Lions finished the game 32 of 39 from the free throw line compared to the Ichabods going 15 of 17 at the charity stripe. Washburn finished the game 27 of 65 from the field while holding a 38 to 28 advantage on the glass.
Missouri Southern was led by Keane Thomann who had 22 points while going 10 of 10 from the free throw line.       

About Pittsburg State
The Gorillas have won their last two games with home wins over Lincoln (72-61) and Emporia State (61-44) last time out. Pitt State is 14-11 overall and 10-8 in the MIAA. The Gorillas are 4-6 away from Pittsburg this season. Topeka native Eric Ray leads a balanced scoring attack with 13.4 ppg. JaVon McGee is scoring 12.3 ppg and Andra Bailey is putting in 11.3 ppg with a team-high 9.2 rpg. The Gorillas are averaging 73.7 ppg while allowing 71.0 ppg and they are +5.0 on the boards.
 
Series history with Pittsburg State
Saturday's meeting is the 167th between the two schools and Washburn leads the series, 93-73. The Ichabods have won the last seven of the last eight meetings with the Gorillas winning the first meeting in Pittsburg earlier this season 79-70 to snap the Washburn winning streak. The Ichabods are 26-2 in Lee Arena against PSU and 25-13 against the Gorillas in MIAA play. The home team is 25-7 in the last 32 regular season meetings, dating back to 1996-97. The series goes back to 1919-20 and it has been played at least once a year since 1941-42. Since the 1956-57 season, the Ichabods are 24-30 in Pittsburg while going 8-11 in Pittsburg since becoming a member of the MIAA.
 
Last meeting with Pittsburg State • PSU 79, WU 70 • 1/11/12
PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods and Pittsburg State Gorillas combined for 45 fouls and 84 free throws as the Ichabods came up on the shortend of the scoreboard in a 79-70.
With the teams tied at 44, the Gorillas pushed the lead to 57-47 with 9:48 remaining and to as many as 13 at 60-47 before a basket by Joseph Smith cut the lead to 11.
The teams traded scores with the Gorllas maintaining a 11-point lead with 8:10 remaining at 62-51. Pitt State stretched the lead to 13 with 6:47 left
Washburn pulled within 10 at 66-56 after a 3-pointer by Wiggins and a lay up by Christian Ulsaker, but the Gorillas went back to the line to hit both charity tosses pushing their lead back to 12 with 5:47 to go.
A pair of Wiggins free throws cut the lead back to 10 but following a Washburn foul, the Gorilla lead went back to 12 with 5:24 to go. After a Gorilla turnover, Will McNeill was fouled and hit both free throws trimming the deficit to seven at 70-63 with 4:33 left.
Another turnover and fastbreak layup by McNeill pulled Washburn to five with 3:43 to go in the game at 70-65. PSU went back to the line with 2:47 to go and pushed the lead back to six at 71-65. After back-to-back-to-back turnovers by the Ichabods, the Gorillas stretched the lead back to 10 at 75-65.
A jumper by Smith with 52 seconds left pulled the Ichabods back to within eight at 75-67 but would get no closer the remainder of the game.
Washburn trailed by as many as six in the first half while going nearly eight minutes from the field without a field goal, but stayed within striking distance as they were 12 of 16 from the free throw line taking advantage of 12 first half fouls called on the Gorillas. Washburn held the Gorillas to 8 of 23 from the field while outrebounding Pitt State 15 to 13 in the opening half. Jared Henry connected on a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining in the first half giving him 12 points topping his previous season-high of five points. Henry was 3 of 5 from the field in the first half while hitting both free throws.
The Ichabods were led by McNeill who scored 18 points. He also led the Ichabods with six rebounds with three coming on each end of the court. He was the only Ichabod to reach double figures. Washburn was 27 of 34 from the free throw line while going 19 of 51 from the field hitting 37 percent for the game.
Pitt State was led by Andra Bailey who led five Gorillas in double figures with 16. Pitt State was 19 of 46 from the field and went 37 of 50 from the free throw line.
The teams were whistled for 54 fouls.      

