Opening Tip
•     The Washburn Ichabods will return to MIAA play as they will travel to face Lincoln on Thursday in Jefferson City before continuing the road trip at Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo., on Saturday. 
•    Washburn enters the game with the Blue Tigers with a 5-7 record after topping Tabor last time out 76-61. 
•    The Blue Tigers are 4-7 this season and 1-1 in conference play and have been off since a 93-70 loss at Central Oklahoma on Dec. 7. The Lincoln win came in a 75-69 win at Northeastern State on Dec. 4.
•    The Lindenwood Lions are 4-6 and 0-2 in MIAA play and have lost their last four games entering a Dec. 18 contest with Nebraska-Kearney before facing the Ichabods on the 20th.
•    The Ichabods have 30 regular season games scheduled this season and also had three exhibition games against NCAA Division I members Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma to have 33 games before the MIAA Tournament starts.
•    The Ichabods have used seven different starting line ups this season.
•    The Ichabods will wrap up the 2014 calendar year with a New Year's Eve game against Baker at 3 p.m. in Topeka.
•    Seniors Alex North and Kyle Wiggins are on pace to appear in games 99 and 100 against Lincoln and Lindenwood this weekend.
    
 Bod Notes
•    Alex North has recorded 13 double doubles in his career at Washburn … he scored his 800th career point against Southwestern and has played in 98 games with 65 starts … he went over the 550-rebound total against the Southwest Baptist and enters the Lincoln game with 887 career points averaging 9.1 in his career.
•    Kyle Wiggins went over the 900-point mark for his career against Rockhurst … he has averaged 9.3 ppg in 98 games making 56 starts … he has scored 914 career points at Washburn … he also has gone over the 200-rebound mark for his career and he went over the 200-assist mark in Hawaii and has 214 for his career.
•    Ichabod junior Christian Ulsaker is averaging 7.9 points with 5.1 rebounds a game this season … he recorded his first career double double against Peru State with 10 points and 10 rebounds … he will miss the six to eight weeks after suffering a broken jaw against Missouri Southern.
•    The Ichabods have hit at least one 3-pointer in 322 games … the last game the Ichabods did not hit a 3-pointer was Dec. 30, 2003 at Missouri Western.
•    Algie Key had a season-high 22 points in the loss at BYU-Hawaii adding a season-high five assists … he is averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds a game in his first season at Washburn after transferring from Alabama.
•    Turon Parker is scoring 6.9 ppg this season adding 29 assists and 11 steals in his first season as an Ichabod … he had a season-high eight rebounds against Tabor on Monday.
•    Stephon Drane is averaging 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg this season … he missed the final two games in Hawaii with a knee injury.
•    Kevin House is third on the team with 20 assists this season while adding 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game … he is 20 of 24 from the free throw line this season.
•    Jeremy Lickteig scored a career-high 19 points against Northwest Indian College going 9 of 10 from the field … he made his first career start against BYU-Hawaii.
•    The Ichabods are 67 of 224 from 3-point range this season with Kyle Wiggins hitting 12 of 33 attempts … Turon Parker has hit 11 of 33 attempts … Ichabod opponents are 97 of 265 from 3-point range this season.
•    Brady Skeens recorded a season-high 14 points in his second game of the season against Tabor after having his planned redshirt pulled prior to the Rockhurst game.
•    Washburn is 166 of 262 from the free throw line for a 63 percent average while their opponents are 194 of 273 hitting 71 percent of their charity stripe attempts.
•    As of the last basketball stat reporting for NCAA Division II, the Ichabods ranked 271 of 350 teams in free throw percentage and they are last in the MIAA in free throw percentage.
•    Washburn is +2.2 in rebounding margin and have been outrebounded in three games this season.
•    The Ichabods have outscored their opponents 406 to 372 in the first half of games, but have been outscored 483 to 465 in the second half of games.

 Ichabods on Radio
Washburn games will be broadcast on AM580 WIBW radio with Jake Lebahn calling the action and color commentary from Pat Strathman. 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 36th season at the helm of the Ichabods.
•     a 1973 graduate of Kansas State earning both his undergraduate and master's degree in Manhattan.
•     is 762-321 overall.
•     has 521 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA, the most of any conference school since the 1989-90 season.
•    is the MIAA's all-time winningest coach by victories with 521.
•     has led the Ichabods to 12 MIAA regular season titles and a MIAA-coaching tops of five postseason MIAA tournament championships.
•     has led the Ichabods to 12 NCAA National Tournament appearances.
•     in home games, he is 444-83 going 393-72 in Lee Arena.
•     is second in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
•     his 762 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.

