Opening Tip
•   The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team opens MIAA play on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Fort Hays State with a 7:30 p.m. tip scheduled from Gross Memorial Coliseum.
•   Washburn is 8-0 this season after defeating Newman 103-74 on Dec. 3 in Topeka.
•   The Tigers are 5-3 this season and 1-1 in the MIAA after winning last time out at Pittsburg State on Dec. 3. The Tigers dropped its MIAA opener at Missouri Southern 84-81.
•   The Ichabods are 16-10 in MIAA openers since joining the MIAA and faced the Tigers in last season's conference opener in Hays as well winning 86-82.
•   Washburn is 8-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season and would go on to open the season 11-1.
•   Brady Skeens was named the MIAA Player of the Week and he ranks second in the nation in blocked shots.
•   The Ichabods as a team lead the nation in blocks.
•   The Ichabods and Tigers will have the NCAA Division II National Game of the Week on Feb. 4 in Topeka in a game which will be broadcast on ESPN3.
•   The Ichabods have reached the century mark in each of the last two games scoring 112 against Manhattan Christian and 103 against Newman … it marked the first time since the 2004-05 season an Ichabod team had scored at least 100 in back to back games and that season Washburn scored at least 100 in three straight beating Central Oklahoma 101-94, Lincoln 110-76 and Eastern New Mexico 102-82.
•   Washburn improved to 67-4 when scoring more than 100 points in a game in the win over Newman.
•   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 796-343 at Washburn needing only four wins to reach 800 for his career becoming only the 14th coach to reach that milestone.
•   The Ichabods lead the all-time series with Fort Hays State 92-68 after playing only once last season on Dec. 2, 2015 in Hays in the first conference game of the season.
•   The series with Fort Hays State is the third-most played behind Emporia State (209) and Pittsburg State (178).
•   Through three games, Cameron Wiggins is ranked 11th in the MIAA in scoring at 16.0 ppg and Javion Blake is 24th at 12.4 ppg … Wiggins' 3-point field goal percentage of 51 percent (30 of 59) is sixth in the MIAA and his 3.8 made 3-pointers per game is first in the MIAA.
•   Brady Skeens leads the league in rebounding at 11.6 rpg and is first in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 67 percent (46 of 69) and leads in blocks at 3.8 per game … he is also ranked 21st in scoring at 13.0 ppg.
•   Randall Smith's 4.8 assists per game is third in the MIAA this season.
•   Brady Skeens' 103 career blocks are the most in school after passing Ewan Auguste (100) on the all-time chart last time out against Newman.
•   David Salach is 19th in the MIAA in rebounding at 5.3 per game and second in the league in blocks at 1.6 per game.
•   The Ichabods received votes in this week's NABC Division II Top 25 poll and was ranked 14th in the D2SIDA/Media Poll.
 
  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 796-343 overall.
•   has 557 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 557.
•   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 465-92 going 414-81 in Lee Arena.
•   is third in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
•   his 796 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.
 
Fort Hays State head coach Mark Johnson
•   is 309-141 in his career, now in his 16th season at Fort Hays State.
•   he is the all-time coaching wins leader in FHSU history with a career record of 304-138 in 15 seasons, ranking among the top 20 active NCAA Division II men's basketball coaches in winning percentage (.688).
•   has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in his time at FHSU.
•   became the all-time wins leader in Fort Hays State history on January 11, 2014 in a victory at home over Lincoln University, recording his 258th win.
•   he reached his 300th career win on February 13, 2016 in a victory at Missouri Southern.
•   has coached three All-Americans, 46 all-conference selections, a conference player of the year, a conference freshman of the year, and three conference defensive players of the year in his time at FHSU.
•   is 12-11 against the Ichabods.
 
Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Washburn 103, Newman 74 -- Dec. 3, 2016
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods reached the century mark for the second-straight game and Brady Skeens became Washburn's all-time block leader in a 103-74 win over Newman on Saturday afternoon in Lee Arena. Washburn improves to 8-0 and will open MIAA play at Fort Hays State on Wednesday. The win was Bob Chipman's 796th win of his career at Washburn.
The Ichabods fell behind 6-0 as the Jets would go on to build a seven point lead at 22-15 with 13:02 to play in the first half before Washburn outscored Newman (1-6) 40-22 the rest of the way including a 14-0 run over the final 1:52 of the half as the Ichabods took a 55-44 lead into the break.
In the second half the Jets would get no closer than 12 the rest of the game as Washburn rolled to a 29-point win leading by as many as 33 in the game at 101-68 before wrapping up the 103-74 victory.
David Salach led the Ichabods with a career-high 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the field. Skeens was 8 of 10 from the field as he finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for his second consecutive, fourth of the season and 14th double double of his career. Skeens had five blocks in the game to move past Ewan Auguste on the Ichabod career chart who finished with 100. Skeens now has 103 in his junior season.
Randall Smith had 12 points and Javion Blake has 11 points with six assists and Isaac Clark finished with nine.
Washburn shot 59 percent in the game after hitting 20 of 31 shots in the first half for a 65 percent clip.
Washburn was 20 of 30 from the free throw line while the Jets were 12 of 18 overall. Washburn held the Jets to 26 of 65 shooting for a 40 percent clip..
 
