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Starting introductions
The Washburn Ichabods will play their final regular season road game as they look to even the all-time series with Emporia State in the second edition of the Turnpike Tussle. The Hornets have a slim 99-98 all-time series led as Wednesday's contest will be the 198th meeting between the rivals. The Ichabods (19-7, 13-5 MIAA) are coming off an 81-63 win over Pittsburg State while the Hornets (9-15, 5-13 MIAA) topped Lincoln last time out 62-56 on the road. The Ichabods are looking for their first 20-win season since the 2004-05 season and the 25th in school history. After its game with Emporia State, Washburn will wrap up the regular season with Lincoln on Feb. 25 before opening the MIAA Tournament on March 2.

Game Quick Facts . . .
Game No. 27 - Washburn (19-7, 13-5 MIAA) at Emporia State (9-15, 5-13 MIAA)
Game Notes: Washburn | Emporia State
Date: Feb. 22, 2012
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Emporia Kan.
Arena: White Auditorium
Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM
Online Audio: Through wusports.com (free)
Online Video: Through America One
Live Stats: Through wusports.com
Media Stats: Through wusports.com
Washburn Head Coach: Bob Chipman (Kansas State, 1973) - 715-295, 33rd season
Emporia State Head Coach: Shaun Vandiver (Colorado, 2002) - 9-15, 1st season
Series History / Streak: ESU leads 99-98 / WU - 1
Last Meeting: WU won 67-48 on Jan. 14, 2012

Ichabods on radio
Washburn basketball games can be heard live on KTPK 106.9 FM. 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.

The coaches
Washburn Ichabod head basketball coach Bob Chipman is in his 33rd season at the helm of the Ichabod basketball program. Chipman is 715-295 (.707) overall and he has 473 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 416-77 (.840) record going 363-66 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 47-22 against Empoia State.
Emporia State head coach Shaun Vandiver is 9-15 in his first year at ESU. The former NBA round draft pick spent the last ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, most recently at Boise State University. As a player he led Hutchinson CC's to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first team all-Big 8 honors at Coloado.

Last time out for the Ichabods • WU 81, Pittsburg State 63 • 2/18/12
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Wahburn Ichabods shot a blistering 62 percent in the second half while scoring 51 points in the frame and Will McNeill became the 21st Ichabod to reach the 1,000-point mark for a career in an 81-63 win over Pittsburg State in the MIAA's Television Game of the Week.
The Ichabods (19-7, 13-5 MIAA) hit 18 of 29 shots in the second half turning a 30-24 lead at the break into the 18-point win over the Gorillas (14-12, 10-9 MIAA). In the first half, neither team led by more than six points when the Ichabods pulled away for a 28-22 lead with 2:11 after a jumper by Kyle Wiggins. The teams had eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes and the score was tied six times.
In the second half, Washburn led the entire way as the Gorillas would get no closer than eight at the 18-minute mark of the half as the Ichabods increased the lead to as many as 18 in the game with 30 seconds left.
McNeill became the 21st Ichabod to reach the 1,000-point mark in a career as he raised his career total to 1,002 which ties Jeff Markay (1988-89) for 20th on the all-time scoring chart. McNeill also went over the 500-point mark for his junior season raising his total to 508 points.
Martin Mitchell led the Ichabods with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the field including 2 of 3 3-pointers. McNeill finished with 14 and Bobby Chipman had 13 with a game-high six rebounds. Marky Nolen led Pitt State with 17 points and JaVon McGee had 11.
Washburn was 17 of 20 from the free throw line and held a 36 to 26 advantage on the glass recording 12 offensive rebounds turning those into 19 second chance points. Washburn also outscored the Gorillas 40 to 14 in the paint.
Washburn finished the game 30 of 59 from the field for a 51 percent average while the Gorillas were 18 of 48 for a 38 percent clip.

Final notes for the Pitt State game
Will McNeil became 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  … 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 13 MIAA wins this season for the Ichabods is the most since they recorded 14 en route to an MIAA Championship in 2005 … Washburn's 19 wins is the most since recording 24 during the 2004-05 season - the last time the Ichabods recorded a 20-win season.       

