Pregame

The No. 13-ranked Washburn Ichabods will travel to Kearney, Neb., to take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers for the first time since Feb. 3, 1989 as the two schools will face each other as new MIAA foes. The last meeting came when the two schools were members of the CSIC and they have not faced each other in 24 years. The Ichabods (9-2, 2-1 MIAA) are coming off a 70-69 win at Fort Hays State while the Lopers (4-9, 1-3 MIAA) fell last time at home 75-64 to Missouri Western.

'Bod Quick notes

• The meeting between the Ichabods and the Lopers will be the first since Feb. 25, 1989 when the Ichabods won 97-90 in Topeka.

• In picking up their second-straight win in Hays last time out over the Tigers, the Ichabods left town with two straight wins in Gross Memorial Coliseum for the first time since the 1992 and 1994 season.

• The nine 3-pointers the Ichabods hit against Fort Hays State was a season-high for Washburn topping the seven they hit against Bellevue.

• The 50 total field goal attempts against the Tigers was the second-fewest by Washburn this season behind the 48 against Emporia State.

• Will McNeill recorded his fifth double double of his career against the Tigers and his second this season with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

• The Ichabods improved to 70-70 all-time in games decided by one point in the win against Fort Hays State.

• Bobby Chipman passed Ryan Murphy to move into fifth on the all-time block chart recording his 67th against Fort Hays State.

• Martin Mitchell became the first Ichabod to hit at least five 3-pointers since De'Andrew Washington hit five against Emporia State on Feb. 23, 2011. Martin finished 5 of 7 against Fort Hays State last time out.

Ichabods on radio

Washburn games will be broadcast on KTPK 106.9 FM with Mark Elliott and Jake Lebahn. The game will also be streamed live on the wusports.com website by following the listen live links on the men's basketball schedule page.

The coaches

Washburn Ichabod head basketball coach Bob Chipman 

• He is in his 34th season at the helm of the Ichabods.

• Ichabod head coach Bob Chipman is a 1973 graduate of Kansas State earning both his undergraduate and master's degree in Manhattan.

• He is 730-298 overall.

• He has 489 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA, the most of any conference school since the 1989-90 season.

• Has led the Ichabods to 12 MIAA regular season titles and a MIAA-coaching tops of five postseason tournament championships.

• He has led the Ichabods to 12 NCAA National Tournament appearances.

• In home games, he is 422-77 going 369-66 in Lee Arena.

• He is second in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.

• His 730 coaching wins is 25th in all-time NCAA coaches at all levels.

• He led the Ichabods to the 1987 NAIA National Championship and a 2001 NCAA National game, which was later vacated by Kentucky Wesleyan. 

• Chipman played for legendary coach Jack Hartman earning two letters.

• Chipman is 11-9 against the Lopers.

Nebraska-kearney co-head coaches Tom Kropp and Kevin Lofton . . .

• Tom Kropp is 446-213 in his 23rd season as coach/co-coach for the Lopers.

• The 2012-13 season marked Kropp's 33rd year as a member of the Nebraska-Kearney men's basketball coaching staff. He served as a graduate assistant for two years (1977-79) and an assistant for seven years (1983-1990).

• From 1990-96 he was co-head coach with Jerry Hueser, and the duo posted a 111-60 record. Kropp was 

then the head coach of UNK from 1997-06, leading the Lopers to an impressive 215-60 record.

• The Lopers have won more than 20 games in 11 of the last 17 years, qualified for the NCAA Tournament 

in 10 of the last 16 years, have made three “Sweet Sixteens”, and one “Elite Eight” while compiling a winning record in the NCAA Tournament.

• Kevin Lofton is in his 18th year as a co-head coach and was promoted to co-head coach in 2005.

• He is 120-92 since the start of the 2006-07 season.

Last time out for the Ichabods • #13 Washburn 70, Fort Hays State 69, • 1/10/13

HAYS, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods survived a five-point swing late in the game and a last-second shot as they held off Fort Hays State 70-69 to improved to 9-2 and 2-1 in the MIAA.

With the Ichabods down 69-68 with 19 seconds left, Will McNeill went to the line and hit a pair of free throws putting Washburn up 70-69. After a Washburn timeout, the Tigers (9-4, 3-2 MIAA) were unable to get a shot off from inside 25 feet as the Ichabods held on for the win.

The Ichabods opened the second half 2 of 8 from the field as the Tigers would go up 53-48 with under 10 minutes left in the game. After a pair of free throws and a fastbreak lay up by Will McNeill, Washburn cut the lead to two at 53-51 with 8:22 remaining in the game forcing a Tiger timeout.

McNeill would hit his first three of the season to go up three but the Tigers returned serve with one of their own with 6:53 left at 56 leading to a Fort Hays State timeout.

