Opening Tip
•   The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team will wrap up the 2016-17 non-conference slate  and the 2017 calendar year by playing host to Peru State on Jan. 2 in Lee Arena with tip following the women's basketball game with the Bobcats which starts at 5:30 p.m.
•   Washburn is 10-2 and 2-2 in the MIAA after topping Lincoln on Dec. 19 in an 86-57 rout.
•   Peru State is 5-7 this season and the game with the Ichabods will count as an exhibition game for the Bobcats.
•   The Bobcats have not played since a 91-65 win over Clarke University on Dec. 10.
•   The Ichabods as a team lead the nation in blocks at 6.8 per game and total blocks at 82 and Brady Skeens is second in the nation with 3.8 blocks per game.
•   This season will be Bob Chipman's last season on the bench at Washburn … Chipman announced prior to the start of the season this year would be his last … Chipman has recorded a career-record of 798-345 at Washburn needing only two wins to reach 800 for his career becoming only the 16th coach to reach that milestone.
•   The Ichabods lead the all-time series with Peru State 14-1 and have won the last 11 meetings … the last loss to the Bobcats came on Dec. 20, 1962 in a 60-54 defeat in Peru, Neb.
•   Cameron Wiggins is ranked 14th in the MIAA in scoring at 14.6 ppg, Brady Skeens is 15th at 14.4 ppg and Javion Blake is 27th at 11.6 ppg while David Salach is ranked 33rd at 10.9 ppg.
•   Wiggins' 3-point field goal percentage of 51 percent (38 of 74) is fourth in the MIAA and his 3.2 made 3-pointers per game is third in the MIAA.
•   Brady Skeens leads the league in rebounding at 10.8 rpg, field goal percentage at 71.4 percent (75 of 105) and blocks at 3.9 per game … he is also ranked ninth in assists with 3.6 per game and 13th in minutes at 30.5 per game … Skeens is ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage at 71.4.
•   Randall Smith's 3.7 assists per game is seventh in the MIAA this season.
•   Brady Skeens' 119 career blocks are the most in school after passing Ewan Auguste (100) on the all-time chart against Newman … he had a school-record 61 last season in 28 games … this season he has 46 in 12 games.
 
  Ichabods on Radio
Washburn games will be broadcast on KTPK 106.9 FM radio with Jake Lebahn and Dan Lucero calling the action. 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 38th and final season at the helm of the Ichabods.
•    a 1973 graduate of Kansas State earning both his undergraduate and master's degree in Manhattan.
•    is 798-345 overall.
•    has 559 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 559.
•    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 467-92 going 416-81 in Lee Arena.
•    is third in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
•    his 798 coaching wins is 17th 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.
 
Peru State head coach Eric Behrens
•   is 45-31 in his third season as the Bobcats' head coach after leading the Bobcats to an 18-13 record last season.
•   he spent 13 years as the head coach at Omaha Central High School where he won seven state championships.
•   he graduated from Nebraska-Omaha in 1999.  
•   he is 0-2 against the Ichabods.
 
Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Washburn 86, Lincoln 57 -- Dec. 19, 2016
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team finished off the calendar year with a 86-57 over Lincoln improving to 10-2 and 2-2 in the MIAA leading from start to finish over the Blue Tigers.
In a game which saw a combined 42 fouls called with two technicals and an ejection, Washburn shot 49 percent from the field just missing becoming the first team to hit half of its shots against the Blue Tigers this season.
Washburn was 15 of 30 from the field in the first half jumping out to a 45-31 lead while holding the Blue Tigers to 9 of 36 shooting from the field as Washburn jumped out to a 12-2 advantage 3:55 into the game as Lincoln wouldn't get closer than eight the rest of the half. The teams shot 38 free throws in the first half.
In the second half, Washburn used a 20-4 run over the first 6:10 of the frame building a 30-point lead at 65-35 and would continue the run scoring 15 of the next 20 points going up by 40 with 6:31 to play cruising to the 29-point lead as the Blue Tigers scored the last nine points of the game.
David Salach led the Ichabods with 19 points on 9 of 12 shooting with three rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Brady Skeens scored 16 on 6 of 8 shooting with eight rebounds and three blocks. Randall Smith and Cameron Wiggins each scored 12.
Anthony Virdure led the Blue Tigers with 15 points before being ejected with 9:57 to play in the game picking up his second technical.
Washburn finished 31 of 63 from the field shooting 49 percent holding Lincoln (8-4, 2-2 MIAA) to 20 of 72 shooting. Washburn outrebounded the Blue Tigers 47 to 37 in the game. Washburn finished 22 of 31 from the free throw line compared to 11 of 20 for Lincoln.

