Pregame

The Washburn Ichabods will travel to Emporia to face the Emporia State Hornets in their final regular season away game of the season on Thursday. Washburn (18-6, 11-5 MIAA). Washburn is coming off a 76-70 win over Fort Hays State on Feb. 23 in Topeka while the Hornets fell 67-62 to Northeastern State on Feb. 23 at home. The Ichabods won the first meeting this season with the Hornets 61-54 in Topeka on Jan. 2. Washburn can finish in no worse than a tie for the MIAA championship with wins in each of its final two games. Entering action on Feb. 27, the Ichabods are one game behind Central Missouri in the league race, who has a 12-4 record. Washburn and Fort Hays State are tied for second at 11-5. Northeastern State has an 11-5 record sitting in fourth place. Central Oklahoma, Lindenwood and Northwest Missouri are all tied for fifth with a 10-6 mark. Lindenwood is ineligible for the MIAA tournament and NCAA postseason as they are in their final year of transition to the Division II ranks. The top four teams in the final standings receives a bye to Kansas City for the conference tournament while the top 5-8 seeds will host the remaining 9-12 finishers in the conference standings with the winners of the play-in games advancing to Kansas City. 

'Bod Quick notes

• The Ichabods are looking for their fifth-straight win over the Hornets and looking to sweep the regular season series for the second straight season. 

• The five-straight wins would be the most for the Ichabods over the Hornets since winning 13-straight from Feb. 14, 1996 to Feb. 20, 2002.

• Will McNeill has broken the Washburn senior class record for steals of 63 held by Jordy Canfield after he recorded his 72nd against the Fort Hays State last time out.

• Washburn is sixth in the NCAA in assist to turnover ratio and seventh in turnovers per game.

• Will McNeill is fifth on the NCAA Division II active steals chart with 237. Alex Falk of West Liberty leads all active players with 263.

• Will McNeill is sixth in active player free throws made with 476 in Division II.

• Will McNeill is ninth in the NCAA in steals at 3.0 per game this season.

• Bobby Chipman became the first Ichabod to record back-to-back double doubles after his 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Lopers and his 14 points and 10 rebounds against Fort Hays State since Logan Stutz had 21 points and 12 rebounds against Central Missouri on Dec. 31, 2010 and 19 points and 10 rebounds against Southwest Baptist on Jan. 5, 2011.

• The last Ichabod to have three back-to-back-to-back double doubles was De'Andre Washington who had 19 points and 12  rebounds against Nebraska Omaha on Jan. 23, 2010, 19 points and 10 rebounds against Northwest Missouri on Jan. 27, 2010 and 19 points and 13 rebounds at Missouri Western on Jan. 30.

• The Tigers became the fifth team to hit at least 10 3-pointers against the Ichabods this season.

• The five blocked shots tied a season opponents high against Washburn last time out.

• Leon Flowers recorded his first career block last time out against Fort Hays State.

• Zack Riggins' six free throws made were a career high.

• Riggins tied a career high with six free throw attempts - the second time he has attempted six against the Tigers.

• Kyle Wiggins had a career-high four steals against the Tigers last time out.

Ichabods on radio

Washburn games will be broadcast on AM 580 WIBW with Mark Elliott and Jake Lebahn. The 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 34th season at the helm of the Ichabods.

• a 1973 graduate of Kansas State earning both his undergraduate and master's degree in Manhattan.

• is 739-302 overall.

• has 498 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA, the most of any conference school since the 1989-90 season.

• has led the Ichabods to 12 MIAA regular season titles and a MIAA-coaching tops of five postseason tournament championships.

• has led the Ichabods to 12 NCAA National Tournament appearances.

• in home games, he is 427-79 going 374-68 in Lee Arena.

• is second in all-time coaching victories in active NCAA Division II coaches.

• his 739 coaching wins is 22nd 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.

• Chipman is 50-22 against Emporia State. The 50 wins ties the most by Chipman against any team along with the 50 he has picked up against Pittsburg State.

Emporia State head coach Shaun Vandiver . . .