After five straight points by McNeill and a putback by Bobby Chipman the Ichabods would go up 65-64 following a Fort Hays State basket. McNeill would go to the line to shoot a pair of free throws with 3:48 remaining and hit one putting WU up by two. With the Ichabods leading by two, Washburn missed a break away dunk and at the other end the Tigers hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 to play going back in front 69-68 leading to a Tigers' timeout.

The Ichabods came up empty on their next possession with a charging call with under a minute to play returning the ball to the Tigers. The Ichabods Flowers picked up a steal and McNeill was fouled going to the basket going to the line with 19 seconds left down 69-68 and hit them both to put Washburn back up 70-69.

The Ichabods led at the break 35-34 after trailing by as many as seven in the first half behind Mitchell's 14 points. Mitchell was 4 of 5 from 3-point range going 5 of 6 from the field overall. Flowers also hit two 3-pointers in the first half. Washburn was 12 of 27 from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range overall. The Ichabods were outscored from the free throw line by nine as the Tigers were 14 of 17 compared to 5 of 10 for Washburn as the teams were whistled for a combined 25 fouls with 13 going to FHSU.

Mitchell led the Ichabods with 19 points on 5 of 7 shooting from 3-point range and 7 of 11 overall. He added four assists and four rebounds. McNeill finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double double of his career adding five assists and two steals. Chipman had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Dwayne Brunson led the Tigers with 21 points and 10 rebounds pacing three others in double figures with Craig Nicholson with 16, Lance Russell with 15 and Ben Congiusta with 12.

Washburn finished 22 of 50 from the field and 9 of 18 from 3-point range while outrebounding the Tigers 37 to 28 including 14 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second chance points. The Tigers were 22 of 51 from the field and went 21 of 25 from the free throw line. Washburn was 17 of 29 from the free throw line.

The teams combined for 54 free throw attempts and 47 fouls. 

Series history with Nebraska-Kearney

• The series is tied 15-15 all-time with the Ichabods winning the last five meetings.

• The Ichabods have the last two in Kearney and three of the last four.

• All-time in games in Kearney, the Ichabods are 4-12 and lost the first 11 times they played there.

• The teams have not met since a Feb. 25, 1989 game in Topeka in which the Ichabods won 97-90.

• The last meeting in Kearney, the Ichabods won 81-80 on Feb. 3, 1989.  

About Nebraska-Kearney

• The Lopers are 2-6 in their last eight games coming off a 75-64 loss against Missouri Western on Jan. 9.

• The Lopers are 1-4 in MIAA play picking up a 60-57 win at Northeastern State.

• Jon Henderson leads three active Lopers in double figures averaging 15.8 ppg.

• Mike Dentlinger is averaging 13.8 ppg. Pierre Newton is scoring 12.2 ppg.

• Tyler Shields leads the team in rebounds at 6.2 per game chipping in 8.5 ppg.

• UNK is shooting 47 percent from the field while averaging 73.0 ppg and allowing 79.5 per contest.

Last Time out for Nebraska-Kearney

(Jan. 9, 2013) -- Junior guard Adarius Fulton scored 23 points and had seven steals as Missouri Western State used a 13-0 second half run to rally past Nebraska-Kearney, 75-64, Wednesday night at the Health & Sports Center.

This was the first meeting between the Griffons (6-7, 2-3) and the Lopers (4-9, 1-4) since 1989. UNK still leads the all-time series, 16-12.

Turning the ball over a season-high 24 times, Kearney had trouble all night with Western's zone defense. The Lopers had just seven points in the first nine minutes of the game but, by midway through the second half, the perimeter shots were falling.

A 10-0 UNK run began with a triple from senior Jon Henderson (Salt Lake City, Utah) and ended with a trey from sophomore Tyler Shields (Kearney). On the night, UNK went 10 of 28 (35.7%) from long range.

The offensive outburst made the score 53-45 with 9:27 to play. Western responded in a big way, however, finishing on a 30-11 run.

The 13-0 spurt saw Western make five straight shots, including three treys. After sophomore Pierre Newton (Laveen, Ariz.) made one of two free throws, the Griffons made a sixth straight shot, another three, to lead 61-54 with 5:42 left.

UNK didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way.

Western scored 34 of its points off of those 24 miscues and tallied 40 points in the paint thanks to a several fast break layups. Playing all 40 minutes, Fulton went 9 of 13 from the floor (2 of 5 threes) and also handed out three assists.

Off the bench, post Alfreeman Flowers had 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds (four offense) with starter Dzenan Mrkalijevic scoring 10 thanks to 3 of 6 three point shooting.

UNK, which out rebounded the Griffons 34-33, shot a respectable 42.9% (21 of 49) from the field. Henderson tallied 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as he went 5 of 11 from behind the arc.  

This marks the lefties fifth game of 20 or more points this season.

Shields tallied 12 thanks to four made threes while also grabbing seven rebounds. Finally, Lincoln senior Drew Sankey had 10 points and seven rebounds, sinking his fifth career three right before the half time buzzer.