Last time out for Pittsburg State • PSU 61, ESU 44 • 2/15/12
(Feb. 15, 2012) – (PSU Media Relations) -- PITTSBURG — Pittsburg State (14-11, 10-8) used an all-around effort to beat Emporia State (8-14, 4-13) on Wednesday (Feb. 15) in John Lance Arena. The Gorillas put together a strong first-half finish that carried over into the second half to earn the 61-44 victory.
Eric Ray led the balanced Gorilla scoring attack with 12 points in a 5-of-7 shooting performance. JaVon McGee recorded 11 points and seven rebounds while coming off the bench. Andra Bailey recorded a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with eight points. Rico Pierrevilus, Sam Pugh and Marky Nolen each recorded six points.
Pittsburg State led 32-25 at halftime.
After two free throws by Ian Ponds the Gorillas put together an 18-3 run that was capped when Pugh found Ray in transition for a slam-dunk. That gave Pitt State their largest lead of 25 with 5:35 to play.
Emporia State was led in scoring by Chris Sights who finished with a game-high 13 points and added eight rebounds.
For the game, PSU shot .481 (25-52) from the field, .429 (6-14) from three-point territory and .727 (16-22) from the charity stripe. Pitt State forced Emporia into 17 turnovers while only committing seven. The two sides matched each other with 35 rebounds.
The Gorillas only gave up 19 second half points as they held the Hornets to .356 (16-45) from the field, .308 (4-13) from behind the arc and .615 (8-13) from the free throw line for the game.

Bod tweets . . . 140-character or less notes on the ichabods
• In Washburn's wins the Ichabods are -99 in turnovers, the losses they are +1 compared to their opponents #GoodHandsTeam
• The Ichabods are 31 of 125 (.248) from 3-point range in their seven losses #Ouch
• Washburn is shooting 101 of 276 (.376) from 3-point range in the wins #MuchBetter
• Opponents are 49 of 135 (.363) from 3-point range in Washburn's losses #DefendTheLongBall
• Opponents have attempted 72 more free throws (230) than the Ichabods (158) making 50 more (169 to 119) in Washburn losses #FTDisparity
• Will McNeill (19.6 ppg) is the only Ichabod averaging double figures in the WU losses #NeedScoringHelp
• Washburn is second in the MIAA in scoring defense at 63.0 ppg #TenaciousD
• Washburn leads the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage at .399 #PressureD
• Washburn is third in the MIAA in free throw percentage at .734 (398-542) #AntiShaq
• The Ichabods are second (9.3) in the MIAA in steals per game #GoodHands
• Washburn is leading the MIAA in turnover margin (+4.2) #TakingCareOfTheRock
• The Ichabods are third in the MIAA in rebounding defense at 31.4 rpg #Boards
• Washburn is second in the MIAA in offensive rebounds at 13.2 rpg #SecondChances
• Will McNeill is second in the MIAA in scoring and 13th in rebounding (19.8 ppg/5.5 rpg) #HeIsAGuardPeople
• Alex North is 18th in the MIAA in rebounding at 4.8 per game #GlassMan
• Bobby Chipman is 10th in the MIAA in rebounding at 6.0 rpg #Boards
• Will McNeill is fourth in the MIAA in FG % at .469 (168 of 358) #SelectiveShooting
• Will McNeill is eighth in the MIAA in FT percentage .805 (140 of 174) #LineTime
• Will McNeill leads the MIAA in steals at 2.6 per game #QuickHands
• Bobby Chipman is eighth in the MIAA in blocked shots with 0.9 per #RejectionCity
• Martin Mitchell is seventh in the MIAA in assists with 3.6 per game #DishingTheBall
• Will McNeill needs 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career #WhenNotIf
• Will McNeill's 174 free throw attempts this season is fifth on the junior class record chart #gettingtotheline
• Will McNeill's 140 free throw makes this season is fourth on the junior class record chart #gettingtotheline