• is 21-29 in his second season at Emporia State. 

• was a first round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors in 1991 spent ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level. 

• as a player he was a key component in Hutchinson CC's tournament run to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first-team All-Big 8 honors at Colorado.

• is 0-4 against Washburn.

Last time out for the Ichabods • Washburn 76, Fort Hays State 70 •  2/26/13

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods only hit one 3-pointer all night long but it put the Ichabods' up 66-62 with 4:54 to play as Washburn topped Fort Hays State sweeping the regular season series winning its fifth-straight over the Tigers in a 76-70 win on Schendel Court at Lee Arena. 

Leon Flowers 3-pointer put an end ot the 0-5 shooting for the Ichabods (18-6, 11-5 MIAA) from deep as the Tigers (17-7, 11-5 MIAA) were 10 of 21 from behind the arch. After Flowers' 3-pointer, Bobby Chipman scored a lay up putting Washburn up 68-62 with 4:04 to play, but the Tigers responded with one of their 10 3-pointers on the night to cut the lead to three on Caron Konrade's long shot. Will McNeill answered with a fade away jumper in the paint putting Washburn back up five, but two free throws by Lance Russell pulled the Tigers back within three at 70-67.

McNeill was fouled and hit both free throws as Washburn went back up five at 72-67 with 35 seconds left. The Tigers hit one free throw to get within four points at 72-68 but Zack Riggins hit two free throws with 24 seconds left and Will McNeill hit two more after an intentional foul on a break away giving the Ichabods the six-point cushion and the season series with the Tigers snapping their seven-game winning streak.

McNeill led the Ichabods with 28 points going 10 of 12 from the free throw line adding five rebounds and four steals. Chipman recorded his second-straight double double and the sixth of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Riggins and 12 points and five rebounds and Joseph Smith scored 12 off the bench with two blocks.

Ben Conguista led the Tigers with 20 points going 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Konrade had 15 on 4 of 8 3-point shooting. Craig Nicholson had 11 points and five assists.

Washburn led by four at the break 35-21 shooting 48 percent from the field as they finished 26 of 56 for the game at 46 percent. The Tigers were 23 of 49 for the game for a 47 percent clip. Washburn finished 23 of 30 from the free throw line and the Tigers were 14 of 18 and held a 30 to 28 advantage on the glass. Washburn also turned 19 Tiger turnovers into 20 points and the Ichabods also outscored the Tigers 28 to 10 in the paint.

Series history with Emporia State

• The meeting on Feb. 28 will be the 203rd meeting between these two schools and the Ichabods lead at 104-98. This is the most-played series for Washburn. 

• The Ichabods have won the last four in the series sweeping the Hornets in the regular season and winning in the first round of the MIAA tournament.

• 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 68th straight year they have played each other at least once. 

• The Ichabods are 20-8 against the Hornets in Lee Arena. 

• Washburn is 28-13 against ESU in MIAA games. 

• Washburn is 4-1 against ESU in MIAA Postseason tournament games.   

Last meeting with Emporia State

(Jan. 2, 2013) TOPEKA, Kan. -- Behind a then-career-high 23 points from Martin Mitchell, the No. 8-ranked Washburn Ichabods turned a 3-point halftime deficit into a 61-54 win over Emporia State in non-conference action in Lee Arena on Wednesday night. 

The Ichabods (8-1) trailed by three at the break at 27-24 after leading by as many as five points in the opening half at 11-6 midway through the period but thanks to an 11-6 run by the Hornets over the final 2:41 of the first half, ESU took the three-point lead into the break. The teams finished a combined 1 of 10 from behind the arc in the first half as the Ichabods were 10 of 27 overall while the Hornets connected on 11 of 26 overall.

In the second half, the Hornets (5-5) would stretch their lead to as many as seven at 35-28 on a 3-pointer by Taylor Euler who had 17 points to lead ESU. Mitchell would answer with a 3-pointer of his own starting a string on eight-straight Washburn points finishing his outburst with a 3-pointer at the 14:48 mark of the second half to pull Washburn back within one at 37-36.

