Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Television: MIAA TV Game of the Week (Cox 22 in Kansas/KSMO 62 in Kansas City markets)
'Bod Quick notes
• Washburn swept the regular season series with the Mules last season winning 75-67 in Warrensburg and 78-68 in Topeka behind
Will McNeill's career-high 35 points.
• The Ichabods have won four of the last five against the Mules.
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Will McNeill has broken the Washburn senior class record for steals of 63 held by Jordy Canfield as he has raised his single-season total to 76 tying the Ichabod single-season record.
• The Washburn single-season steals high-water mark of 76 is owned by
Will McNeill set last season as a junior.
• Washburn is seventh in the NCAA in assist to turnover ratio and sixth in turnovers per game.
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Will McNeill is fifth on the NCAA Division II active steals chart with 241. Alex Falk of West Liberty leads all active players with 263.
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Will McNeill is sixth in active player free throws made with 486 in Division II.
• The nine blocked shots by Emporia State last time out was an opponent high.
• The 55 points scored by the Ichabods in the loss to Emporia State was a season-low.
• The three steals by
Zack Riggins tied a career high against the Hornets.
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Joseph Smith recorded career highs with 10 field goal attempts as well as setting new highs with six free throws and six free throw attempts.
Ichabods on radio
Washburn games will be broadcast on 106.9 FM KTPK 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
• 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 739-303 overall.
• has 498 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 427-79 going 374-68 in Lee Arena.
• is second in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
• his 739 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 27-22 against Central Missouri.
Central Missouri head coach Kim Anderson . . .
• has compiled a career record of 241-88 (.732) in his 11th season leading the Mules.
• has led UCM to four MIAA regular season titles, more than any other coach in school history, three MIAA tournament championships, two Regional championships and two Final Four appearances.
• Anderson recorded career win No. 200 with a 65-61 win against Washburn on February 9, 2011.
• Anderson is one of only five coaches in Central Missouri history to record 100 or more career wins - Anderson (241), Tad. C. Reid (178), Earl Keth (159), Jim Wooldridge (131) and Lynn Nance (114).
• Three of the top nine single-season scoring leaders in Central Missouri history have come during the tenure of head coach Kim Anderson.
Last time out for the Ichabods • Emporia State 61, Washburn 55 • 2/28/13
EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods trailed by as many as 14 but cut it back to three late but couldn't get over the hump as they fell 61-55 at Emporia State.
The Hornets (13-12, 8-9 MIAA) led 27-21 at the break after finishing the half on a 9-0 run holding the Ichabods (18-7, 11-6 MIAA) without a field goal for the final 5:17. The Ichabods led 21-18 after a pair of free throws with 4:47 remaining prior to the Hornets run. The Ichabods struggled from the field hitting 6 of 29 shots in the opening stanza going 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Washburn did go 8-8 of from the free throw line.
A swipe and steal by
Will McNeill put a halt to a 16-0 Hornet run Washburn within 11 at 34-23. Five straight more by McNeill and a lay up by Wiggins put Washburn down four at 34-30 with 14:18 to go in the game.
The Hornets would push their lead back to 12 at 44-32 with 10:33 to play in the game before the Ichabods would cut the lead back to seven at 5:50 to play after a pair of
Joseph Smith free throws.
A 3-pointer by the Hornets put the lead back to double digits at 50-40 with 5:29 to go in the game, but Washburn trimmed the lead back to three after a dunk by
Bobby Chipman ad four straight points by Smith pulling Washburn back within three at 53-50.
After the Hornets went back up six with 1:49 to go, Washburn had two free throws by McNeill. Two more free throws by ESU was answered by a 3-pointer by Wiggins with 23 seconds left cutting the lead to 58-55 would be the closest the Ichabods would get the rest of the game as the Hornets finished 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
McNeill led the Ichabods with 27 points going 10 of 14 from the free throw line adding six rebounds and four steals.
Joseph Smith had 12 points as the only other Ichabod to reach double figures. Chipman led the team with nine rebounds and had two blocks.
Paul Bunch had 15 to lead the Hornets.
The Ichabods were 17 of 60 from the field going 3 of 17 from 3-point range in the game. ESU finished 20 of 48 overall and 17 of 24 from the free throw line compared to 18 of 22 by the Ichabods.
ESU held a 37 to 34 advantage on the glass. Washburn had 15 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second chance points. Washburn turned 21 Hornet turnovers into 23 points.
Series history with Central Missouri
• Saturday's meeting will be the 93rd between these two teams
• UCM leads the all-time series 47-45.
• Washburn is 18-7 against UCM in Lee Arena and 21-20 in all-time MIAA games.
• In road MIAA games played in Warrensburg, the Ichabods are 8-13 after snapping an eight-game losing streak in the win on New Year's Eve during the 2011-12 season.
