Opening Tip

• The Washburn Ichabods will take part in the first game of the Oklahoma swing of the MIAA schedule as they will take on Central Oklahoma on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Hamilton Fieldhouse.

• Washburn (15-6, 8-6 MIAA) is coming off a 90-84 home loss to Nebraska-Kearney last time out on Saturday.

• The Bronchos have gone 3-2 since Washburn's  76-69 win over UCO on Jan. 23 in Topeka.

• UCO enters the game with a 14-7 overall record and an 8-6 MIAA mark.

• The Bronchos have won their last three games coming off two road wins at Northeastern State (96-94 in double overtime) and an 80-72 win at Pittsburg State last time out on Feb. 8.

• The Ichabods and the Bronchos are both tied for fifth in the MIAA standings as of Feb. 11. The top four teams in the final standings receive an automatic bye to Kansas City for the MIAA Tournament.

 Bod Notes

• The Washburn Ichabods have won 514 games since becoming a member of the NCAA Division II ranks prior to the start of the 1989-89 season - which is the most by any member of the MIAA during that stretch.

• In the loss to Nebraska-Kearney it marked the fourth time the Ichabods had allowed at least 50 points in the second half. (63 at MSSU; 55 vs NWMSU; 59 at UNK; 51 vs UNK)

• The Ichabods have hit at least one 3-pointer in 303 games entering the match up with UCO. The last game the Ichabods did not hit a 3-pointer was Dec. 30, 2003 at Missouri Western.

• Alex North recorded his eighth double double of the season, his fifth-straight and the tenth of his career with 22 points and 13 rebounds against Emporia State. 

• The Ichabods have been outscored 297 to 224 in the second half of the six losses this season and have been outrebounded by an average of 14.1 per game. 

• Alex North hit 650 career points against Nebraska-Kearney. He has scored 653 points in 82 games averaging 8.0 a game including a 16.0 ppg average this season. He went over the 400-rebound total against Nebraska-Kearney and his is entering Thursday's game with UCO with 442 career boards.

• Jeff Reid went over the 650-point plateau as he now has 685 in his third season at Washburn and has averaged 8.6 ppg in 80 career games. He is averaging 9.8 ppg this season.

• Kyle Wiggins went over the 700-point mark against the Lopers in the second meeting. He now has 705 for his Washburn career averaging 8.8 ppg in 80 games including 15.0 ppg this season.

• Ichabod junior Christian Ulsaker will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken bone in his shooting hand in practice. He was averaging career-bests of 13.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg. He will apply for a medical redshirt as he played in only four games.

Ichabods on Radio

Washburn games will be broadcast on AM 580 WIBW radio with Mark Elliott and Jake Lebahn calling the action. 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 35th season at the helm of the Ichabods.

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

• is 755-310 overall.

• has 514 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 MIAA tournament championships.

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

• in home games, he is 439-81 going 388-70 in Lee Arena.

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

• his 755 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.

Central Oklahoma head coach Terry Evans

• Now in his 12th year at the helm of the Central Oklahoma men's program is Terry Evans, a former college standout who has built the Bronchos into a perennial NCAA Division II power.

• Evans is 237-111 in 12 years at UCO and has directed the Bronchos to seven national tournament appearances, including one Elite Eight and one Sweet 16.  He also led the team to six Lone Star Conference North Division titles and two overall league crowns during Central's association with that league.

• Evans has had six 20-win seasons in the past eight years -- including a school-record 30-win campaign in 2010-11 -- and coached 14 All-LSC North Division players while earning LSC North Division Coach of the Year honors five times and South Central Regional Coach of the Year accolades once.

• Played his college ball at Oklahoma, where he was a four-year starter for Bill Tubbs and later assisted Tubbs at Texas Christian.

• He is 6-5 against Washburn.

 Ichabod Player Notes

#3 • Jeff Reid • Is 12th in the MIAA in rebounding at 6.0 per game … his 2.2 offensive rebounds  per game is eighth overall.

#4 • Andy Wilson • Has gone 8 of 11 from the free throw line this season.

#5 • Korey Fisher • Has hit 9 of last 11 free throws in the last three games.

#11 • Kyle Wiggins • Ranks 18th in the MIAA in scoring at 15.0 ppg and his 3.9 assists per game is 10th overall.

#13 • Chris Deanes • Has eight offensive rebounds and 25 defensive rebounds this season.

#14 • Christian Ulsaker • Will miss the rest of the season with a wrist injury and will apply for a medical redshirt playing in only four games.

#15 • Evan Robinson • Has two rebounds this season.

#21 • Chris Davis • Averaging 13.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in the last three games.