Another 3-pointer by Euler with 9:36 to go in the game pushed the Hornet lead back to seven at 47-40, but again Mitchell answered with one of his own and Will McNeill hit a free throw and Jared Henry connected on a jumper to cut the lead back to one with 7:18 to play in the game.

Back-to-back jumpers by Leon Flowers and Bobby Chipman gave the Ichabods a short-lived lead at 50-49 with 4:10 to play in the game, but the Hornets took the lead back on a tip in by Paul Bunch, who finished with a double double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Ichabods would go on a 5-0 run with a jumper by Mitchell on his 20th and 21st points of the night and free throws by McNeill and Chipman stretched the Ichabod lead up to three at 55-51 with 1:49 to play.

A lay up by Terrance Moore with 46 seconds remaining cut the Ichabod lead to three at 57-54, but the Ichabods finished the game 4 of 6 from the free throw line to wrap up the win.

Mitchell led the Ichabos with his career-high of 23 topping his previous mark of 19. McNeill finished with 10 going 8 of 11 from the free throw line adding four steals. Alex North and McNeill each had six rebounds.

Washburn finished 20 of 48 from the field for 42 percent while the Hornets were 21 of 50 overall at 42 percent. Washburn was 18 of 30 from the free throw line while the Hornets were 8 of 21 from the charity stripe in the game. Washburn forced 19 Hornets turnovers leading to 18 Ichabod points. Washburn was outrebounded 36 to 31 in the game. Washburn managed only seven offensive rebounds compared to 11 for the Hornets. 

About Emporia State

• The Hornets are 12-12 this season and 7-9 in the MIAA.

• ESU fell 67-62 at home last time out on Feb. 23.

• Kaleb Wright leads the team with 14.4 ppg adding 4.5 rpg and 3.0 apg. 

• Gavin Brown leads the team with 8.3 rpg averaging 12.7 ppg.

• ESU is 8-3 at home this season and 5-3 at home in MIAA games.

Last time out for Emporia State

Feb. 23, 2013 -- The Emporia State men led 60-58 with 2:50 left but Northeastern State converted a three-pointer and was six of six from the free throw line in the final 2:25 to pull out a 67-62 win over the Hornets on Saturday afternoon.

Emporia State was behind 19-10 with 8:45 left in the first half before ending the frame on a 23-12 run.  A Gavin Brown three-pointer from the corner gave the Hornets a 33-32 lead at the half.

Northeastern State scored the first four points of the second half and led until a Terrence Moore steal and dunk gave the Emporia State a 53-51 lead with 7:54 left.  There were five lead changes and three ties the rest of the game with neither team taking more than a three point lead until Northeastern hit two free throws with 16 seconds left.

Moore led Emporia State with 13 points and three steals.  He was joined in double figures by Paul Bunch with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven blocked shots and Gavin Brown with 11 points.  The RiverHawks were led by Jermaine Bransford with 23 points and 20 rebounds.

Bod bits

• Will McNeill was named a preseason All-American by the Basketball Times. He is the first Ichabod to receive preseason All-American honors since Travis Robbins prior to the 2004-05 season.

• Will McNeill has been named the MIAA Player of the Week twice on Nov. 26 and on Dec. 3. 

• The Ichabods are +10.1 in scoring margin this season.

• The three freshman on the Ichabod roster (Khai Hutchinson, Evan Robinson and Colton Anderson) are all redshirting this season.

• Bryce Simons has missed the entire season with a knee injury.

• Alex North suffered a knee injury against Central Oklahoma and missed the last nine games and is likely heading for a medical redshirt as he's played in only five games this season after suffering a concussion against Bethany on Nov. 19.

• McNeill also became only the second Ichabod to score at least 1,600 points and 216 assists joining Tom Meier (2,082/242).

• With 13 more rebounds, McNeill would become the ninth Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

• With 13 more rebounds, McNeill would become the first Ichabod to have at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals. 