Lincoln head basketball coach John Moseley
•    is in his first year as the head coach of the Blue Tigers recording a 4-7 record.
•    he spent the previous four years as an assistant at North Carolina Central, helping the Eagles to a 28-6 record, both the tournament and regular season MEAC titles and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

Lindenwood head basketball coach Brad Soderberg
•     is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lindenwood basketball program recording a 114-51 record for the Lions
•    is in his 19th season s a collegiate head coach going 325-198 overall.
•     since he has come to Lindenwood the Lions have a record of 62-10 at Hyland Arena. 
•    also coached one season at Wisconsin and five seasons at Saint Louis.

 Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Washburn 76, Tabor 61 • Dec. 15, 2014
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods put three players in double figures as Washburn led for 39 of the 40 minutes in the game picking up a 76-61 win over Tabor. 
The Ichabods jumped out to leads to 11-2 and then 20-9 before the Bluejays came back with a mini 7-0 run to cut the lead to four at 20-16 before the Ichabods would push out to a 13-point lead at the break at 37-24. The Ichabods shot 39 percent in the first half while holding the Bluejays to 8 fo 25 shooting for a 32 percent clip. 
Washburn (5-7) would go on to lead by as many as 25 in the second half at 51-26 with 15:50 to play before Tabor (5-8) trimmed the lead back to 17 with 6:51 to play and to as few as 14 with 2:46 to play but never threatened in the second half as the Ichabods snapped a two-game slide with the 15-point win. 
Algie Key came off the bench to score 15 points on 4 of 5 shooting while to lead the Ichabods with 15 points. Brady Skeens scored 14 making his second career start going 5 of 5 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Kyle Wiggins also reached double figures with 11 points picking up four steals and David Salach tied a career-high with 10 rebounds. Turon Parker recorded five steals while scoring five points adding a career-high eight rebounds.  
The Ichabods finished 28 of 62 overall from the field hitting 45 percent of their shots while the Bluejays were 19 of 49 for a 39 percent average. Washburn was 15 of 21 from the free throw line and Tabor finished 16 of 20. Washburn also held a 40 to 29 advantage on the glass turning 17 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points while forcing 16 Bluejay turnovers into 21 points. Washburn also outscored the Bluejays 40 to 26 in the paint. 
Malik Brooks scored a game-high 20 points and Andrew Thomas had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

 About Lincoln
•    Seniors Joshua Buie and Mike Smith once again are Lincoln's leading scorers, with Buie averaging a team-best 17.7 points while Smith averages 14.1. 
•    Buie also leads Lincoln in assists (46) and steals (20) and is shooting .508 from the floor and .767 from the free throw line, which both percentages ranking among the best in the MIAA. Smith averages 4.5 boards, the second-most on the team behind Zach Schraeder's team-leading 5.2 rebounds per night. 
•    Victor Scott is next on LU's scoring chart with 10.3 points and leads Lincoln with 29 made three-pointers. Rounding out LU's starting five is Blake Ralling, who is averaging 5.8 points while grabbing 3.0 rebounds per game.

 Series History with Lincoln
•      Thursday's meeting will be the 28th in the series history and Washburn leads 24-3.
•      Washburn has won the last 24 meetings in the series which began on Dec. 18, 1957 with the Blue Tigers winning 93-80. Lincoln won the next two and the teams did not meet again until Jan. 24, 1990 when the Ichabods won 98-93 on the road. 
•      Washburn has won the last 24 games in the series and the last six match ups by an average margin of 22 points per game. 
•     Overall the Ichabods are 10-1 against Lincoln in Jefferson City all-time having won their last 10 games with the lone loss coming in 1957 in the first meeting in the series. 
•     In Topeka, the Ichabods are 12-1 and have won the last 12 meetings.
•     In neutral site games Washburn is 2-1.     

