Opening Tip
•   The Washburn Ichabods will wrap up their final weekend of the regular season with two games at home starting with Central Oklahoma on Thursday in Lee Arena at 7:30 p.m.
•   Washburn improved to 17-9 and 9-8 in the MIAA after topping Southwest Baptist 65-53 last time out on Feb. 18.
•   Central Oklahoma is 15-10 this season and 10-7 in the MIAA standings.
•   The Ichabods are is a three-way tie for seventh in the MIAA race while Central Oklahoma is in a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings, just one game in ahead of Washburn.
•   Washburn won the first meeting this season over UCO 74-69 in Edmond on Jan. 14 in Ichabod head coach Bob Chipman's 800th win.
•   The Ichabods trail the all-time series with Central Oklahoma 15-11 and have gone 5-3 against the Bronchos in Topeka. UCO won the last meeting in Topeka 71-60 on Feb. 20, 2016.
•   Teams who finish five through eight in the final standings host a first-round MIAA Tournament game on Feb. 27.
•   The Ichabods are sixth in the nation in blocks at 5.5 per game and third in total blocks at 144 and Brady Skeens is fourth in the nation with 3.4 blocks per game and fourth in total blocks with 88.
•   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 805-352 at Washburn and became only the 17th coach to reach that milestone in the win against Central Oklahoma … next on the coaching win list is Eddie Sutton with 806.
•   In Washburn's 17 wins this season, the Ichabods are shooting 52 percent from the field and holding opponents to 37 percent … in the nine losses Washburn is shooting 45 percent while opponents are shooting 46 percent from the field … opponents have hit 32 more 3-pointers than the Ichabods this season in Washburn's nine losses (92 to 58) and are outshooting Washburn 44 percent to 33 percent from deep.
•   In the nine losses opponents are averaging 10.2 made 3-pointers per game and Washburn is hitting 6.4 3-pointers per game.
•   In the nine losses, opponents have attempted 36 more free throws (228 to 192) and have made 53 more free throws (182 to 129).
•   Brady Skeens leads the Ichabods in scoring and is ranked 12th in the MIAA in scoring at 13.9 ppg and Cameron Wiggins is 23rd at 12.3 ppg … Javion Blake is 24th at 11.8 ppg.
•   Brady Skeens leads the league in rebounding at 11.0 rpg, field goal percentage at 66.7 percent (154 of 231) and blocks at 3.4 per game … he is also ninth in assists with 3.2 per game and 14th in minutes at 32.1 per game … Skeens is ranked fourth in the nation in field goal percentage, fourth in blocked shots and fourth in total blocks.
•   Randall Smith's 3.5 assists per game is seventh in the MIAA and Javion Blake is ranked 16th at 2.8 per game.
•   Brady Skeens' 161 career blocks are the most in school history after passing Ewan Auguste (100) on the all-time chart against Newman … he has broke his own school record of 61 set last season as a sophomore … this season he has 88 so far in 26 games.
•   Cameron Wiggins and Brady Skeens have each scored 686 points in their career both playing in 67 games … Javion Blake has scored 682 points playing in 54 career games.
•   Brady Skeens needs one more rebound to reach 600 for his career.
•   Randall Smith scored his 500th point against Southwest Baptist last time out.
 
Single Season Washburn Record Watch
Name                       Record                                  Current Stats             Record Name/Stats
Brady Skeens      FG Percentage            .667 (154-231)      Tom Meier (.670 - 276-412)
Brady Skeens      Blocks                       88 total                Old record - Skeens (61)
Brady Skeens      Block Average             3.4                      Skeens (2.2)
 
Single Season Washburn Record Watch By Class
Name                       Record (Class)                   Current Stats             Record Name/Stats
Brady Skeens      Blocks (Jr.)                 88 total                Old record - Dan Buie (50)
Brady Skeens      FG Percentage (Jr.)      .667 (154-231)      Tom Meier (.670 - 276-412)
Brady Skeens      Total Rebounds (Jr.)    286                     Dan Buie (304)
Brady Skeens          Rebound Average (Jr.) 11.0            Gregg Gibb (11.5)
Cameron Wiggins   3-point FG% (Jr.)    .433 (61-141)  Eric Carter (.488 - 62-127)
 
Single Season Washburn Team Record Watch
Record                Current Stats            Record Name/Stats
Blocks           144                     125 (2003-04)
Block average  5.5                     3.9 (2003-04/2004-05)
 
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 805-352 overall.
•   has 566 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 566.
•   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 470-96 going 419-85 in Lee Arena.
•   is third in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.
•   his 805 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.
 