About Peru State
•   The Bobcats are 5-7 on the year and have not played since a 91-65 win on Dec. 10 over Clarke University.
•   Rashad Brackeen leads the team in scoring at 19.7 per game and scored 30 in the win over Clarke last time out hitting 8 of 16 shots from 3-point range and has scored in double figures in every game this season and he's ranked fourth in NAIA in 3-pointers made per game at 3.67.
•   Lyle Hexom leads the team on the boards with 8.8 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 18.7 ppg … he is ranked fourth in the NAIA in blocks at 25 per game and 13th in rebounds … he was also a teammate of current Ichabod Brandon Fagins at Saddleback College in California.
•   Marley Biyendolo, a transfer from Southwest Baptist, had five points and six rebounds in the first meeting with the Ichabods last season as a member of the Bearcats and was scoreless in the second meeting.

Series History with Peru State
•   Washburn leads the all-time series 14-1.
•   Washburn has won the last 11 games in the series.
•   The lone win for the Bobcats in the series came on Dec. 20, 1962 in a 60-54 win on the road.
•   Washburn won 85-78 on Nov. 24, 2015 in Topeka in the last meeting.
 
Last Meeting with Peru State
(Nov. 24, 2015) TOPEKA, Kan. -- A 17-4 run over midway through the second half propelled the Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team to an 85-78 win over Peru State on Tuesday night on Schendel Court inside Lee Arena.
After trailing for 17:33 of the first half as the Bobcats took a 44-38 lead into the halftime break after hitting 7 of 14 3-pointers and leading by as many as 11, Washburn outscored the Bobcats 24-12 over the first 9:27 of the second half to take a 62-56 lead.
Washburn (3-1) would built its lead to seven at 70-63 before the Bobcats came back cutting the lead to two at 73-71 with 2:28 to play on a jumper by Corday Sims, who scored a game-high 28 points. After a jumper by Tyas Martin and a lay up by Jeremy Lickteig the lead went back to six with 1:46 remaining.
Washburn would then hit 8 of 9 free throws in the final 57 seconds to pick up head coach Bob Chipman's 776th career win.
Javion Blake led the Ichabods with a season-high 18 points adding four rebounds and four assists hitting 8 of 9 free throws in the win. Lickteig recorded 17 points with a career-high eight rebounds. Brady Skeens had 14 points adding seven rebounds and Cameron Wiggins had nine points and a career-high seven assists.
Washburn finished 28 of 68 overall from the field for a 43 percent average while Peru State (3-5) was 28 of 63 for a 44 percent average. After hitting 7 of 14 from deep in the first half, the Bobcats were 0 of 9 in the second half. Washburn also outrebounded the Bobcats 45 to 40 recording 22 offensive rebounds leading to 19 second chance points and outscored Peru State 44 to 28 in the paint.
 
Last Time Out For The Bobcats
Peru State 91, Clarke 58 -- Dec. 10, 2016
PERU, Neb. -- The shots were falling from all over the place as the Peru State Bobcat men's basketball team gained a 91-65 win over the visiting Clarke Crusaders from Dubuque, Iowa, on Saturday in the Al Wheeler Activity Center.
With the decisive win, the 'Cats improve to 5-7 overall and are 4-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). The Crusaders fell to 3-7 on the season and are now 2-6 in conference play.
Rashad Brackeen finished with a game- and season-high 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting which included making 8 of 16 from behind the arc.
Four other Bobcats finished in double figures – Noah Vasa with 14, Marley Biyendolo with 12, and Lyle Hexom and Justin Neyland (Council Bluffs, Iowa) with ten apiece.
Hexom finished with a double-double as he grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Vasa grabbed seven while Biyendolo added six.
Justin Neyland scored a season-high 10 points in the win
Biyendolo dished out six assists while Brackeen contributed four. Hexom and Vasa each blocked two shots. Richardson led the team with two steals.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
•    The Ichabods are 1,530-1,051-2 (.592) all-time in the 112th 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 558-263 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 416-81 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
•    The 2016-17 season marks the 32nd 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 returns to MIAA play starting a three-game road trip at Emporia State on Jan. 7 followed by trips to Northeastern State on Jan. 12 and then Central Oklahoma on Jan. 14. The Ichabods return to Lee Arena on Jan. 19 hosting Missouri Southern.