TIP-OFF• The Central Missouri Mules continue their four-game road trip on Wednesday night against Washburn. Tip-off at Lee Arena in Topeka, Kansas is set for 7:30 p.m.
• The Mules are 13-9 overall on the season and 7-9 in MIAA play after falling at Nebraska-Kearney 57-55 last Saturday.
• Washburn is 12-9 overall and 8-8 in MIAA play following a 103-95 loss to Missouri Southern on Saturday.
• The Mules were 25-7 a season ago and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. It was the eighth 20-win season in the last 11 years and the 24th in school history.
• Central Missouri finished 14-5 in MIAA play last year and finished as the regular season runner-up.
QUICK HITS• This is the 111th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,653 wins.
• Last season was the 12th straight season of at least 18 wins for UCM, an MIAA record.
• Last season was the third straight 20-win season for UCM and the 24th in program history.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).
MULE FEED• The Mules are averaging 71.4 points per game while shooting 45.4 percent from the field. Opponents are averaging 68.2 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting.
• The Mules are shooting 34.9 percent (151-of-433) from three-point range compared to 32.8 percent (144-of-439) for the opposition.
• The Mules are 13th in the MIAA in scoring offense and third in scoring defense. They are seventh in the league in field goal percentage and third in field goal percentage defense and first in three-point field goal percentage defense.
• Eleven different players have scored in double figures for the Mules and six different players have led the team in scoring this season.
•
Marquiez Lawrence (10 points, 13 rebounds) recorded his fourth double-double of the season against Nebraska-Kearney.
SERIES HISTORY• This will be the 97th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Washburn with the Mules holding a 49-47 advantage.
• Washburn won the first meeting this season 58-56 on Jan. 27 in Warrensburg.
• The Mules beat the Ichabods 63-60 on Jan. 5, 2015 in the last meeting at Lee Arena in Topeka.
• The Ichabods lead the series 28-19 in games played in Topeka and have won three of the last four at Lee Arena.
LAST MEETING WITH WASHBURN• The Mules led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but went cold down the stretch and fell to Washburn 58-56 on Jan. 27 at the Multi in Warrensburg.
• The Mules went through two stretches over a combined 11:54 down the stretch without a field goal.
• UCM made 1-of-2 free throws with 3.5 seconds to play, intentionally missing the second attempt. The Mules got the rebound and had a chance to tie, but the shot and subsequent tip were off the mark.
•
Spencer Reaves led UCM with a game-high 18 points and
Kyle Wolf had 15. UCM shot 38 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range. The Mules made just 3-of-11 at the foul line.
• Washburn shot 42 percent from the field, but made just 3-of-12 three-point attempts. The Ichabods were 11-of-18 at the free throw line.
• Randall Smith led three 'Bods in double figures with 16. Brady Skeens had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Andy Wilson added 10 points.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS• Washburn enters the midweek contest at 12-9 overall and 8-8 in MIAA play following a 103-95 loss to Missouri Southern last Saturday in Topeka. The Ichabods have lost three straight games since beating UCM back on Jan. 27 in Warrensburg.
• The Ichabods are led by 37th-year head coach Bob Chipman. He has a 784-339 record during his tenure at WU.
• Washburn is eighth in the MIAA in both scoring offense and scoring defense at 76.0 points per game.
• The 'Bods shoot 43.7 percent from the field, 12th in the MIAA, and allow just 41.5 percent shooting, second best in the league.
• Javion Blake leads a trio of Ichabods in double figures with 14.2 points per game. Cameron Wiggins averages 13.2 per contest and Randall Smith chips in 10.9 per outing. Smith also leads the team in assists with 4.4 per game.
• Brady Skeens nearly averages a double-double with 9.8 points and a team-best 10.3 rebounds per contest.
• Washburn is +2.8 in rebound margin, fifth in the MIAA and they lead the league in rebounding averaging nearly 40 boards per game. WU out-rebounded UCM 43-32 in their first meeting.
LAST TIME OUT • NEBRASKA-KEARNEY 57, CENTRAL MISSOURI 55 • 2/6/16KEARNEY, Neb. – A wild game that saw 14 lead changes didn't fall the Mules way as they lost a tight battle with Nebraska-Kearney, 57-55. UCM now stands at 13-9 this season and 7-9 in the MIAA.
    The Lopers were 7-of-20 from three for the game, but hit two important ones in the final minute. UCM's last ditch effort fell short with Cunningham hitting the back of the rim with a chance to tie in the final seconds, and Lowrance missing the front end of a one-and-one with 0.8 seconds to play.
   Lowrance led three Mules in double-figures with 15 points. He also grabbed seven points.
Spencer Reaves scored 13 points and
Marquiez Lawrence recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
   The first half saw both teams go on runs as they traded the lead back-and-forth. The Lopers took an early 14-8 lead with both offense's struggling from the outset.
   The Mules got hot midway through the half, going on a 15-2 run and taking their first lead of the game. Reaves, Cunningham and Lowrance all hit three's during the run. Lowrance's three capped the stretch, and gave the Mules their largest lead of the game, 23-16.
