Game #12: Lincoln (8-3, 4-1 MIAA) at Emporia State (5-5, 3-2 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016
Time: 3:30 p.m. CST
Site: Emporia, Kan. – William L. White Auditorium (5,000)
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/emporia/mbball/
Live Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/esu/
Game #13: Lincoln at Washburn (7-3, 3-2 MIAA)
Date: Monday, Jan. 4, 2016
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Topeka, Kan. – Lee Arena (4,179)
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/washburn/mbball/
Live Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/washburn/
THE TIP OFF: The Lincoln men's basketball team will try to keep its winning streak going into the new year as the Blue Tigers open 2016 with a pair of road games this weekend. Lincoln, which is 8-3 on the year and riding a four-game win streak, will open January in Emporia, Kan. on Saturday (Jan. 2) with a 3:30 p.m. CST game vs. Emporia State. Lincoln then travels to Topeka, Kan. on Monday (Jan. 4) to play Washburn at 7:30 p.m. CST. The Blue Tigers are tied for second in the MIAA with a 4-1 league record and takes on a pair of opponents who each are 3-2 in conference play.FAST BREAKS
- Saturday marks the 22nd meeting all-time between the Blue Tigers and Emporia State, with the Hornets owning a 17-4 advantage in the series.
- Lincoln will play Washburn on Monday for the 28th time, with the Ichabods leading the series, 24-3.
- The Blue Tigers enter 2016 with eight victories, their highest win total in a season since 2005-06.
- Lincoln is seeking its first nine-win campaign since going 14-12 in 2001-02.
- The Blue Tigers' four-game winning streak is the team's longest since 2004-05. On Saturday, Lincoln will seek its first five-game win streak since 2001-02.
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS: Anthony Virdure (22.1) and Jaylon Smith (20.7) are each averaging over 20 points per night while O'Shai Clark averages a team-best 4.9 rebounds while scoring 9.0 per game. Richie Lewis leads the MIAA in steals with 27 and dishes 3.6 assists per game, the second best on the team after Virdure's 4.1. Tacourrus Mattox averages 4.6 rebounds and has blocked six shots over LU's last three games.
HEAD COACH JOHN MOSELEY: In his second year as the head coach of Lincoln, Moseley has the Blue Tigers off to their best start in over a decade. Moseley joined LU after helping North Carolina Central reach the second round of the NCAA Division I tournament in 2013-14 as the associate head coach.
LAST TIME OUT: Lincoln limited Missouri Western to just one made field goal over the final 8:18 of the game to win its fourth-straight contest, 82-67, on Dec. 20. Jaylon Smith led LU with 31 points while Anthony Virdure scored 15 to go with five assists.Richie Lewis added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS: Emporia State has four players averaging double-digit points, led by Terrence Moore with 14.3 per game. Brandon Hall averages 12.7 points, followed by Charles McKinney and Joshua Oswals with 10.8 apiece.
ESU HEAD COACH SHAUN VANDIVER: A former first-round NBA draft pick, Vandiver is in his fifth year leading the Hornets. Vandiver was an All-Big Eight performer as a junior and senior at Colorado and has 57 wins at Emporia State.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS: Brady Skeens leads Washburn with 7.9 rebounds per game and is scoring 9.8 points, the third-best average after Cameron Wiggins' 14.6 ppg. and Javion Blake's 13.1 ppg. Randall Smith has dished a team-high 41 assists and is next on the scoring chart at 9.0, while Jeremy Lickteig averages 6.6 points
WU HEAD COACH BOB CHIPMAN: The all-time winningest coach in MIAA history, with 780 victories, Chipman is in his 37th season as the head coach at Washburn. In that time, Chipman has coached the Ichabods to 16 national tourney appearances, including the 1986-87 NAIA title, and has led WU to more than 500 MIAA wins.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After averaging 23.0 points on .694 shooting, Jaylon Smith was named the MIAA Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 21. Smith, who led LU to three wins that week, including one over a Northwest Missouri team ranked No. 25 in the country, is Lincoln's first player of the week since 2010, when Lionel Booker was the Heartland Conference honoree.
...AND HERO: In addition to being the league's player of the week, Smith was also one of 11 D2 players nominated for HERO Sports Hero of the Week. Smith was recognized for scoring 27 points on 10-13 shooting in LU's win over NWMSU.
REGIONAL LOVE: After beginning the season 8-3, including 6-0 at home, people are beginning to notice the Blue Tigers. On Dec. 21, Lincoln was among the teams receiving votes in D2SIDA's Central Region poll, marking the first time ever that LU has been mentioned in those rankings.
HE GIVES AND HE TAKES: Richie Lewis is one of the top thieves in the country, leading the MIAA and ranking seventh in NCAA Division II (as of Dec. 20) with 27 steals. With his teammates, Lewis is much kinder, as his 3.6 assist average is second on the team and sixth in the league. Lewis leads the MIAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9) and is 16th nationally in steals per game (2.5).
GIVE HIM A PASS: Lincoln leads the MIAA in assists with 15.2 per game, which is well above its average of 10.3 from last season. Anthony Virdure leads the team, and is third in the league, with 4.1 per game while Richie Lewis is sixth at 3.6 per night.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Jason Gym has been kind to the Blue Tigers so far, as LU is 6-0 and out-scoring opponents 93-70. Beyond being perfect at home, LU is shooting .545 from the floor and .475 from long distance at Jason Gym.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Lincoln leads the conference in five statistics, including scoring (87.6) and turnover margin (+4.5). The Blue Tigers also lead the MIAA in assists (15.2), three-pointers made (9.4) and scoring margin (+10.9) while owning the conference's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.34) and field goal percentage (.496).
ALL-AMERICAN: Anthony Virdure was an NJCAA All-American at Mineral Area, and his play has translated well to the NCAA Division II level. Virdure's scoring average of 22.1 ranks fourth in the MIAA, and 30th in the country (as of Dec. 20), and he ranks third in the league with 2.8 made three-point shots per night. Virdure additionally is third in the MIAA in both assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and assists (4.1) and is 24th nationally in total points (243).
MR. SMITH: Jaylon Smith is also off to a hot start in 2015-16, averaging 20.7 points through LU's first 11 games. Smith, who is currently fifth in the MIAA in scoring, has reached double digits in every contest, and has hit the 20-point plateau seven times. Smith leads the MIAA with 3.2 treys per night, and his .402 percentage rate from long distance is the eighth-best in the league.
DEFENDER: Scoring hasn't been an issue for LU all season, as Lincoln leads the MIAA with 87.6 ppg., but LU is also a difficul team for opponents to score against. Lincoln is fourth in the league in three-point defense (.346) and fifth in field goal defense (.446) as well as third in steals (7.0).
BLOCK PARTY: In addition to defending well, Lincoln has blocked 17 shots over the past four games, including eight against Northeastern State. Tacourrus Mattox had four blocks in that game while Jaylon Smith rejected three in the win over Missouri Western.
GEAR UP FOR THE GAME: Lincoln fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.
NEXT UP: The Blue Tigers will put their perfect 7-0 record at home on the line on Thursday (Jan. 7) when Lincoln hosts Nebraska-Kearney for a 7:30 p.m. CST contest.
By Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
COURTESY LINCOLN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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