• The last time the teams met in the conference tournament was during the 2010 season when the Ichabods as the No. 8 seed topped the No. 1-seeded Mules 79-60.
• The Ichabods are 5-1 all-time against Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament.
Last meeting with Central Missouri
(Feb. 8, 2012) TOPEKA, Kan. --
Will McNeill scored a career-high 35 points as the Washburn Ichabods led from start to finish picking up a 78-68 win over No. 25-ranked Central Missouri in Lee Arena on Wednesday night. The win was the fourth-straight for the Ichabods and sixth in their last seven games.
Washburn (17-6, 11-4 MIAA) scored the first points of the game and the Mules hit a 3-pointer cutting the lead to one just minutes into the game and the Ichabods would then go on to push its lead to as many as seven at 15-8 after a jumper by
Martin Mitchell with 12:44 to play in the first half. The Mules cut the lead back to one two different times the remainder of the half before the Ichabods would go on a 19-7 run over the next 5:49 pushing their lead to 13 at 39-26 capped by a
Bobby Chipman jumper. During the run, McNeill scored nine of the Ichabods' points and
Jeff Reid added back to back 3-pointers from nearly the same spot in front of the Central bench . The Ichabods went on to lead by eight at the break at 39-31.
In the second half the Mules (16-5, 12-4 MIAA) cut the score to single digits twice. The first at 42-33 with 18:55 remaining in the game and the second after a pair of free throws by Alex Dean, but a McNeill jumper pushed the Ichabod lead back to 11 and the Mules did not get closer than 10 the rest of the game.
McNeill scored 22 of his 35 points in the second half connecting on 16 of 18 free throw attempts in the game while going 9 of 18 from the field. He is the first Ichabods to go over 30 points in a game since Logan Stutz scored 30 against Missouri Western on Jan. 29, 2011. He also upped his career scoring total to 958 points including 464 this season. Reid, making his second start of the season, scored 12 points for the second straight game and Mitchell added 12 as well. McNeill collected a game-high nine rebounds as well with six coming on the offensive end.
Dominique Long scored 17 to lead the Mules while Will Kirksey scored 11.
Washburn finished the game 24 of 56 from the floor while the Mules were 19 of 43. Each team hit 24 free throws and each team also hit six 3-pointers. The Ichabods forced 20 Mule turnovers leading to 30 points for Washburn.
The Ichabods swept the regular season with the Mules for the first time since the 2002-03 season in the 10-point win.
About Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is in its 108th season of men's basketball.
• Central Missouri is second all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,582.
• The Mules are averaging 78.0 points per game and giving up 69.0 points per contest this year.
• Central Missouri is shooting 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three-point range. The Mules give up 41 percent shooting overall and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
• In their 19 wins, UCM is holding the opposition to 39 percent shooting, while they shoot 47 percent from the field. In their five losses, the Mules have given up 48 percent shooting overall and 50 percent from beyond the three-point line.
• The Mules are forcing 13.9 turnovers per game, while committing 12.6 turnovers of their own per contest.
• The Mules were 19-8 a season ago and captured a share of the MIAA regular season championship, the fourth under head coach Kim Anderson.
Last time out for Central Missouri
Feb. 27, 2013 -- WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Central Missouri Mules claimed at least a share of the MIAA regular season championship with a 76-64 win over Truman State on Wednesday night at the UCM Multipurpose Building. This is Central Missouri's second straight conference crown, the first time since 1983-84 and 84-85 that UCM has captured back-to-back championships.
The Mules (19-6, 13-4 MIAA) jumped out to an early 10-4 lead four minutes into the game. The Bulldogs (9-16, 6-11 MIAA) responded with a 9-4 spurt to pull within one at 14-13 at the 9:41 mark, but the Mules came right back with seven straight points to open a 21-13 lead with 7:47 to play in the half.
Truman State pulled back to within three two separate times, including 24-21 with 2:22 left in the opening period. A three from Jon Gilliam pushed the lead to six and sparked a 7-0 run to end the half that gave UCM a 31-21 lead at the intermission.
The Mules used a 12-6 run out the break to open a 43-27 lead with 16:01 to play in the game. UCM pushed the lead to 17 at the 14:34 mark with a 47-31 advantage, but the Bulldogs began to chip away at the lead.
Central Missouri stopped a short run by TSU and pushed the lead back to 16 at 54-38 with 11:25 to play in the game, but a 19-8 run brought the Bulldogs to within five at 62-57 with 5:43 remaining in regulation.
Zach Bush stopped the bleeding with a layup and was fouled. He missed the ensuing free throw, but Charles Hammork got the rebound and was fouled. He calmly hit both free throws to push the lead back to nine. Hammork hit two more foul shots on the next possession before stealing a pass and throwing it down for a thunderous dunk to give UCM a 70-57 lead with 4:06 to play.
The Mules weren't challenged the rest of the way as went on to the 12-point win and their second straight MIAA regular season championship. It's the fifth championship under head coach Kim Anderson and the 23rd title in program history.