#22 • Alex North • Is 16th in MIAA in scoring (16.0 ppg), second in rebounding (10.0 rpg), 13th in assists (3.2 apg), sixth in 3-point FG percentage (.471 -- 21 of 40) and eighth in minutes played (33.3 mpg).

#24 • Stephon Drane • Team-high 14 blocks this season.

#31 • Leon Flowers • Had streak of double figure scoring games snapped at seven after scoring nine against UNK.

#32 • Dalton Abel • Scored first three points of the season hitting a 3-pointer against Missouri Southern.

#34 • Jeremy Lickteig • Scored five points on 2 of 2 shooting against UNK last time out.

#42 • Colton Anderson • has at least one rebound in each of the last four games played.

 Last Time Out For The Ichabods

Nebraska-Kearney 90 • Washburn 84 • Feb. 8, 2014

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn's Alex North scored a career-high 31 points going 9 of 12 from the field but it wasn't enough as the Ichabods let a double digit lead slip away in a 90-84 loss to Nebraska-Kearney. 

As was the case in the first meeting 10 days ago, Washburn built an early lead going up by as many as 12 in the first half before taking a 46-39 lead into the halftime break. Both teams shot above 50 percent from the field as the Ichabods were 15 of 24 for a 63 percent average while the Lopers were 14 of 28 overall. Washburn led by 14 in the first meeting in Kearney on Jan. 30 with 3:33 to play in the first half before losing 88-79.

In the second half, Washburn scored the first points of the half taking a nine point lead and then the Lopers chipped into the Ichabod lead coming back to tie the score at 57 with 11:18 to play.  With Washburn holding a one point lead at 61-60 with 9:47 to play, North would score 10 of the Ichabods' next 12 points capping the scoring run with a 3-pointer with 7:21 remaining putting Washburn up 71-67 with 6:54 to play, however the Lopers would go on a 20-6 run over the next 6:36 of the game as Washburn wnet cold from the field going 0 of 9 down the stretch including missing all four 3-pointers while the Lopers were 4 of 6 from the field going 12 of 13 from the free throw line.

Washburn did cut the lead to three at 85-82 with 27 seconds to play after another 3-pointer by North but the Lopers finished 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the last 22 seconds to hold on for the winning sweeping the regular season series.

North finished with a game-high 31 points going 9 of 12 from the field including 4 of 6 from 3-point range and 9 of 12 from the free throw line for his highwater point mark in a Washburn uniform. He also tied a career-high with four steals adding three assists. Kyle Wiggins had 19 with six assists and Korey Fisher had 11.

Connor Beranek had 18 to lead six Lopers in double figures adding 10 rebounds.

Washburn finished 27 of 62 overall cooling off to 32 percent shooting in the second half (12 of 38) while the Lopers continued their hot shooting from the first half going 13 of 24 finishing the game at 52 percent overall. The Lopers attempted 38 free throws hitting 29 while the Ichabods were 24 of 30 in the game. Washburn turned the ball over a season-low five times in the game. Washburn was also outrebounded 37 to 32 in the loss.

The loss leaves the Ichabods in fifth place in the MIAA standings. The top four teams receive an automatic bye to Kansas City while seeds 5-12 will have a play-in game. Seeds 5-8 will host the play in game on March 4.

 Nebraska-Kearney Leftovers

• The series is now tied at 17-17 as the Lopers swept the regular season series.

• Washburn fell to 11-2 at home with the loss.

• Chris Davis tied a career-high with eight field goal attempts.

• Korey Fisher had career highs of five free throws made and six free throw attempts.

• Alex North recorded a career-high 31 points adding a career-high tying four steals … his nine free throws were also career highs.

• Kyle Wiggins tied a career-high for the second-straight game with 17 field goal attempts.

 
 About Central Oklahoma

• The Bronchos are 14-7 this season and 8-6 in MIAA play.

• UCO is 8-3 in home games and 4-3 in MIAA home games.

• The Bronchos are coming off an 80-72 road win at Pittsburg State and have won their last three overall.

• Josh Gibbs leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 20.8 ppg and 11.5 rpg.

• Gibbs has led the team in scoring 13 games this season and in rebounding in 20 of their 21 games.

• Gibbs is second in the MIAA and 17th in NCAA Division II in scoring (20.8) while leading the conference and ranking fourth nationally in rebounding (11.5).  

• Aaron Anderson is second on the team in scoring with a 14.0, while Andrews is at 12.4 and Seth Heckart at 11.3  

• Andrews (57), Gibbs (53) and Heckart (53) have combined to make 163 of UCO's 211 3-pointers this season.