 Last meeting with Lincoln
(Dec, 19, 2013) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods shook off a slow start and a halftime deficit to improve to 9-1 and 2-1 in the MIAA with a 70-65 win over Lincoln. 
Both teams started off slow as neither team would score until the Blue Tigers (2-10, 0-4 MIAA) found the basket with 15:27 remaining in the half. Washburn tied it up 10 seconds laster but the Blue Tigers would jump out to a 9-4 lead with 13:25 to play in the frame. Lincoln would go on to lead by as many as six on two different occasions before taking the 34-28 lead into the halftime break.
Lincoln shot 44 percent in the first half compared to 37 percent for the Ichabods.
The Ichabods used a 15-5 run over the first 7:40 of the second half to take a 43-39 lead as Andy Wilson capped the run with a 3-pointer. Jeff Reid had eight points during the run including two 3-pointers.
Washburn stretched its lead to as many as eight two times at 60-52 on a tip in by Reid with 5:46 to play, but the Blue Tigers chipped away at the lead tying the game at 63 with 1:50 to play. After a Washburn timeout, Alex North hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to go up 66-63 with 1:17 to play. The Blue Tigers came back with a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left cutting the lead back to one at 66-65. A lay up by Kyle Wiggins put Washburn back up three with 26 seconds left and after a missed shot by Lincoln, North finished the game with two free throws with five seconds left icing the 70-65 win.
Reid and Wiggins led Washburn with 15 points and eight of nine player scored at least five points for Washburn. North scored nine points and had a game and career-high-tying 14 rebounds. Joshua Buie had 22 to lead the Blue Tigers.
Washburn finished 24 of 56 from the field for a 43 percent average while the Blue Tigers were 21 of 48 for 44 percent. Washburn held a 38 to 24 advantage on the glass holding the Blue Tigers to only three offensive rebounds. Washburn also scored 22 points off 14 Lincoln turnovers.

 About Lindenwood
•    Lindenwood is 4-6 and 0-2 in MIAA play entering a Thursday game with Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 18 at home.
•    The Lions have dropped their last four games entering the weekend MIAA games.
•    The Lions are 3-1 in home games and have gone 1-3 on the road and 0-2 in neutral site games.
•    Cory Arentsen leads the team with a 14.2 ppg average and has hit 23 of 50 3-point attempts.
•    Darris Smith is scoring 10.7 ppg and Garrett Reeg has scored 10.0 ppg.
•    The Lions are averaging 73.8 ppg while allowing 72.1 ppg.

 Series History with Lindenwood
•  The two teams have only met twice with Washburn winning Jan. 26, 2013 in St. Charles with a 66-63 win by the Ichabods and last season in Topeka with the Ichabods winning 82-64 on Dec. 22, 2013.    

 Last meeting with Lindenwood
(Dec, 22, 2013) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the fall semester with an 82-64 win over Lindenwood improving to 10-1 on the season and 3-1 in the MIAA and head coach Bob Chipman picked up win No. 750 in the victory. 
Washburn was down 4-0 and 4-3 with 17:29 to play in the first half before the Ichabods would go on an 18-3 run over a 4:03 period jumping out to an 18-6 lead with 13:26 to play capped by a 3-pointer by Chris Davis. Later in the half, the Ichabods used another run of 13-2 in a 3:07 span stretching the lead to 18 at 36-18 with 7:01 to play. Washburn held the Lions to only nine field goals in the first half as Lindenwood (6-8, 1-3 MIAA) was 9 of 26 from the field while the ichabods were 16 of 36 overall and 6 of 11 from 3-point range as Washburn took a 45-26 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, Washburn would go on to lead by as many as 28 at 77-49 with 5:49 to play before the Lions finished the game on a 15-5 run cutting the final margin back to 18.
Washburn put four in double figures led by Alex North's 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting adding eight rebounds and three assists. Kyle Wiggins scored 12 points with five assists and Chris Deans added 10 with five assists and Stephon Drane scored 10 off the bench on 5 of 6 shooting. Lindenwood was led by Darris Smith who had a game-high 19 points.
Washburn used a 40 to 25 advantage on the glass including 14 offensive rebounds leading to 17 second chance points. Washburn outscored the Lions 34 to 18 in the paint and had 23 assists on 31 baskets.

Ichabod basketball history
•     The Ichabods are 1472-991-4 (.591) all-time in the 110th year in the program's history.
•     Washburn is the eighth-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
•     Washburn is the winningest MIAA program since the 1989-90 season with an overall record of 521-237 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
•    The Ichabods have recorded 25 20-win seasons and they have one 30-win seasons after going 35-4 during the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season.
•    Washburn has won 21 conference championships including 10 MIAA titles.
•    Washburn has received 12 NCAA Tournament bids going to three Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.

Home sweet home
•     The Ichabods are 393-72 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
•     The 2014-15 season marks the 30th 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 Ichabods will wrap up the 2014 calendar year with a New Year's Eve game against Baker at 3 p.m. in Topeka and the return to MIAA play hosting Missouri Western on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in Topeka.