Pregame

The Washburn Ichabods return to Schendel Court at Lee Arena on Saturday night to host MIAA-front runner Fort Hays State at 7 p.m. Washburn (17-6, 10-5 MIAA) is a game behind the Tigers (17-6, 11-4 MIAA) who are tied with Central Missouri (17-6, 11-4 MIAA) atop the conference standings. Washburn is coming off a 71-52 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Feb. 21 while the Tigers defeated the Lopers 82-70 on Feb. 16 in their last game. The Ichabods won the first meeting this season with the Tigers 70-69 in Hays on Jan. 10. Washburn can finish in no worse than a tie for the MIAA with wins in each of its final three games. In the league race, Central Missouri and Fort Hays State lead the MIAA standings at 11-4 while Washburn is in third with a 10-5 record. Central Oklahoma is in fourth with a 9-5 mark while Northeastern State, Lindenwood and Northwest Missouri are tied for fifth at 10-6. Lindenwood is ineligible for the MIAA tournament and NCAA postseason as they are in their final year of transition to the Division II ranks. The top four teams in the final standings receives a bye to Kansas City for the conference tournament while the top 5-8 seeds will host the remaining 9-12 finishers in the conference standings with the winners  of the play-in games advancing to Kansas City.

'Bod Quick notes

• The Ichabods are looking for their fifth-straight win over the Tigers. It would be the Ichabods' longest winning streak over Fort Hays State since winning seven in a row from Dec. 28, 1990 to Dec. 7, 1994.

• Will McNeill has broken the Washburn senior class record for steals of 63 held by Jordy Canfield after he recorded his 68th against the Lopers last time out.

• Washburn is sixth in the NCAA in assist to turnover ratio and seventh in turnovers per game.

• Will McNeill is fifth on the NCAA Division II active steals chart with 233. Alex Falk of West Liberty leads all active players with 263.

• Will McNeill is sixth in active player free throws made with 466 in Division II.

• Will McNeill is ninth in the NCAA in steals at 3.0 per game this season.

• The 10 assists against the Lopers was a career high for Will McNeill (previous best was seven).

• Will McNeill was the first Ichabod to hit double digit assists since De'Andre Washington had 11 on Jan. 22, 2011 at Nebraska Omaha.

• Christian Ulsaker's eight field goal attempts against the Lopers was a career high.

• The nine 3-point attempts against the Lopers were the second-fewest of the season (5 vs St. Mary's).

• The 11 fouls against the Lopers were the fewest by an Ichabod team this season.

• The 52 points allowed by the Ichabods against the Lopers were the third-lowest by an opponent this season (51 against Bethany and Pittsburg State).

• The five steals by Will McNeill against the Lopers was the fifth time he had recorded at least five steals in a game this season.

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 

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

• a 1973 graduate of Kansas State earning both his undergraduate and master's degree in Manhattan.

• is 738-302 overall.

• has 497 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.

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

• in home games, he is 426-79 going 373-68 in Lee Arena.

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

• his 738 coaching wins is 22nd in all-time NCAA coaches at all levels.

• 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 32-26 against Fort Hays State.

Fort Hays State head coach Mark Johnson . . .

• is 243-104 in his career, now in his 11th season at Fort Hays State. 

• Johnson became just the third coach in FHSU history to reach 200 wins in men's basketball on February 5, 2011 with a win over Washburn in Hays. 

• He joined Cade Suran (257) and Bill Morse (235) as the only coaches to reach 200 wins at FHSU. 

• Johnson is the second-fastest to 200 wins among the three, as Morse reached the mark in just 241 games, while Johnson did it in 285 games. 

• He is 10-6 against the Ichabods having lost four straight.

Last time out for the Ichabods • Washburn 71, Nebraska-Kearney 52 •  2/21/13

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods kept pace in the MIAA race putting five players in double figures with a pair recording a double double in a 71-52 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

Washburn led from start to finish as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead as four different Ichabods scored pushing on out to a 15-9 lead before the Lopers (6-17, 3-12 MIAA) would cut the lead to three at 20-17 with 9:26 to play in the first half.

From that point the Ichabods (17-6, 10-5 MIAA) used an 18-2 run over the next 7:17 to double up the Lopers with a 38-19 lead just before the half as Washburn went on to lead 38-24 at the break.