   Nebraska-Kearney was able to withstand the Mules hot stretch, and went on an 8-0 spurt of their own over the final 3:21, to take a 24-23 lead at halftime.
   The two teams played even during a wild, back-and-forth second half. Neither team held more than a four-point lead, and there were six ties and 12 lead changes in the second half alone.
   Lowrance gave UCM their largest lead of the half, 51-47 with 3:09 to play, hitting his second three-pointer of the game.
   With just over two minutes to play, it appeared that
Brad Woodson hit a jumper to beat the shot clock, but the call was overturned after video replay, giving UNK the ball.
   The Lopers tied the game at 51 following the reversed call, but, Reaves hit a jumper and
Tereke Eckwood scored an uncontested layup off of a steal, putting UCM back up four, 55-51 with 1:04 left.
   UNK came back on their next possession to hit a three, and after a Mule miss, the Lopers connected for another triple to take a two point lead, 57-55 with under 10 seconds remaining.
   Cunningham was able to get into the lane and got off a shot with one second left, but hit iron. The Mules had one final chance when the Lopers fouled Lowrance going for a rebound with 0.8 seconds, sending the freshman to the free throw line for a one-and-one. Lowrance's first shot rimmed out and UNK came down with the rebound and held on for a 57-55 win.
   The Mules shot 43.1% for the game and 51.9% in the second half. They were 4-of-9 from three and 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
   Three Lopers scored in double-figures led by Trey Lansman's game-high 22 points. He was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Connor Beranek scored 12 and Ethan Brozek chipped in with 11.
THE MULES AT HOME• The Mules are 10-4 at home this year after the 61-51 win over Emporia State on Saturday.
• Central Missouri went 14-2 at home last season.
• Over the last 11 years, UCM is 161-17 at home, including 64-1 against non-conference opponents and 97-16 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 489-94 (.839) in their 40th season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES ON THE ROAD• The Mules are 3-5 on the road this season after losses at Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney last week.
• UCM was 6-3 on the road last season and were one of only three teams with a winning record on the road during MIAA play.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY• The Mules are two games below .500 at 7-9 after a pair of road losses last week at Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney
• UCM finished the 2014-15 regular season 14-5 in conference action under
Doug Karleskint and second in the final league standings.
• Central Missouri is 180-80 in MIAA play over the last 13 seasons.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA Tournament titles.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION• The Mules are 6-0 in non-conference action after the wins over SE Oklahoma State and MidAmerica Nazarene.
• The Mules were 11-0 in regular season non-con games last season and are 132-31 over the last 13 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 64-1 in the last 65 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules a 14-9 overall mark and back to within a game of .500 at 8-9 in MIAA play.
• Give UCM a season split with Washburn, back-to-back wins in Topeka and a 50-47 lead in the all-time series.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Drop UCM to 13-10 overall and 7-10 in conference play.
• Give Washburn a sweep of the season series and pull the Ichabods to within 49-48 in the all-time series.
• Give the Mules 10 losses in a season for the first time since the 2010-11 season when UCM finished 18-11.
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA•
Doug Karleskint has a record of 38-16 (.704) in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 128-50 (.719) overall mark in his sixth season as a head coach.
• He became the first Mules' head coach to start his first season at UCM 7-0 when he accomplished the mark last season.
• His 25 wins last year were the most by a first-year head coach in Central Missouri history.
• Karleskint became the fourth Mules' head coach to win at least 20 games in his first season.
• Before coming to UCM, he spent the previous five seasons at Arkansas= Tech, including the last four as head coach. He compiled a 90-34 (.726) record with the Wonder Boys with four conference championships and four trips to the NCAA-II National Tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2012.
MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY• In the 111th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,653-940 (.637) record in 2,593 total games.
• The Mules are the third winningest program by victories in NCAA-II history.
• Central Missouri is one of just four NCAA-II programs with 1,600 all-time wins.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 24 times in the history of the program, including each of the last three seasons.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games in a season three times (2006-07, 2008-09, and 2013-14).
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA tournament titles.
THE NEXT LEVEL• In the past 12 years, 21 former UCM players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Four players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster; Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), Sanijay Watts (Germany, Dorsten) and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS• Entering the 2015-16 academic year, Central Missouri had won a combined 205 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured five MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA Tournament crowns.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 151 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014, and women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015) and 10 national championships overall.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM• Central Missouri had 218 student-athletes named to the 2014-15 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 29 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had six student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with three of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is tied for sixth in NCAA-II with 49 Academic All-Americans.
MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar, and online at warrensburgradio.com. Games are broadcast by 1450 KOKO/98.5 The Bar Sports Director, Greg Hassler and Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations,
Mike Knipper.
• The
Doug Karleskint Show, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp., live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. The Show is hosted by Greg Hassler and is broadcast live from Traditions Restaurant at Mules National Golf Club.
UPCOMING• The Mules wrap up their four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon at Southwest Baptist. Tip-off in Bolivar is set for 3:30 p.m.
• UCM returns home for its final two home games next week against Pittsburg State (Feb. 17) and Missouri Southern (Feb. 20)