Three . . . Dot . . . Thoughts . . .
Will McNeill leads the MIAA in free throw makes (140) and attempts (174) and no one has more than 98 makes and 123 attempts … Will McNeil is looking to become the first Ichabod to go over the 1,000-point mark since Travis Robbins completed the task during the 2004-05 season toward the end of his two-year Ichabod career finishing with 1,050 … McNeill currently sits at 988 points in his junior season … the last Ichabod to reach 1,000 points in their third year was Ryan Murphy during his junior season of 2001-02 en route to 1,654 career points … the 12 MIAA wins this season for the Ichabods is the most since they recorded 14 en route to an MIAA Championship in 2005 … Washburn's next win would be its 19th this season and be the most since recording 24 during the 2004-05 season … the Ichabods have lost five straight overtime games … Washburn's last overtime win was on Dec. 4, 2007 in a 71-68 win over Central Oklahoma in Lee Arena.

Ichabod Player Notes
#4  • Jared Henry  • G • 6-1 • 170 • So. • Missed the Missouri Southern game with the flu
#5  • Jeff Reid  • G • 6-6 • 190 • So. • 26 3-pointers is tied for 9th on the WU sophomore class chart
#10  • Will McNeill  • G • 6-1 • 190 • Jr. • Has 988 career points entering Pitt State game
#11  • Kyle Wiggins  • G • 6-2 • 165 • Fr. • Nine field goal attempts against MSSU tied career high
#12  • Martin Mitchell  • G • 6-0 • 185 • Jr. • Career-high eight assists against MSSU last time out
#14  • Christian Ulsaker  • F • 6-5 • 190 • Fr. • Tied a career-high with eight points against PSU in first meeting
#15  • Mitch Allen  • G • 5-9 • 165 • Jr. • Has hit 30 career 3-pointers (30 of 88 attempts)
#20  • Bobby Chipman  • F • 6-8 • 210 • Jr. • Had second double double of season with 11 pts, 11 rbs vs MSSU
#21  • Joseph Smith  • F • 6-9 • 235 • Jr. • Tied career-high with two assists vs MSSU last time out
#22  • Alex North  • F • 6-6 • 210 • So. • Two of 3 from field against MSSU / all 3-point attempts
#24  • Zack Riggins  • F • 6-6 • 230 • RS-Jr. • Averaging 6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg in last five games

NCAA Regional Rankings
(Feb. 15) INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Washburn Ichabods were ranked No. 5 in the first NCAA South Central Regional Rankings were released on Wedensday afternoon. The top eight teams in the final rankings will qualify for the NCAA regional tournament March 10, 11, and 13 at a site to be determined.
The rankings considered only NCAA Division II games through Sunday.
1. Tarleton State - 16-2
2. Midwestern State - 16-2
3. Arkansas Tech - 14-3
4. Northwest Missouri - 15-3
5. Washburn - 15-6
6. Missouri Southern - 17-5
7. Central Missouri - 13-6
8. West Texas A&M - 15-6
9. Incarnate Word - 12-9
10. Fort Hays State - 12-6
The South Central Region is made up of teams from the MIAA, Lone Star Conference, Heartland Conference and Great American Conference. The winners of the MIAA, LSC and Heartland receive automatic bids to the eight-team NCAA South Central Region tournament and the remaining five seeds are filled by at-large bids based on the NCAA ranking. The newly-formed GAC does not have an automatic bid yet.

Ichabod Basketball HIstory
Washburn is 1,422-981 (.590 in 2,403 games) in its 106th season of intercollegiate action. The Ichabods are the 10th-winningest team in NCAA Division II history and the 26th winningest team this decade. The Ichabods are 473-211 since joining the NCAA Division II ranks, which is the most since the 1989-90 season in the MIAA.

Home sweet home . . . the Ichabods in Lee Arena
The Ichabods are 362-66 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena - the 28th season of play. The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.

Up Next
After Saturday's game with Pittsburg State, Washburn will travel to face Emporia State in the Turnpike Tussle before wrapping up the regular season against Lincoln on Feb. 25 in Lee Arena. The MIAA Tournament will start on Thursday, March 2 in Kansas City.