Opening Tip
•     The Washburn Ichabods return to the court for the first time since Jan. 10 when they will continue their four-game road trip at Pittsburg State on Jan. 17.
•    The Ichabods (9-9, 4-3 MIAA) are coming off a 70-64 win at Northwest Missouri last Saturday.
•    The Gorillas (9-6, 5-2 MIAA) topped Emporia State 59-58 on Jan. 14 in Pittsburg to win their second-straight game and they have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games.
•    The win by the Ichabods over the Bearcats on Jan. 10 was the first by Washburn since Jan. 26, 2011 in a 71-55 win over Northwest Missouri breaking a two-game losing slide.
•    The Ichabods have won the last five games against Pittsburg State, but have only played three games at John Lance Arena since the 2010-11 season going 2-1.
•    Overall the Ichabods have won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Pittsburg State.
•    Kyle Wiggins became the 22nd person to go over the 1,000-point mark for his career against the Mules  and he now has 1,039 points in four years … his point total is 17th all-time at Washburn … next on the scoring chart is Travis Robbins (1,050) and Ron Ford (1,055) who rank 16th and 15th on the all-time chart.
•    Alex North needs 51 points to reach 1,000 for his career entering the game with 949 points. In Washburn's 110-year of men's basketball, only 22 players have reached the 1,000-point mark. 
•    Prior to Kyle Wiggins hitting the milestone, the last Ichabod to go over 1,000 points in a career was Will McNeill, who did it during the 2011-12 season en route to 1,701 career points which is third all-time at Washburn.
•    The Ichabods have never had two different players go over the 1,000-point mark in the same season.
•    After the game at Pitt State, Washburn will have road games at Central Oklahoma on Jan. 22 and at Northeastern State on Jan. 24 before returning home on Jan. 29 to face Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 29 and Fort Hays State on Jan. 31.  
•    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 10 different starting line ups this season.
    
 Bod Notes
•    Alex North has recorded 14 double doubles in his career at Washburn with his last one coming against Northwest Missouri on Jan. 10 … he scored his 900th career point against Lindenwood and has played in 104 games with 71 starts … he went over the 600-rebound mark for his career against Central Missouri … he has 949 career points averaging 9.1 ppg in his career and 5.9 rpg at Washburn … his 104 career 3-pointers at Washburn rank 11th all-time and he needs five more to move into the top 10 … his 615 career rebounds rank seventh all-time at Washburn and he needs four more to move into sixth all-time at Washburn … he has reached double figure scoring in 43 games as an Ichabod.
•    Kyle Wiggins has averaged 10.0 ppg in 104 games making 62 starts … he went over the 1,000-point mark against Central Missouri … he also has gone over the 200-rebound mark for his career and has 221 and he went over the 200-assist mark in Hawaii and has 227 for his career … his 1,039 career points rank 17th all-time at Washburn … he became the seventh Ichabod to record at least 1,000 points and have 200 assists in a career.
•    Ichabod junior Christian Ulsaker is averaging 6.6 points with 4.4 rebounds a game this season seeing his first action in almost a month against Baker last time out after suffering a broken jaw against Missouri Southern … he recorded his first career double double against Peru State with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
•    The Ichabods have hit at least one 3-pointer in 328 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 five assists … he is averaging 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds a game in his first season at Washburn after transferring from Alabama.
•    Turon Parker is scoring 6.5 ppg this season adding 30 assists and 12 steals in his first season as an Ichabod … he had a season-high eight rebounds against Tabor … he has missed the last four games after injuring his knee against Lincoln returning to action against Northwest Missouri.
•    Kevin House leads the team with 35 assists this season while adding 4.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game … he is 36 of 43 from the free throw line this season for a team-high 86 percent.
•    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 106 of 329 from 3-point range this season with Kyle Wiggins hitting a team-high 25 of 63 attempts … Alex North has hit 18 of 57 attempts and Andy Wilson has hit 14 of 39 attempts … Ichabod opponents are 137 of 370 from 3-point range this season.
•    Andy Wilson is 8 of 17 from 3-point range in the last five games and made his first career start against Northwest Missouri.
•    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 … he has averaged 3.0 ppg and 2.6  rpg making four starts playing in the last eight games.
•    David Salach has started nine games this season has averaged 4.2 rebounds a game this season and he is averaging 5.9 rebounds per game in MIAA play, which is second behind Alex North's 6.4 rebounds in during league play.
•    Washburn is 256 of 389 from the free throw line for a 66 percent average while their opponents are 275 of 386 hitting 71 percent of their charity stripe attempts … in MIAA play the Ichabods improved to 109 of 153 from the line for a 71 percent average while opponents are 95 of 136 in MIAA play for a 70 percent average.
•    Washburn is +3.6 in rebounding margin and have been outrebounded in only four games this season.
•    The Ichabods have outscored their opponents 588 to 503 in the first half of games, but have been outscored 713 to 704 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 766-323 overall.
•     has 525 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 525.
•     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 446-84 going 395-73 in Lee Arena.
•     is second in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
•     his 766 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.