About Emporia State
The Hornets (9-15, 5-13 MIAA) snapped a nine-game slide with a 62-56 win over Lincoln in Jefferson City on Feb. 18. ESU is led by Tola Lawal who is averaging 13.1 whil Christ Sights is putting in 11.3 ppg. Troy Pierce leads the Hornets with 6.3 rebounds a game. Taylor Euler leads the team with 3.1 assists per game while putting in 7.9 ppg. ESU is averaging 63.6 ppg and allowing 68.4 ppg.
 
Series history with Emporia State
Wednesday' meeting will be the 198th meeting between these two schools and the ESU leads the all-time series 99-98. This is the most-played series for Washburn. The two teams started the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball, and they have met every year since the 1945-46 season. This will be the 67th straight year they have played each other at least once. Washburn is 26-30 all-time in White Auditorium since home-away records were first kept beginning in 1956-57 and have won the last two played in Emporia. The Ichabods are 20-8 against the Hornets in Lee Arena. Washburn is 26-13 against ESU in MIAA games. Washburn is 3-1 against ESU in MIAA Postseason tournament games.  
 
Last meeting with Emporia State • WU 67, ESU 48 • 1/14/12
TOPEKA, Kan. -- All 11 Ichabods in uniform scored as Washburn used a balanced attack in a 67-48 win over Emporia State in round one of the Turnpike Tussle in Lee Arena.
Washburn (11-5, 6-3 MIAA) trailed only twice in the game and 3-0 and 3-2 before opening a lead of as many as 12 in the first half at 33-21 entering the break. With the score knotted at nine with 12:55 remaining, the Ichabods used a 11-3 run to put some distance between the two teams.
The Ichabods held the Hornets (8-7, 4-5 MIAA) to 8 of 23 shooting in the first half while taking advantage of 11 offensive rebounds turning them into 10 second chance points. Washburn also formced nine ESU turnovers leading to 10 points off turnovers.
Coming out of the locker room, the Hornets cut the lead to 11 three times, with the final time coming with the Ichabods leading 39-238 with 15:04 remaining, but would not get any closer the remainder of the game as Washburn stretched its lead to 22 late in the second half.
Will McNeill led the Ichabods with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds recording his third double double of his Washburn career. Bobby Chipman, Zack Riggins and Kyle Wiggins each had nine points and Alex North added eight. Riggins added three blocks while Martin Mitchell had five assists and McNeill and North each had four. McNeill added three steals as well.
Tola Lawal scored 12 to lead the Hornets off the bench and Chris Sights had 10.
Washburn finished 23 of 49 for the game while going 13 of 20 in the second half. ESU was held to 17 of 50 from the field while the Ichabods limited the Hornetts to 9 of 27 from the field in the second half. For the game the Hornets turned the ball over 15 times leading to 18 points for the Ichabods      

Last time out for Emporia State • PSU 61, ESU 44 • 2/18/12
(Feb. 18, 2012) – (ESU Media Relations) -- The Emporia State men's basketball team took a one game lead for the final spot in the MIAA Tournament with a 62-56 win on the road at Lincoln. The win puts the Hornets one game up on both Lincoln and Truman for the final spot in the tourney with two games remaining.
The Hornets took a 9-7 lead at the 13:29 mark in the first half and would never relinquish that leading by as much as 15 late in the first half. ESU took a 35-23 lead into the break after scoring nine of the final 12 points. The Blue Tigers would get as close as three points with 10:37 to play in the game, but the Hornets would hold off the LU charge. ESU shot .438 for the game and outrebounded the Blue Tigers 35-32 on the day.
Tola Lawal led the way for the Hornets coming off the bench and scoring 17 points and pulling down five rebounds. Travis Dykman tied a career high with 13 points and added a team high seven rebounds. Troy Pierce added 12 points and pulled down six rebounds for the Hornets. Antonio DiMaria hit three 3-pointers and added nine points for ESU.
The Hornets now move into a one game lead for the eighth seed in the MIAA Tournament after Missouri Western defeated Truman. ESU will return to the floor on Feb. 22 when they face Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from W. L. White Auditorium.  