In the second half the Lopers would close within nine three minutes into the second half but Washburn would go on to lead by as many as 22 in the frame.

Bobby Chipman led the Ichabods with his fifth career double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Will McNeill finished with his ninth double double recording 12 points with a career-high 10 assists. He also added six steals and five rebounds. Martin Mitchell added 12 points while Kyle Wiggins had 11 points and Joseph Smith had 10 points.

Pierre Newton and Jon Henderson had 14 to lead the Lopers.

Washburn finished 28 of 64 from the field for a 44 percent average while the Lopers improved to 21 of 56 for a 38 percent clip after going 8 of 24 in the first half.

Washburn held a 45 to 29 advantage on the glass and a 24-0 margin in fast break points. Washburn had 44 points in the paint compared to the Lopers' 18 points and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points.

Series history with Fort Hays State

• Washburn leads the all-time series 87-66 and Saturday's meeting will be the 156th in between the two schools. 

• The Ichabods have won the last four in the series.

• The series is the third-most played for Washburn behind Emporia State (203) and Pittsburg State (176). 

• Washburn is 16-5 against the Tigers in Lee Arena. 

• Fort Hays State is 4-2 against WU in overtime games. 

• The Ichabods snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Tigers in Gross Memorial Coliseum with their 61-45 win on Dec. 7, 2011 marking their first win in Hays since an 84-75 victory on Nov. 28, 1998 prior to the Tigers joining the MIAA.

• The Ichabods won their second-straight over the Tigers in the first meeting this season in the 70-69 win marking the first time an Ichabod team had won back-to-back games in Hays since Washburn won three in a row with wins on Dec. 10, 1991, Dec. 3, 1992 and Dec. 7, 1994.

• The teams have only met once in the MIAA Tournament with the Ichabods winning 67-54 in the MIAA Tournament semifinals on March 3, 2012. 

Last meeting with Fort Hays State

(Jan. 10, 2013) 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 time out, 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 time out.

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 time out.

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' time out.

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 fourth 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. 

About Fort Hays State

• The Tigers are 17-6 and 11-4 in the MIAA and have won their last seven games.

• The Tigers are eighth in the latest NCAA Central Regional Rankings.

• FHSU is led by Dwayne Brunson who leads four Tigers in double figures with 15.7 ppg while also leading in rebounding at 7.7 per game.

• Lance Russell (14.3 ppg), Craig Nicholson (13.7 ppg) and Ben Congiusta (12.0 ppg) and are also averaging double digits.

• Nicholson, a freshman from Wichita, also leads the team and the MIAA with 7.2 assists per game.

Last time out for Fort Hays State

Feb. 16, 2013 -- The Fort Hays State men's basketball team remains tied for first place in the MIAA standings after an 82-70 win at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday (Feb. 16). FHSU shot a red-hot 62 percent from the field for the game and Dwayne Brunson scored a season-high 35 points in the winning effort. The Tigers moved to 17-6 overall and 11-4 in the MIAA, while Nebraska-Kearney dropped to 6-16 overall and 3-11 in the MIAA.

Both teams came out of the gates scorching hot shooting the ball. The Lopers built a 10-point lead at 29-19 with 7:15 remaining in the first half before the Tigers went on an 11-0 run to grab the lead back. UNK led one more time before the Tigers eventually took a slim 39-37 lead into halftime. In the first half, FHSU shot 55.6 percent from the field and UNK shot 52 percent.

The Tigers took the efficiency shooting the ball to another level in the second half, going 69.6 percent from the field. They held the Lopers to just 34.5 percent shooting in the second half. A quick 6-0 burst out of halftime gave FHSU an eight-point lead and the lead finally reached double figures with 15:44 to go in the game. An 11-3 run midway through the second half pushed the Tigers to a 19-point advantage, their largest of the game, which was too much for the Lopers to overcome.

The Lopers could not stop Dwayne Brunson, who scored a season-high 35 points on a very efficient 14-of-16 shooting from the field. He was also a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. The 35 points was the most scored in a game by a Tiger since the 1998 season when Chris Danner had 36 against Nebraska-Kearney. It marked the most points scored by a Tiger under head coach Mark Johnson, as the previous high was 34 by Dominique Jones against Midwestern State during the 2010-11 season. Brunson also led the Tigers in rebounds with seven in the game.