Pittsburg State head basketball coach Kevin Muff
•    is in his fifth season leading the Gorillas. 
•    became the Gorillas' 14th all-time head coach on Apr. 5, 2010, after spending 12 seasons at Cloud County Community College, where he helped the Thunderbirds to an average of 21 wins in each of the last five seasons.  
•    has gone 65-61 overall at Pitt State.
•    is 1-7 against Washburn.

 Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Washburn 70 • Northwest Missouri 64 • Jan. 10, 2015
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods led the entire second half as they topped league-leading Northwest Missouri 70-64 in Bearcat Arena on Saturday afternoon. Washburn will return to action on Saturday at Pittsburg State.
The Ichabods (9-9, 4-3 MIAA) hit 10 of 14 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win in the final 69 seconds of the game to hold off the Bearcats (12-3, 5-2 MIAA).
Kyle Wiggins scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as he finished 7 of 10 from the field and 7 of 10 from the free throw line. Algie Key scored 18 points on 8 of 10 shooting and Alex North recorded his 14th career double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Key scored eight-straight points for the Ichabods between the 6:48 mark and the 2:42 mark of the game for Washburn with three layups and a jumper.
Northwest Missouri had four players in double figures led by Justin Pitts, Connor Crooker and Matt Wallace who each had 15.
The Ichabods took a 29-8 lead into the break after holding the Bearcats the final 8:09 of the first half without a field goal. At one point the Ichabods trailed by as many as 11 at 26-15 with 8:09 to play before finishing the half on a 14-4 run. Washburn shot 55 percent in the half going 12 of 22 from the field while the Bearcats were 11 of 21 overall. Kyle Wiggins had 10 points in the frame.
Overall the Ichabods were +15 in rebounding for the game holding a 37 to 22 advantage on the glass allowing only three offensive rebounds for the Bearcats. Washburn had 10 offensive overall. 

 About Pittsburg State
•    Pittsburg State is 9-6, 5-2 in the MIAA after beating Emporia State 59-58 last time out. 
•    They are led in scoring by Josiah Gustafson at 16.3 points per game to rank sixth in the MIAA. He scored the winning basket against Emporia State with a minute to play putting the Gorillas ahead for good.
•    Pitt State is 5-1 at home this season.
•    Overall the Gorillas average 69.5 ppg while allowing 67.6 ppg and they hold a +1.3 rebounding margin.
•    Devon Branch is averaging 14.8 ppg this season for the Gorillas. 