About Fort Hays State
•   The Tigers are 5-3 this season and 1-1 in MIAA after winning at Pittsburg State last time out 72-67 on Dec. 3. The Lions lost their MIAA opener at Missouri Southern 84-81.
•   Rob Davis leads the team scoring 23.5 ppg …he is 32 of 35 from the free throw line and has hit 24 of 44 3-pointers.
•   Hadley Gillum is also averaging double figures with 13.8 ppg.
•   JaQuan Smith leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game adding 13 blocks and 8.3 ppg.
•   The Tigers are shooting 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range and have shot eight more throws than their opponents.
 
Series History with Fort Hays State
•   Washburn leads the all-time series 92-68 and Wednesday's meeting will be the 161st between the two schools.
•   The Ichabods have won nine of the last 11 in the series.
•   The series is the third-most played for Washburn behind Emporia State (209) and Pittsburg State (178).
•   Washburn is 20-5 against the Tigers in Lee Arena.
•   Fort Hays State is 5-2 against WU in overtime games.
•   The teams have met twice in the MIAA tournament with the Ichabods winning both games. The first was the Ichabods winning 67-54 in the MIAA Tournament semifinals on March 3, 2012 in Kansas City and last season's first round win in Topeka 66-57.
•   The Tigers' last win in Topeka was on Dec. 8, 2010 in a 70-58 win.
•   The Ichabods lost the last meeting in Hays by a score of 87-85 in overtime on Feb. 1, 2014.
•   The Ichabods have lost two of the last three games played in Hays and have not won in Gross Memorial Coliseum after winning 86-82 on Dec. 2 last season.
 
Last Meeting with Fort Hays State
(Dec. 2, 2015) HAYS, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to open the MIAA season with a 86-82 win over Fort Hays State on Wednesday in Hays.
After the Tigers took a 60-49 lead with 14:06 to play, Washburn ripped off a 7-0 run over a 2:01 stretch cutting the lead to 60-56 with 12:05 to play in the game. The Tigers pushed the lead back to seven at 63-56 before the Ichabods pulled a 10-4 run cutting the lead to one with 7:24 to play after a jumper by Brady Skeens.
After tying the score at 69 with 6:31 to play after a 3-pointer by Randall Smith and back to back buckets by Andy Wilson and Robert Christopher, Washburn pushed out to a four-point lead at 73-69 with 5:06 left. The Tigers came back with five straight points taking the lead back at 74-73. A pair of free throws by David Salach and then two by the Tigers as the teams traded lead with three minutes to play.
Washburn and the Tigers traded the lead three times in the final 1:21 but took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Smith from the top of the key with 14 seconds left putting Washburn up 85-82. The Tigers tossed an airball on their next possession and Smith hit a free throw after being fouled putting Washburn up 86-82 with two seconds to play wrapping up the win.
The Ichabods (5-1, 1-0 MIAA) trailed 47-40 at the half after jumping out to a 7-0 lead starting the game. However a 12-0 run over a 2:41 stretch turned an 11-8 Ichabod advantage into a 20-11 lead for the Tigers (5-1, 0-1 MIAA). Washburn shot 52 percent in the first half hitting 13 of 25 shots and was 4 of 9 from 3-point range while the Tigers were 14 of 25 for a 56 percent average. Washburn was also held without a field goal for the final 3:09 of the first half.
Cameron Wiggins scored 16 of his career-high 21 points in the first half to lead the Ichabods hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers going 8 of 11 from the field. Smith scored 16 points going 4 of 5 from the field. Salach had 15 points going 9 of 10 from the free throw line and Javion Blake had 12 points.
Rob Davis had 24 points to lead the Tigers and Kyler Kinnamon had 18 off the bench.
The Ichabods shot 64 percent in the second half to finish 57 percent from the field overall hitting 27 of 47 shots and 9 of 19 shots from behind the arch. The Tigers finished 49 percent hitting 24 of 49 shots. The Ichabods were also 23 of 34 from the free throw line compared to 23 of 30 for the Tigers.
Washburn committed nine turnovers and the Ichabod bench outscored the Tiger bench 42 to 23.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
•   The Ichabods are 1,528-1,049-2 (.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 556-262 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 414-81 (.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
•   The Ichabods will continue MIAA play at Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 10. Washburn will wrap up the 2016 calendar year with MIAA contests against Lindenwood on Dec. 17 and Lincoln on Dec. 19 in Lee Arena.