Central Oklahoma head coach Tom Hankins
•   is 31-24 in his second year at Central Oklahoma
•   is 2-1 against Washburn.
•   took over the reigns last  May, coming to UCO after spending the previous 18 seasons in the Division I ranks.
•   is a native of Tulsa and was an assistant coach for 15 years at Oral Roberts before serving the last three seasons as associate head coach at Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
•   helped ORU capture five Summit League championships and made three NCAA Division I national tournament appearances during Hankins' tenure there.
•   went to SIU in 2012 as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, spending three seasons there before coming to UCO. 
 
Last Time Out For The Ichabods
Washburn 65, Southwest Baptist 63 -- Feb. 18, 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods won their ninth game in a row over Southwest Baptist in a 65-53 win over the Bearcats in Lee Arena to win its second straight game.
The Ichabods (17-9, 10-7 MIAA) led 31-29 at the break as Randall Smith broke a 29-all tie with two seconds left and then coming out of the break, he recorded three-straight layups to push Washburn to a 37-29 lead with 18:08 to play forcing the Bearcats into a timeout.
SBU (14-12, 7-10 MIAA) cut the lead to four at 46-42 with 11:02 to play, but the Ichabods used an 8-0 run over the next 2:42 with Brady Skeens scoring six of the points stretching the Ichabod lead to 12 with 8:20 to go.
Twice the Bearcats cut the lead to seven down the stretch, but would not get any closer as the Ichabods picked up the win.
Smith led the Ichabods with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting and Brady Skeens recorded his 22nd double double of his career with 13 points and 19 rebounds adding four blocks. Javion Blake added 13 points.
Logan Hovey scored 11 for Southwest Baptist.
Washburn finished 21 of 36 from the free throw line while the Bearcats were 18 of 31 overall, but 5 of 14 in the second half. Washburn shot 40 percent in the game going 21 of 52 overall holding the Bearcats to 27 percent hitting only 7 of 26 shots in the second half, with five coming from 3-point range.
The Ichabods outrebounded the Bearcats 47 to 42 as SBU came into the game with a 7.9 rebound margin. in the win to lead all scorers finishing with nine rebounds. Clark had 17 on 6 of 8 shooting and Javion Blake scored 14. Randall Smith scored three points but dished out eight assists and three steals.
ESU (12-13, 8-8 MIAA) did not have a Hornet reach double figure scoring and finished with two players with nine points.
The Ichabods finished 64 percent from the field going 36 of 56 and hit 7 of 16 3-pointers and 11 of 17 from the free throw line. ESU was 21 of 57 overall and 6 of 23 from 3-point range with 15 of 20 from the free throw line.
Washburn outscored the Hornets 56 to 26 in the paint and scored 22 off of the Hornets' 13 turnovers.
 
About Central Oklahoma
•   Central Oklahoma is 15-10 on the season and 10-7 in the MIAA. The Bronchos are 5-5 in road games this season.
•   Josh Holliday is averaging a team-best 13.1 points per game. Corbin Byford is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game.
•   UCO has dropped three of its last four games falling at Nebraska-Kearney 80-74, at Fort Hays State 72-62, topping Nebraska-Kearney at home 92-84 then losing to Fort Hays State 67-66 last time out on Feb. 18 as the Tigers scored the go-ahead bucket with six seconds to play.        
 