Bod tweets . . . 140-character or less notes on the ichabods
• In Washburn's wins the Ichabods are -105 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 105 of 291 (.361) 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 .398 #PressureD
• Washburn is second in the MIAA in free throw percentage at .738 (415-562) #AntiShaq
• The Ichabods are second (8.9) in the MIAA in steals per game #GoodHands
• Washburn is leading the MIAA in turnover margin (+4.0) #TakingCareOfTheRock
• The Ichabods are third in the MIAA in rebounding defense at 31.2 rpg #Boards
• Washburn is second in the MIAA in offensive rebounds at 13.1 rpg #SecondChances
• Will McNeill is second in the MIAA in scoring and 13th in rebounding (19.5 ppg/5.5 rpg) #HeIsAGuardPeople
• Alex North is 17th in the MIAA in rebounding at 4.8 per game #GlassMan
• Bobby Chipman is 11th in the MIAA in rebounding at 6.0 rpg #Boards
• Will McNeill is fourth in the MIAA in FG % at .468 (173 of 370) #SelectiveShooting
• Will McNeill is seventh in the MIAA in FT percentage .809 (144 of  178) #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 3.5 per game #DishingTheBall
• Will McNeill's 178 free throw attempts this season is fifth on the junior class record chart #gettingtotheline
• Will McNeill's 144 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 (144) and attempts (178) and no one has more than 100 makes and 117 attempts (DeShaun Cooper from NWMSU) … Will McNeill became 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 1,002 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 13 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 20th this season and be the most since recording 24 during the 2004-05 season, the last time the Ichabods recorded a 20-win 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 … Will McNeill needs four steals to tie and five to set a Washburn record for a career entering the ESU game with 152 swipes while Jordan Canfield (1992-97) owns school record with 156 … Bobby Chipman's 51 career blocks is 11th on the all-time chart …  Will McNeill's 508 points is seventh on the Washburn junior class chart and ranks 20 below the 15th spot on the chart held by Ewan Auguste set in 2000-01 … Jeff Reid's 27 3-pointers this season is eight on the WU sophomore chart as are his 71 3-point attempts.

Ichabod Player Notes
#4  • Jared Henry  • G • 6-1 • 170 • So. • Returned for the PSU game scoring 7 after missing MSSU game
#5  • Jeff Reid  • G • 6-6 • 190 • So. • Averaging 13.3 ppg in last three since moving into starting role
#10  • Will McNeill  • G • 6-1 • 190 • Jr. • Became 21st Ichabod to reach 1,000 career points
#11  • Kyle Wiggins  • G • 6-2 • 165 • Fr. • Scored 9 points in first meeting with ESU
#12  • Martin Mitchell  • G • 6-0 • 185 • Jr. • 16 of 20 from field the last three games (13.6 ppg)
#14  • Christian Ulsaker  • F • 6-5 • 190 • Fr. • Scored 7 points with 4 rebounds in 8 minutes against PSU
#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. • Averaging 12 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in last two
#21  • Joseph Smith  • F • 6-9 • 235 • Jr. • Tied career-high with two assists vs MSSU
#22  • Alex North  • F • 6-6 • 210 • So. • Scored 8 points with 4 rebounds in first meeting against ESU
#24  • Zack Riggins  • F • 6-6 • 230 • RS-Jr. • Had 9 points and 3 rebounds and 3 blocks in 1st game vs ESU

Ichabod Basketball HIstory
Washburn is 1,423-981 (.590 in 2,404 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 474-211 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 363-66 (.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 Wednesday's game against Emporia State in the Turnpike Tussle, the Ichabods will wrap up the regular season against Lincoln on Feb. 25 in Lee Arena. The MIAA Tournament will start on Thursday, March 2 in Kansas City.