Opening Tip
•     The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball returns to MIAA play on Saturday when they will take on Emporia State at 7:30 p.m. inside White Auditorium.
•     Washburn is 10-3 and 2-2 in the MIAA after falling in its non-conference finale at home against Peru State on Jan. 2 snapping a 14-game winning streak over the Bobcats.
•     Emporia State is 6-7 this season and 2-2 in the MIAA and have won four of its last six games and the last two including an 82-62 win over Kansas Wesleyan last time out on Dec. 31.
•     The Ichabods as a team lead the nation in blocks at 6.6 per game and total blocks at 86 and Brady Skeens is second in the nation with 3.69 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 798-346 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 Emporia State 108-101 and have won the last three overall.
•     Cameron Wiggins is ranked 13th in the MIAA in scoring at 14.9 ppg, Brady Skeens is 15th at 14.4 ppg and Javion Blake is 28th at 11.3 ppg while David Salach is ranked 36th at 10.2 ppg.
•     Wiggins' 3-point field goal percentage of 47 percent (39 of 83) is fourth in the MIAA and his 3.0 made 3-pointers per game is second in the MIAA.
•     Brady Skeens leads the league in rebounding at 10.8 rpg, field goal percentage at 71.4 percent (80 of 112) and blocks at 3.7 per game … he is also ranked 10th in assists with 3.4 per game and 13th in minutes at 31.2 per game … Skeens is ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage at 71.4.
•     Randall Smith's 3.4 assists per game is eighth in the MIAA this season.
•     Brady Skeens' 121 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 48 in 13 games.
•     The loss to Peru State was also the first home loss to a non-NCAA Division II squad since a 73-67 season-opening loss to Park on Nov. 15, 1997 - a streak of 52 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 798-346 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 467-93 going 416-82 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.
 
Emporia State head coach Shaun Vandiver
•     is 71-84 in his sixth season at Emporia State.
•     was a first round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors in 1991 he spent ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level.
•     led Hutchinson CC to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first-team All-Big 8 honors at Colorado.
•     is 3-7 against Washburn.
 
Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Peru State 76, Washburn 72 -- Jan. 2, 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball lost its final non-conference game of the season in Lee Arena on Monday night 76-72 to Peru State.
The Ichabods (10-3) trailed by as many as 13 in the first half as 21-8 with 11:53 to play before Washburn ripped off a 15-0 run over the next 8:13 as they held the Bobcats (5-7) to 0 of 12 shooting from the field while the Ichabods hit 6 of 9 shots as the Ichabods would go in front 23-21 with 3:40 to play. The Bobcats, came back and scored 12 of the next 20 points to end the half as Rashad Brackeen hit a 3-pointer at the end of the half staking the Bobcats to a 33-31 lead entering the break. Brackeen's led the Bobcats with a game-high 31 points going 6 of 11 from 3-point range in the game.
In the second half, neither team would lead by more than six as the Ichabods led 60-56 with 8:02 remaining, but an 8-0 run by the Bobcats regained the lead at 64-60. Washburn rallied to tie the score at 67 with 2:11 to play on a 3-pointer by Cameron Wiggins, but Washburn was outscored 9 to 5 the final 1:53 of the game as the Bobcats held on for the win - their first over the Ichabods since Dec. 20, 1962 snapping the Ichabods' 11-game winning streak over Peru State, who was also playing the game as an exhibition contest.
Wiggins led the Ichabods with 19 points and Brady Skeens and Randall Smith each scored 14. For Skeens it was his 16th double double of his career and the sixth of the season adding 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Washburn finished the game 28 of 63 from the field outshooting the Bobcats 44 percent to 41 percent as PSC hit 24 of 58 shots. Washburn was 5 of 23 from 3-point range while the Bobcats were 9 of 26. The Bobcats attempted five more free throws than Washburn hitting 19 of 26 compared to 11 of 21 for Washburn.