 Series History with PSU
•  Saturday's meeting will be the 175th between these two schools in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1920.
•  The two games on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 of 1920 were both played in Topeka inside an empty Thomas Gymnasium because of a flu outbreak in Topeka.
•  Washburn leads the all-time series 99-75.  
•  The Ichabods have won the last 12 of the last 13 meetings including the last five. 
•  The Ichabods are 29-2 in Lee Arena against PSU and 30-13 against the Gorillas in MIAA play. The home team is 29-8 in the last 37 regular season meetings, dating back to 1996-97. 
•  The series goes back to 1919-20 and it has been played at least once a year since 1941-42. 
•  Since the 1956-57 season, the Ichabods are 25-30 in Pittsburg while going 9-11 in Pittsburg since becoming a member of the MIAA. 
•  Bob Chipman is 52-17 against Pittsburg State. 

 Last meeting with Pittsburg State
(March 1, 2014) PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Kyle Wiggins and Alex North combined for 51 points and Chris Davis scores five in overtime as Washburn wrapped up a first round MIAA Tournament home game with a 92-90 win at Pittsburg State. 
In a game which saw 20 lead changes and 15 ties, the Ichabods took a the first lead in the overtime frame on a lay up by Wiggins. After the Gorillas (8-18, 4-15 MIAA) took a three-point lead at 86-63, Leon Flowers hit back to back free throws pulling Washburn within one at 86-85 and Chris Davis hit a jumper giving the Ichabods a 87-86 and Davis hit a 3-pointer putting Washburn up four at 90-86 with 20 seconds to play. After a jumper by Devon Branch cutting the Ichabod lead back to two with 10 seconds to play at 90-88 and then Flowers was fouled with nine seconds left going up four at 92-88. Branch hit a tip in with two seconds left but it wasn't enough as the Ichabods held on for the win.
The Ichabods led 38-37 at the break after Flowers hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
Wiggins led the Ichabods with 27 points playing 44 of 45 minutes in the game going 11 of 17 from the field adding six assists. North finished with 24 recording a double double with 12 rebounds. Davis finished with 13 points and Flowers had 11 points in the win.
Pitt State was led by Devon Branch who scored 34 points on 14 of 19 shooting with seven rebounds. He scored 31 against Washburn in the first meeting.
Both team shot above 50 percent in the game as the Gorillas finished 32 of 63 for a 51 percent clip while the Ichabods finished 56 percent hitting 34 of 61 from the field. Washburn was 15 of 23 from the free throw line and the Gorillas were 17 of 23 overall from the charity stripe.
Washburn's biggest lead in the game was seven at 76-69 and Pitt State had its biggest lead at three at 86-83 in the overtime period. Washburn's bench outscored the Gorilla bench 25 to 23 and had 40 points in the paint compared to 22 for the Gorillas.

 Last time out for Pittsburg State
(Jan. 14, 2015) PITTSBURG -- Josiah Gustafson converted a driving reverse layup to put Pittsburg State University in front with 1:06 to play and Emporia State University's Terrence Moore's mid-range jumper rimmed in and out as time expired to allow the Gorillas to claim a 59-58 victory over the Hornets Wednesday (Jan. 14).
Pitt State (9-6, 5-2 MIAA) shot 55.3 percent from the field in the contest, but had to overcome a ragged night at the foul line in which the Gorillas made just 13 of 27 charity shots to pull out the win.
ESU (9-8, 2-6 MIAA), on the flip side, shot just 36.4 percent from the floor (16 of 44), but the Hornets led for a majority of the contest thanks to a 22 of 27 night at the foul line.
Gustafson led all scorers with 19 points on the night, while Lamine Dieng finished with 16 and Dakota Jones added 15. Javis Flynn set a new Pitt State single-game assist record, dishing out 12 helpers in the contest. The 5-foot, 10-inch point guard added a game-high seven rebounds.
The Hornets, who led by as many as nine points midway through the first half, got 13 points from Jevon Taylor and 10 more from Micah Swank. Moore, who earned MIAA Player of the Week honors Monday (Jan. 13), finished with nine points on 3-for-11 shooting.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
•     The Ichabods are 1476-993-4 (.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 525-239 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 395-73 (.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 have road games at Central Oklahoma on Jan. 22 and at Northeastern State on Jan. 24 before returning home on Jan. 29 to face Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 29 and Fort Hays State on Jan. 31.