• McNeill enters the ESU game with 1,600 points, 487 rebounds, 237 steals and 216 assists.

Bod tweets . . . 140-character or less notes on the Ichabods

• Will McNeill sits in sixth-place on the all-time scoring chart with his 1,600 career points. 

• Next on the chart is in fifth-place on the all-time scoring chart is Ewan Auguste (1,636 - 1997-2001) #SelectCompany

• Will McNeill's 532 field goals is sixth all-time at Washburn #Scorer

• Bobby Chipman's 214 3-point attempts is 20th in school history #FromWayDowntown

• Bobby Chipman's 89 career blocks is third all-time at Washburn and can move into the top two with eight more #RejectionCity

• Bobby Chipman's 542 rebounds is 13th all-time at Washburn #boards

• Will McNeill's 476 free throw made is second at Washburn passing Ron Berkholtz against the Tigers last time out #GetToTheLine

• Will McNeill's 600 free throw attempts is fourth at Washburn #LineTime

• Will McNeill's .793 free throw percentage is eighth all-time at WU #Automatic

• Will McNeill moved into 20th on the Washburn all-time rebounding chart with 487 #HeIsAGuard

• Will McNeill's 216 assists is 17th all-time at Washburn. #PassingTheRock

• Martin Mitchell's career assist average of 3.5 per game is tied for ninth all-time at Washburn #Dimes

• Martin Mitchell's 201 career assists is 21st on the all-time chart at Washburn #NoLook

• Martin Mitchell's 79 3-pointers is 19th on the all-time Washburn chart.

• Joseph Smith's 44 career blocks is 13th all-time at Washburn #NoNos

• Zack Riggins' 27 career blocks is 24th all-time at Washburn #GetItOut

• Will McNeill's 237 career steals is first at Washburn #NoBodyInFrontOfHim

• The MIAA record for career steals is 383 by Eddin Santiago #FastHands

• In scoring 28 points against Fort Hays State, Will McNeill kept his double-figure scoring streak alive at 57 games with all 33 games in the 2011-12 season and the first 24 of this season. #DoNotTalkAboutTheStreak

Ichabod Basketball History

• Washburn is 1,449-975-2 all-time in 2,426 games played

• The 2012-13 season is Washburn's 107th of basketball.

• Washburn is the ninth-winningest program in NCAA Division II history.

• The Ichabods are 498-218 since joining the NCAA Division II ranks, which is the most wins by any program in the MIAA since the 1989-90 season.

• Washburn has won ten MIAA regular season championships and 21 conference championships in school history.

• The Ichabods previously won the MIAA regular season championship in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2012.

Ichabods in the national rankings

The Ichabods did not receive any votes in the latest NABC Top 25 coaches poll which was released on Feb. 26. The Ichabods have been in the top 25 a total of 98 times since joining the NCAA ranks and they have been voted in the top 10 a total of 51 times since the 1989-90 season. 

Ichabods left out of first NCAA Central Regional Rankings (Feb. 20) . . .

The Ichabods were left out of the first NCAA Central Regional rankings which were released on Feb. 20 which include opponents records through Feb. 17. The Ichabods are currently 14-6 overall (only games against NCAA Division II opponents count in the rankings) and 13-6 in region games. The loss to Newman counts as a region game for the Ichabods.

School Overall In-Region

1 Winona State 24-5 20-4

2 Minnesota State-Mankato 20-4 18-4

3 Augustana (S.D.) 16-6 16-6

4 St. Cloud State 17-5 15-5

5 Harding 15-7 15-7

6 Central Missouri 14-6 14-5

7 Arkansas Tech 13-8 13-8

8 Fort Hays State 13-6 13-6

9 Southwest Minnesota State 15-11 13-10

10 Upper Iowa 16-9 15-9

Home sweet home

• The Ichabods are 374-68 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.

• The 2012-13 season marks the 28th 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's will wrap up the regular season at home on senior night against Central Missouri in the MIAA's TV game of the week on March 2. The MIAA Tournament bracket will be announced on March 2 during the game with the Mules.