Series History with Central Oklahoma
•   Thursday's meeting will be the 27th in the series history.
•   The Bronchos lead the series 15-11 after the Ichabods won the first meeting this season in Edmond.
•   The Ichabods lost the first match ups as MIAA schools on Jan. 5, 2013 67-72 in Edmond and in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2013 99-88 in Kansas City.
•   Washburn's two highest-scoring combined games in school history came against UCO. In 1992 the two teams scored 246 points (132-114, UCO) and in 1998 they scored 218 points (111-107, UCO).
•   WU has scored at least 100 points against UCO three times and the Bronchos have done so twice.
•   Bob Chipman is 10-11 coaching against UCO.
 
Last Meeting with Central Oklahoma
Washburn 74, Central Oklahoma 69 -- Jan. 14, 2017
EDMOND, Okla. -- Washburn Ichabod head coach Bob Chipman picked up career win No. 800 with a 74-69 win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon in Edmond.
With the win Chipman becomes the 17th head coach in NCAA history to record at least 800 wins. The Ichabods improved to 12-4 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA in the win.
Washburn shot a hot 54 percent from the field in the second half breaking a 33-33 deadlock at the break.
UCO took a one-point lead at 45-44 before the Ichabods regained the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Cooper Holmes with 13:12 to play. Washburn would go up by as many as 10 two times before UCO hit back to back 3-pointers cutting the lead to three at 72-69 before Isaac Clark hit two free throws with seven seconds to play wrapping up the scoring.
Washburn built a 11-point lead with 10:27 to go in the first half, but UCO outscored the Ichabods 19-8 the remaining of the frame to tie the score at 33 entering the break. Washburn shot 52 percent in the first half while the Bronchos were 13 of 28 for a 46 percent clip.
Clark led the Ichabods with 16 points and Randall Smith finished with 14. Javion Blake scored 13 and Cameron Wiggins scored 11 off the bench.
 
Last Time Out For Central Oklahoma
Fort Hays State 67, Central Oklahoma 66 -- Feb. 18, 2017
EDMOND (Feb. 18) – Jordan London's last-second 3-point attempt looked true all the way to the basket, but instead of splashing through for a dramatic Central Oklahoma win the shot spun around the rim and into the hands of a waiting Fort Hays State defender as the final buzzer sounded Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House.
UCO trailed virtually the entire game before scoring four points in a 10-second span to surge in front 66-65 as the game wound down.  Josh Holliday's driving layup in traffic at 0:23 got the Bronchos within one and London came up with a steal at 0:15, quickly getting the ball to Marquis Johnson.
Johnson found Holliday open underneath the basket for another layup that gave UCO a 66-65 lead with 13 seconds left, but FHSU's Rob Davis drove in for a five-foot floater at 0:06 to put the Tigers back in front.
Johnson pushed the ball quickly upcourt and, after not finding a clear path to the basket, passed to London on the left wing.  London let fly immediately and the sophomore sharpshooter's potential game-winner rimmed out, with FHSU claiming the rebound as time expired.
UCO fell to 15-10 overall and 10-7 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association with the loss in its final regular season home game.  The Tigers improved to 16-9 and 10-7, moving into a tie for third place with the Bronchos in a crowded league race.
Holliday led UCO with 19 points and three steals, hitting 7-of-13 shots with one 3-pointer and all four free throw attempts.  Corbin Byford had 12 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots, while Corey Alpough chipped in 10 points.
The Tigers bolted to a 7-0 lead to open the game and led by as many as 13 (36-23) before UCO scored the final 11 points of the half to get within 36-32 at the break.
Byford's three-point play started that surge and London ended it when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off a Holliday feed on the fast break with three seconds left.
FHSU built its lead back to nine on several occasions in the second half, but the Bronchos rallied to take their first lead of the game at 55-53 on a Holliday 3-pointer with 5:34 remaining.  It was back-and-forth the rest of way, leading to the final sequence that left UCO agonizingly short at the end.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
•   The Ichabods are 1,537-1,058-2 (.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 566-266 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 419-85 (.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 host Northeastern State on Feb. 25 starting at 3:30 p.m. in what will be the final regular season home game for Ichabod head coach Bob Chipman. Between the Ichabod men's and women's basketball games, the two Ichabod men's seniors, Jeremy Lickteig and Colton Anderson, will be honored.