Also reaching double figures in scoring for the Tigers were Lance Russell with 18 points and Craig Nicholson with 11. Ben Congiusta dished out a team-high six assists.

Pierre Newton led the Lopers with 19 points, followed by Jon Henderson with 17. Drew Sankey led UNK in rebounds with five and Taylor Shipley led in assists with six.

Fort Hays State ran its win streak over Nebraska-Kearney to seven games and it was the fourth-straight win for FHSU in Kearney.

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 +9.9 in scoring margin this season.

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

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

• Alex North suffered a knee injury against Central Oklahoma and missed the last nine games and is likely heading for a medical redshirt as he's played in only five games this season after suffering a concussion against Bethany on Nov. 19.

• McNeill also became only the second Ichabod to score at least 1,572 points and 214 assists joining Tom Meier (2,082/242).

• With 18 more rebounds, McNeill would become the ninth Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

• With 18 more rebounds, McNeill would become the first Ichabod to have at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals.

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

• Will McNeill sits in sixth-place on the all-time scoring chart with his 1,572 career points. 

• Next on the chart is in fifth-place on the all-time scoring chart is Ewan Auguste (1,636 - 1997-2001) #SelectCompany

• Will McNeill's 523 field goals is sixth all-time at Washburn #Scorer

• Bobby Chipman's 213 3-point attempts is 20th in school history #FromWayDowntown

• Bobby Chipman's 88 career blocks is third all-time at Washburn and can move into the top two with nine more #RejectionCity

• Bobby Chipman's 532 rebounds is 13th all-time at Washburn #boards

• Will McNeill's 462 free throw made is third at Washburn and 12 from second place #GetToTheLine

• Will McNeill's 548 free throw attempts is fifth and four from fourth at Washburn #LineTime

• Will McNeill's .791 free throw percentage is eighth all-time at WU #Automatic

• Will McNeill moved into 21st on the Washburn all-time rebounding chart with 482 #HeIsAGuard

• Will McNeill's 214 assists is 18th all-time at Washburn. #PassingTheRock

• Martin Mitchell's career assist average of 3.5 per game is tied for ninth all-time at Washburn #Dimes

• Martin Mitchell's 198 career assists is 21st on the all-time chart at Washburn #NoLook

• Martin Mitchell's 77 3-pointers is tied for 21st on the all-time Washburn chart.

• Joseph Smith's 42 career blocks is 14th all-time at Washburn. #NoNos

• Will McNeill's 233 career steals is first at Washburn #NoBodyInFrontOfHim

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

• In scoring 12 points against Nebraska-Kearney, Will McNeill kept his double-figure scoring streak alive at 56 games with all 33 games in the 2011-12 season and the first 23 of this season. #DoNotTalkAboutTheStreak

Ichabod Basketball History

• Washburn is 1,448-975-2 all-time in 2,425 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 497-218 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 Ichabods fell out of the NABC Top 25 coaches poll for the first time this season after going 1-1 last week after winning at Missouri Western and dropping a 63-61 decision at Northwest Missouri. The Ichabods have been in the top 25 a total of 98 times since joining the NCAA ranks and they have been voted in the top 10 a total of 51 times since the 1989-90 season. 

Ichabods left out of first NCAA Central Regional Rankings . . .

The Ichabods were left out of the first NCAA Central Regional rankings which were released on Feb. 20 which include opponents records through Feb. 17. The Ichabods are currently 14-6 overall (only games against NCAA Division II opponents count in the rankings) and 13-6 in region games. The loss to Newman counts as a region game for the Ichabods.

School Overall In-Region

1 Winona State 24-5 20-4

2 Minnesota State-Mankato 20-4 18-4

3 Augustana (S.D.) 16-6 16-6

4 St. Cloud State 17-5 15-5

5 Harding 15-7 15-7

6 Central Missouri 14-6 14-5

7 Arkansas Tech 13-8 13-8

8 Fort Hays State 13-6 13-6

9 Southwest Minnesota State 15-11 13-10

10 Upper Iowa 16-9 15-9

Home sweet home

• The Ichabods are 373-68 (.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's final regular season away game will be at Emporia State on Feb. 28 and they will wrap up the regular season at home on senior night against Central Missouri in the MIAA's TV game of the week on March 2.