SBU BEARCATS (19-6, 10-5 MIAA) at
WASHBURN ICHABODS (12-11, 6-10 MIAA)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2010 • 7:30 PM
TOPEKA, KS • LEE ARENA
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SBU NOTES | WASHBURN NOTES
   
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The SBU Bearcats will try again for their 20th win of the season, Saturday night at Washburn. SBU is coming off a 17-point loss Wednesday night at Emporia State. Last season, Washburn handed SBU its first loss of the year in Topeka. The Bearcats sit in third place in the MIAA, while the Ichabods are tied for eighth with Emporia State.
   
All-American Matt Rogers has missed essentially the last four games due to a knee injury. He is averaging 21.8 points per game, the second-most in the MIAA and 16th in the country. Rogers is also second on the MIAA rebounding list, with 8.8 boards every game. With 70 blocks on the year, Rogers is fifth nationally (3.6 bpg), and has 40 more blocks than anyone else in the league.
   
Filling the void are point guard Tomas Brock, who is third in the MIAA in assists per game (5.1), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and is fifth in free throw percentage (86%). In six games this year SBU has played without Rogers, Brock has averaged 18.2 points per game including a career high 24 points against Emporia State on Wednesday. Kurt Koenig has also stepped up, especially on the boards. He is averaging 12.9 points per game (19th in MIAA), 5.7 rebounds per night (13th in MIAA) and has had consecutive double-doubles in the last two games.
   
Tristan Steele has led the Bearcats in scoring in four conference matchups this season, tallying 24 points at UCM, 22 and 23 points in the home-and-home series against Pitt State and 21 versus Washburn. Steele has a team-high 48 three-pointers on the season. Sophomore Ryan Dougherty was named MIAA Player of the Week after scoring a 17 points aginst Pitt State, then following that up with a career high 18 points and 10 rebounds against Truman. Freshman Ivan Cropotov is averaging 10.4 points per game since moving into the starting lineup at Northwest Missouri.
   
As a team the Bearcats are 11th nationally in scoring (87.3 ppg), 11th in three-pointers per game (9.2) and fifth in free-throw percentage (76.3). SBU also leads the MIAA in scoring and threes made.

THE COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU head coach Jeff Guiot is in his sixth season in Bolivar, where he has led the Bearcats to a 126-49 (.720) record. Guiot has a 344-142 record overall, and has yet to suffer a losing season during his fifteen-year career. Guiot has won 20 games ten times, as well as eight conference titles, including three of the last four MIAA regular season championships while at SBU.
   
Bob Chipman is in his 31st season at Washburn, where he has been the programs' winningest coach for 24 seasons now. With a career record of 674-275, Chipman is third among active coaches in number of wins. The Ichabods lead the all-time series over SBU, 27-15, but the Bearcats have taken the last seven of nine matchups beween the two schools.

SCOUTING THE ICHABODS
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Washburn Ichabods (ranked 7th in the MIAA) are working towards punching their ticket to Kansas City for the MIAA Tournament. The Ichabods have stumbled as of late, dropping three of their last four. Washburn is the second-best ranked defense in the MIAA, as opponents shoot only 42.5% from the field and are allowed just 65.0 points per game. The Ichabods also come up with 9.0 steals a game, tied for second most in the league. SBU will have to be ready to rebound on the defensive side, as Washburn brings down almost 13 offensive boards a game. Junior DeAndre Washington and sophomore William McNeil lead the 'Bods, averaging 17.5 and 13.3 points a night, respectively, good for 6th and 17th among league leaders.
       
NEXT UP FOR THE BEARCATS
Fort Hays State took the MIAA by storm, winning their first 11 conference games, including upsets over #1 Central Missouri and SBU. After getting as high as No. 3 in the national poll, the Tigers have stumbled a bit, falling in back-to-back games against Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western. Going into this weekend's rematch with the Mules, the #10 Tigers have won two straight. Fort Hays' combination of Dominique Jones and Corbin Kuntzsch has led the Tigers in offense, averaging 13.7 and 13.5 points per game, respectively. It's on the defensive side of the ball where Hays has made its name, however; the Tigers allow a conference-low 62 points to their opponents, who shoot at a 38.9% mark. As a team, they can also get hot from outside the arc, shooting 42.7% from three, best in the conference, led mainly by Jones (47.5%) and Kuntzsch (44.0%).