• The Bronchos are averaging 85.9 points a game. 

 Series History With Central Oklahoma

• Thursday's meeting will be the 21st in the series history. 

• The Bronchos lead the series 12-8.

• Washburn has lost four of the last eight and ended a three-game losing streak with the win earlier this season.

• The Ichabods lost the first match ups as MIAA schools on Jan. 5, 2013 67-72 in Edmond and in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2013 99-88 in Kansas City.

• Washburn's two highest scoring combined games in school history came against UCO. In 1992 the two teams scored 246 points (132-114, UCO) and in 1998 they scored 218 points (111-107, UCO).

• WU has scored at least 100 points against UCO three times and the Bronchos have done so twice.

• Bob Chipman is 7-8 coaching against UCO.

 Last Time Out for Central Oklahoma

PITTSBURG, Kan. (Feb. 8) – Cal Andrews scored 15 of his career-high 21 points in the second half and Central Oklahoma turned back Pittsburg State 80-72 for its third straight Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association victory here Saturday afternoon.

Four players scored in double figures for the Bronchos, who used a 12-2 first-half scoring run to take the lead for good and thwarted a PSU rally down the stretch in improving to 14-7 on the season and 8-6 in the league.

Andrews was 8-of-13 from the field with three 3-pointers and 2-of-3 from the line in his 21-point outing while adding five rebounds. UCO also got 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists from Josh Gibbs, 17 points from Jarred Bairstow and 14 points from Philip Brown.

The Bronchos, who pulled out a 96-94 double-overtime win at Northeastern State on Thursday, trailed 11-6 early in the contest before going on a 12-2 scoring spurt to take the lead for good.

Gibbs had seven points in that run and UCO stretched its lead to nine (28-19) on an Andrews 3-pointer before settling for a 37-30 halftime advantage.

The lead reached double digits at 45-35 on a Brown dunk three minutes into the second half and it became a 16-point cushion at 53-37 at the 13:04 mark on an Andrews jam.

The Gorillas trimmed the deficit to five (64-59) with 4:01 left to play, but Aaron Anderson hit two free throws and Bairstow two more after a PSU miss to push the lead back to nine at 68-59 and the Bronchos coasted in from there.

 Last Meeting With Central Oklahoma

Jan. 23, 2014 -- TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn's Jeff Reid and Alex North each had double doubles as the Ichabods improved to 13-3 overall and 6-3 in MIAA play as they defeated Central Oklahoma 76-69 on Thursday night on Schendel Court at Lee Arena. 

Washburn trailed Central Oklahoma (11-6, 5-5 MIAA) 60-59 with 6:43 to play and would trail by as many as three in the final 6:27 after a pair of free throws by Aaron Anderson at 62-59, but a 3-pointer by North with 6:18 to play tied the score and a driving layup by North with 4:01 to play gave the Ichabods the lead for good.

Reid added a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to five with 2:23 to play but Anderson hit a 3-pointer of his own cutting the lead in half with 1:51 to play at 67-64. Reid then connected on another 3-pointer with 1:25 to play giving the Ichabods a six-point cushion.

After two more free throws by Anderson, North would score the next four points for Washburn on another lay up with 33 seconds to play and two charity tosses with 21 seconds to play. UCO added another 3-pointer with 16 seconds to play, but Korey Fisher hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to wrap up the game.

North and Reid each scored 17 points with Reid collecting a career-high 13 rebounds with 11 defensive rebounds and North recorded 10 rebounds in the win with five coming on the offensive glass. Leon Flowers scored 15 points.

Anderson led Central Oklahoma with 19 points.

The Ichabods finished the game shooting 46 percent from the field after hitting 53 percent of their shots in the first half going 27 of 59 overall. Washburn was also 7 of 18 from 3-point range. UCO was held to 39 percent shooting as 11 of their 20 field goals were from 3-point range.

Washburn was outrebounded 36 to 35 in the game.

Washburn led 40-36 at the break and the lead changed seven times in the game.

 Ichabods in the national rankings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Ichabods fell out of the rankings after the loss to Missouri Southern and received votes in the last two weeks worth of polls, but fell completely out after the loss to Northwest Missouri. 

 Ichabod basketball history

• The Ichabods are 1465-980-4 (.591) all-time in the 109th 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 514-229.

• 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 388-70 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.

• The 2013-14 season marks the 29th 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 take on Northeastern State on Feb. 15 in Tahlequah before wrapping up the regular season home slate with Fort Hays State on Feb. 19. Washburn will wrap up the regular season with road contests at Emporia State on Feb. 22 and at Pittsburg State on March 1.