About Emporia State
•     The Hornets are 6-7 this season and 2-2 in the MIAA.
•     The Hornets are ranked second in the MIAA in offensive rebounds.
•     Brandon Hall averages 15.3 points per game to rank 11th in the MIAA and dishes 4.3 assists per game to rank fifth in the league.
•     Josh Pedersen is fifth in the MIAA in free throw percentage and has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games.                 
 
Series History with Emporia State
•     The meeting on Saturday will be the 210th meeting between these two schools and the Ichabods lead at 108-101. This is the most-played series for Washburn. Emporia State lists the all-time record at 105-102 in favor of the Ichabods.
•     The Ichabods have won eight of the last 11 meetings in the series and the last three overall.
•     The two teams started the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball, and they have met every year since the 1945-46 season.
•     This will be the 72nd-straight year they have played each other at least once.
•     The Ichabods are 24-8 against the Hornets in Lee Arena.
•     Washburn is 31-16 against ESU in MIAA games.
•     Washburn is 4-1 against ESU in MIAA Postseason tournament games.
 
Last Meeting with Emporia State
(Feb. 27, 2016) EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods swept the regular season series with Emporia State picking up an 86-76 win on Saturday.
Washburn led 40-34 at the half pushed by a 14-point stretch where Cameron Wiggins scored all of the Ichabods points. Washburn shot 64 percent in the first half hitting 16 of 25 shots while going 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
In the second half, the Hornets  cut the lead to one with at 58-57 with 10:04 to play before Washburn would go up seven after a 3-pointer by Andy Wilson and layup by Christian Ulsaker followed by a free throw by Jeremy Lickteig.
Back to back 3-pointers by the Hornets cut the lead back to one with 7:34 to go, but Wiggins hit a pair of 3-pointers with a Tyas Martin layup in between pushing the advantage back to nine with 5:24 left.
Washburn would go on to lead by 12 twice in the final 3:14 left.
Washburn (15-12, 11-11 MIAA) was led by Wiggins' 20 points as he hit 6 of 11 3-pointers and 7 of 15 from the field overall. Ulsaker recorded his second double double of his career 18 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Skeens had 17 points and nine rebounds hitting 7 of 8 from the field playing four minutes in the first half. Javion Blake had seven points adding seven assists.
Terrence Moore led four Hornets (13-15, 10-12 MIAA) with 20 points.
The Ichabods were 61 percent from the field overall while the Hornets were limited to 37 percent from the field.
 
Last Time Out For The Hornets
Emporia State 82, Kansas Wesleyan 62 -- Dec. 31, 2016
The Emporia State men's basketball team improved to 6-7 on the season after an 82-62 win over Kansas Wesleyan on New Year's Eve in White. Four Hornets were in double digit scoring, led by Brandon Hall with 16 points.
Emporia State capitalized on Kansas Wesleyan fouls in the first half, shooting 11 for 15 from the stripe. At the 16:12 mark, the Coyotes led 6-3, and would keep the lead until Jaylen Lowe converted a traditional three-point play to tie the game 6-6 with 15:21 to play in the first half. Kansas Wesleyan would regain the lead 14-8 when they went on an 8-2 run with 13:19 in the half. A jumper from Hall with 11:30 to play gave the Hornets a 15-14 lead, one they would not give up the rest of the game. The Coyotes would get within one at the 16:03 mark in the second half. Emporia State shot 29 free throws throughout the match up.
Hall lead all players with 16 points, adding six assists, three steals, and seven rebounds. He also shot six for 13 from the field. Stephaun Limuel followed, nearly missing a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Limuel also had four steals and shot five for six from the field. Josh Pederson added 13 points, shooting six for eight from the stripe. Garin Vandiver joined in double figures with ten points. Terrence Sardin had seven rebounds while Brian Morton had six rebounds. The Hornets shot 21 for 29 from the line against the Coyotes and outrebounded them 45 to 24, grabbing 17 offensive boards.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
•      The Ichabods are 1,530-1,052-2 (.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 558-264 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 416-82 (.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 continue its road games with 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.