Last meeting with Nebraska-Kearney

(Feb. 25, 1989) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods picked up a 97-90 win over Kearney State (as they were known as then) in Lee Arena improving to 20-8 on the season and 9-5 in the CSIC. 

Washburn was led by Doyle Callahan who had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Ichabods. Jeff Markray scored 23 off the bench with eight rebounds. Romy Anderson had 12 points, Mike Dickerson had 11 and Greg Wilson had 10. Dickerson added six assists. Scott Somerhalder had 23 points for the  Lopers hitting seven of 12 3-pointers in the game. Almbert Maxey had 18, Sam Somerhalder had 18 and John Weis had 11. As a team the Lopers hit 12 3-pointers in 26 attetmps. Washburn outrebounded the Lopers 41 to 28. Washburn trailed at the half 49-45 but shot 59 percent from the field in the second half outscoring the Lopers by 11 for the seven-point win.

Bod bits

• Will McNeill was named a preseason All-American by the Basketball Times. He is the first Ichabod to receive preseason All-American honors since Travis Robbins prior to the 2004-05 season.

• Will McNeill has been named the MIAA Player of the Week twice on Nov. 26 and on Dec. 3. 

• The Ichabods are +14.5 in scoring margin this season.

• The three freshman on the Ichabod roster (Khai Hutchinson, Evan Robinson and Colton Anderson) are all redshirting this season.

• Zach Riggins missed the Emporia State game with a foot injury and returned to the starting line up against Central Oklahoma.

• Bryce Simons has missed the entire season with a knee injury.

• Alex North suffered a knee injury against Central Oklahoma and missed the Fort Hays State game.

• With his 10 rebounds against Fort Hays State, Will McNeill became the first Ichabod to record at least 1,000 points (1,376); 400 rebounds (406), 200 steals (203) and 150 assists (157) in a career.

• Will McNeill is 43 assists shy of becoming the sixth Ichabod to reach at least 1,000 points and 200 assists joining Tom Meier (2,082/242), Greg Wilson (1,323/295), Mike Dickerson (1,130/214), Todd Alexander (1,099/215) and Shannon Kruger (1,014/341).

Bod tweets . . . 140-character or less notes on the Ichabods

• The Ichabods have trailed at the half in three of their last four games #NeedBetterStarts

• The game against Newman was the first time the Ichabods did not lead at any point in a game since Feb. 17, 2010 in a 77-54 loss at Missouri Southern #PlayingFromBehind

• Washburn did not lead at any point against Central Oklahoma either #GoGoGo

• Will McNeill moved into seventh on all-time scoring chart passing Ron Berkholtz (1,342 from 1965-69 in 101 games) against ESU. He has scored 1,376 points in 101 games #Buckets

• Next on the chart is Dan Buie (1,484 - 1995-97) in sixth on the all-time chart #SelectCompany

• Will McNeill's 458 field goals is eighth all-time at Washburn #Scorer

• Bobby Chipman's 200 3-point attempts is 22nd in school history #FromWayDowntown

• Bobby Chipman's 67 career blocks is tied for fifth all-time at Washburn and can move into the top four with 12 more #RejectionCity

• Will McNeill's 402 free throw made is fourth at Washburn #GetToTheLine

• Will McNeill's 511 free throw attempts is sixth at Washburn #LineTime

• Will McNeill's .787 free throw percentage is eighth all-time at WU #Automatic

• Will McNeill's 203 career steals is first at Washburn #NoBodyInFrontOfHim

• The MIAA record for career steals is 383 by Eddin Santiago #FastHands

• In reaching 17 points against Fort Hays State, Will McNeill kept his double-figure scoring streak alive at 44 games with all 33 games in the 2011-12 season and the first 11 of this season. #DoNotTalkAboutTheStreak

Ichabod Basketball HIstory

• Washburn is 1,440-971-2 all-time in 2,413 games played

• The 2012-13 season is Washburn's 107th of basketball.

• Washburn is the ninth-winningest program in NCAA Division II history.

• The Ichabods are 489-214 since joining the NCAA Division II ranks, which is the most wins by any program in the MIAA since the 1989-90 season.

• Washburn has won ten MIAA regular season championships and 21 conference championships in school history.

• The Ichabods previously won the MIAA regular season championship in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2012.

Ichabods in the national rankings

• The Washburn Ichabods slipped from No. 8 to No. 13 in the latest NABC Top 25 coaches poll which was released on Tuesday. 

• The Ichabods have been in the top 25 a total of 93 times since joining the NCAA ranks.

• The Ichabods have been in the top 10 in the national rankings 50 times.

Home sweet home

• The Ichabods are 369-66 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.

• The 2012-13 season marks the 28th season of play in Lee Arena.

• The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.

Up Next

Washburn will return home to take on Truman on Jan. 16 before starting another three-game trip with contests at Northeastern State on Jan. 19, at Lincoln on Jan. 24 and at Lindenwood on Jan. 26. Washburn will then finish the regular season with seven of its final 10 regular season games at home starting on Jan. 31 with Missouri Southern.