Opening Tip
•     The Washburn Ichabod basketball team will look to snap a two-game losing streak in Lee Arena on Saturday when they will play host to Pittsburg State at 7 p.m. on Schendel Court.
•     Washburn is 12-5 and 4-4 in the MIAA after falling to Missouri Southern 89-76 on Jan. 19 in Lee Arena which snapped a two game winning streak after wins at Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State.
•     Pittsburg State is 3-14 overall and 1-8 in the MIAA and have lost its last four games including a 58-51 loss to Emporia State last time out on Jan. 18.
•     The Ichabods are third in the nation in blocks at 6.1 per game and second in total blocks at 104 and Brady Skeens is third in the nation with 3.6 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 a career-record of 800-348 at Washburn and became only the 17th coach to reach that milestone in the win against Central Oklahoma.
•     The Ichabods lead the all-time series with 101-77 and have won seven of the last nine and 14 of the last 17 overall …Washburn is 30-3 against Pittsburg State in Lee Arena.
•     The home team is 31-10 in the last 41 regular season meetings dating back to the 1996-97 season.
•     In Washburn's 12 wins this season, the Ichabods are shooting 51 percent from the field and holding opponents to 37 percent … in the five losses Washburn is shooting 47 percent while opponents are shooting 45 percent from the field.
•     In the five losses opponents are averaging 11 made 3-pointers per game and Washburn is hitting 6.6 3-pointers per game.
•     In the five losses, opponents have attempts 34 more free throws (138 to 104) and have made 40 more free throws (110 to 70).
•     Brady Skeens leads the Ichabods in scoring and is ranked 16th in the MIAA in scoring at 13.2 ppg, Cameron Wiggins is 17th at 13.2 ppg and Javion Blake is 24th at 11.6 ppg, Randall Smith is 37th at 10.0 ppg and David Salach is ranked 38th at 9.8 ppg.
•     Wiggins' 3-point field goal percentage of 45 percent (43 of 95) is third in the MIAA and his 2.5 made 3-pointers per game is seventh in the MIAA.
•     Brady Skeens leads the league in rebounding at 10.7 rpg, field goal percentage at 68.1 percent (96 of 141) and blocks at 3.6 per game … he is also ranked ninth in assists with 3.4 per game and 13th in minutes at 31.8 per game … Skeens is ranked sixth in the nation in field goal percentage, third in blocked shots and third in total blocks.
•     Randall Smith's 3.9 assists per game is fifth in the MIAA and Javion Blake is ranked 12th at 3.2 per game.
•     Brady Skeens' 134 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 and tied his record from the 2015-16 season with 61 this season … this season he has 61 in 17 games needing one to break his own single season block record.
 
  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 800-348 overall.
•      has 561 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 561.
•      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 467-94 going 416-83 in Lee Arena.
•      is third in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
•      his 800 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.
 
Pittsburg State head coach Kevin Muff
•     is in his seventh 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 an 95-94 record in his tenure with the Gorillas.
•     is 3-9 against Washburn.
 
Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Missouri Southern 89, Washburn 76 -- Jan. 19, 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods had their two-game winning streak snapped as Missouri Southern hit eight first half 3-pointers en route to 11 for the game in an 89-76 win over the Ichabods. Washburn returns to action on Saturday when it will play host to Pittsburg State at 7 p.m.
Washburn trailed at the break 44-38 as the Lions (11-7, 5-4 MIAA) hit 8 of 16 3-pointers in the opening frame and hit 45 percent overall from the field. Washburn hit 43 percent of its shots in the first half connecting on six 3-pointers in 11 attempts. Overall the teams combined for 18 3-pointers in the game.
In the second half, the Lions would increase their lead to as many as 16 with 2:07 to play as the Ichabods hit 1 of 8 3-point attempts. Washburn finished 27 of 62 from the field for a 44 percent average while the Lions hit 26 of 65 for a 40 percent average.
David Salach led five Ichabods in double figures with 12 points and Brady Skeens recorded his eighth double double of the season and his 18th of his career with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. He also had five blocks in the game to tie his single season record he set last with 61. Randall Smith and Drew Pyle scored 11 and Cameron Wiggins had 10. Elyjah Clark led the Lions with 23 points hitting 5 of 11 3-pointers.
Washburn outrebounded the Lions 45 to 37 and the Lions finished 26 of 37 from the free throw line compared to 15 of 22 for the Ichabods. Washburn also committed 16 turnovers leading to 18 points off turnovers.