The win also gave UCM a perfect 13-0 record at home for the season, the first undefeated home mark since 2008-09 and the third under Anderson.
The Mules were led in scoring by Hammork's 20 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season, to go along with three blocks and three steals. Alex Dean added his second double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 boards. Widgett Washington added nine points and five assists, while Zach Bush had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
UCM shot 49 percent from the floor, 29-of-59, and 40 percent from beyond the arc, 6-of-15. The Mules struggled at the foul line, hitting just 12-of-24 attempts for 50 percent.
Truman was led in scoring by Seth Jackson's 15 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Myers had 11 points and Mike Carlson added 10.
The Bulldogs shot 41 percent, 26-of-63, but made just 1-of-19 three-point attempts for 5 percent. TSU was 11-of-15 at the charity stripe for 73 percent.
The Mules finished with eight blocks and both teams had 12 turnovers.
The win secures at least a share of the conference title for UCM and secures a bye to the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City on March 7.
Bod bits
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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.
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Will McNeill has been named the MIAA Player of the Week twice on Nov. 26 and on Dec. 3.
• The Ichabods are +9.5 in scoring margin this season.
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Bryce Simons has missed the entire season with a knee injury.
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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 1,627 points and 217 assists joining Tom Meier (2,082/242).
• With seven more rebounds, McNeill would become the ninth Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
• With seven more rebounds, McNeill would become the first Ichabod to have at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals.
• McNeill enters the UCM game with 1,627 points, 493 rebounds, 241 steals and 217 assists.
Bod tweets . . . 140-character or less notes on the Ichabods
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Will McNeill sits in sixth-place on the all-time scoring chart with his 1,627 career points.
• Next on the chart is in fifth-place on the all-time scoring chart is Ewan Auguste (1,636 - 1997-2001) #SelectCompany
• McNeill is only 24 points from fourth-place on the all-time scoring chart (Harold Brown/1,651) and 27 points from third-place all-time (Ryan Murphy/1,654) #Distinguished
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Will McNeill's 540 field goals is sixth all-time at Washburn #Scorer
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Bobby Chipman's 215 3-point attempts is 20th in school history #FromWayDowntown
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Bobby Chipman's 91 career blocks is third all-time at Washburn and can move into the top two with five more #RejectionCity
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Bobby Chipman's 551 rebounds is 11th all-time at Washburn #boards
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Will McNeill's 486 free throw made is second at Washburn trailing Gary Carrier's 534 for first all-time at WU #GetToTheLine
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Will McNeill's 614 free throw attempts is third at Washburn #LineTime
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Will McNeill's .793 free throw percentage is eighth all-time at WU #Automatic
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Will McNeill moved into 117th on the Washburn all-time rebounding chart with 493 #HeIsAGuard
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Will McNeill's 217 assists is 17th all-time at Washburn. #PassingTheRock
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Martin Mitchell's career assist average of 3.5 per game is tied for ninth all-time at Washburn #Dimes
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Martin Mitchell's 203 career assists is 21st on the all-time chart at Washburn #NoLook
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Joseph Smith's 46 career blocks is 12th all-time at Washburn #NoNos
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Zack Riggins' 27 career blocks is 24th all-time at Washburn #GetItOut
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Will McNeill's 241 career steals is first at Washburn #NoBodyInFrontOfHim
• The MIAA record for career steals is 383 by Eddin Santiago #FastHands
• In scoring 27 points against Emporia State,
Will McNeill kept his double-figure scoring streak alive at 58 games with all 33 games in the 2011-12 season and the first 25 of this season. #DoNotTalkAboutTheStreak
Ichabod Basketball History
• Washburn is 1,449-976-2 all-time in 2,426 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 498-217 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 did not receive any votes in the latest NABC Top 25 coaches poll which was released on Feb. 26. 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 in the NCAA Central Regional Rankings (Feb. 27) . . .
The Washburn Ichabods jumped from unranked to No. 5 in the latest NCAA Central Regional Rankings which were released on Tuesday. Washburn is one of four MIAA schools in the current rankings behind Central Missouri at No. 4 and they are ahead of Northeastern State, who came in No. 8. Fort Hays State is ranked No. 9 in the rankings.
School Overall In-Region
1 Minnesota State Mankato 20-4 18-4
2 Winona State 23-6 19-5
3 Augustana (S.D.) 17-7 17-7
4 Central Missouri 15-6 15-5
5 Washburn 15-6 15-6
6 Harding 16-8 16-8
7 St. Cloud State 17-7 15-7
8 Northeastern State 16-7 15-7
9 Fort Hays State 13-7 13-7
10 Southwest Minnesota State 16-12 14-11
Home sweet home
• The Ichabods are 374-68 (.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
The MIAA Tournament bracket will be announced on March 2 during the game with the Mules.