About Pittsburg State
•     Pittsburg State is 3-14 on the season and 1-8 in the MIAA.
•     They are 1-10 away from John Lance Arena with the lone win at Missouri Western.
•     Jaxon Holden is their leading scorer at 10.9 points per game appearing in 10 games.
•     Pitt State is averaging 64.5 ppg while allowing 73.3 ppg.
 
Series History with Pittsburg State
•     Saturday's meeting will be the 179th 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 101-77.
•     The Ichabods have won the last 14 of the last 17 meetings including seven of the last nine.
•     The Ichabods are 30-3 in Lee Arena against PSU and 32-15 against the Gorillas in MIAA play. The home team is 31-10 in the last 41 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 26-30 in Pittsburg while going 10-11 in Pittsburg since becoming a member of the MIAA.   
•     In Topeka, Washburn leads 68-22 all-time.
 
Last Meeting with Pittsburg State
(Feb. 3, 2016) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods came up on the short end of the stick as a hot-shooting Pittsburg State team pulled away late in an 82-71 loss on Wednesday night in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods (13-7, 9-6 MIAA) trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, Washburn cut the Gorillas (12-10, 7-9 MIAA) lead down to four at the break at 38-34. Washburn came out in the second half as Christian Ulsaker scored six straight points for the Ichabods at 38.
Pitt State would then go on a 14-2 run hitting all four field goal attempts and all five field goal attempts building a 12-point lead at 52-40 with 15:29 to play. The Ichabods used a 15-8 run of their own trimming the lead back to five at 60-55 with 8:19 to play in the game and would eventually cut the margin to three with 5:48 remaining on a 3-pointer by Javion Blake. However from that point on, Pitt State outscored the Ichabods 17-9 the rest of the way hitting all three 3-point attempts and would go 7 of 9 from the field overall leading to the 11-point win picking up their third win in the last 33 games in Lee Arena.
Brady Skeens led the Ichabods with a career-high with 16 points grabbing 12 rebounds for his seventh double double of the season. Skeens was 8 of 13 from the field and recorded four blocks and two steals. Blake finished with 13 points and Ulsaker had 10 points making his first start of the season going 4 of 6 from the field. Tyas Martin scored nine points adding a career-high seven rebounds.
Josiah Gustafson led the Gorillas with 27 points hitting 11 of 17 shots and 5 of 8 3-point attempts.
The Ichabods finished the game 28 of 62 for a 45 percent average while the Gorillas were 31 of 60 overall going 17 of 30 in the second half (57 percent). Washburn had a 38 to 29 advantage on the glass turning 12 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points. Pitt State turned 15 Ichabod turnovers into 18 points.
 
Last Time Out For The Gorillas
Emporia State 58, Pittsburg State 51 -- Jan. 18, 2017
EMPORIA, Kan. – The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team led by as many as 11 points in the first half but Emporia State University rallied for a 58-51 victory Wednesday (Jan. 18) at William L. White Auditorium.
The Gorillas (3-14, 1-8 MIAA) led 25-14 on a 3-pointer by Jaxon Holden with 6:11 to play in the first half but the Hornets (9-8, 5-3 MIAA) held Pitt State scoreless for 8:22 of game clock to get back into the game. ESU outscored the Gorillas 9-0 before a Holden dunk gave Pitt State a 27-23 lead with 17:44 remaining in the second half.
The Gorillas still led 39-35 with 10:45 to play in the game, but the Hornets countered with another 9-0 run to go up 44-39 on Tyler Jordan's dunk with 8:10 to go.
Pitt State closed within one point of ESU three times down the stretch, but the Gorillas could not catch the Hornets down the stretch. ESU scored nine of the game's final 12 points over the final 4:58.
Josh Pedersen scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Hornets, who overcame a six for 24 (25%) shooting slump in the first half. ESU made 15 of 31 second-half attempts.
Elijah Gaines paced the Gorillas with 12 points, while Holden added 10. R.J. Pair also finished with nine points for Pitt State.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
•      The Ichabods are 1,532-1,054-2 (.592) all-time in the 112th year in the program's history.
•      Washburn is the fifth-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 559-264 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 416-83 (.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 will head out for road games at Southwest Baptist on Jan. 26 and at Central Missouri on Jan. 28 before returning to Topeka for home games with Nebraska-Kearney on Feb. 2 and a nationally-televised NCAA Division II Game of the Week with Fort Hays State on Feb. 4.