Northeastern State vs. Washburn Saturday, Feb. 5 | 3:30 p.m. | NSU Event Center
Records	Northeastern State (10-11, 5-10 MIAA) • Washburn  (13-7, 10-4 MIAA)
Game Notes	Northeastern State | Washburn
Listen	Bill Huddleston (play-by-play) NSU Digital Network
Watch	The MIAA Network
Live Stats	NSU Live Stats
Tickets	Tickets Available at Gate | NSU Ticketing
Social Media	@RiverHawksMBB  | @RiverHawksMBB  | Facebook

The Setup

• Northeastern State will look for the season sweep of Washburn on Saturday afternoon and will set out to halt a two game skid.  

Last Time Out

Emporia State 79, Northeastern St. 65 | Feb. 3, 2022 | Tahlequah 

• Northeastern State had three in double-figures, but an icy cold start handed them a 79-65 setback to Emporia State Thursday evening.  
• The RiverHawks shot just 10-for-30 in the first half and allowed an 11-2 ESU run to start the game.  Northeastern State struggled to keep the game within 12 points the rest of the way, with the Hornets leading from horn-to-horn.
• Emeka Obukwelu paced the RiverHawks with 16 points, Christian Cook had 15 and six assists, Dillon Bailey added 13.
• The RiverHawks shot 40-percent (22-55), their lowest in the last eight games.

Storylines

• Emeka Obukwelu is ninth overall in the MIAA, averaging 16.1 points per game.  Nationally speaking, Obukwelu is among the top-100 in eight statistical categories.  He is the only player in the Division II men's basketball with a pair of 20 rebound games this season and is second in the MIAA with 8.7 boards per outing.  Obukwelu crossed the 1,000 career point plateau at Missouri Southern.
• Christian Cook has scored at least ten in 23 of the previous 25 contests, going back to last season.  In his short career at NSU so far, Cook has 490 points scored in 42 games.
• Rashad Perkins is third on the NSU roster in points per game at 12.3.   At Missouri Western, his 40 points were the most for an NSU men's basketball player since 2014 and tied for the most in the game this season in the MIAA.  Perkins scored his 1,000 overall career point on Jan. 29 at Missouri Southern. 
• Tylor Arnold has two double-double games this season for NSU and is fourth in points (8.8), second in rebounding (5.3), and first in overall assists (55). Arnold played for head coach Ja Havens for three seasons at East Central (Okla.) and was on the top-10 list for career minutes played, career steals, and career throw percentage.   He scored his 1,000 NCAA Division II point on Feb. 3 against Emporia State.
• After missing the season's first eight games, Ryan Gendron made his first start on Jan. 22 against Lincoln.  Gendron is a transfer from the University of Tulsa and was signed out of high school to play baseball at Oklahoma State.  His brother Jake, is a redshirt on the NSU basketball program. 
• Northeastern State men's basketball set an attendance record during Thanksgiving break, with 2,231 fans attending their game against Haskell.  The number is good for the 17th-most in NCAA Division II basketball this season, with the program ranked 17th overall in attendance.
• The RiverHawks has made a three-pointer in 117 consecutive games.  Feb. 2, 2017 against Southwest Baptist is the last time NSU did not make a three.
• The 2021-22 season is the 93rd for men's basketball at Northeastern State.
• The RiverHawks are entering their tenth season as members of the MIAA and 25th season as an NCAA Division II program.

About Washburn

• Since playing NSU, Washburn has won seven of its last eight contests.  
• The Ichabods had their Thursday game postponed at Rogers State and have been off since Jan. 29 where they handed No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma a 96-86 loss. 
• Tyler Geiman is ranked second in the NCAA D2 Men's Basketball active assists with 645 and leads Washburn averaging 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. 
• Limiting turnovers is a strength for Washburn, and they are at 10.1 per game, seven nationally; in forcing turnovers, they average an MIAA best 15.0 per game. 
• Washburn is last in the MIAA in fouls per game at 18.8.

Last Time They Met

Northeastern State 85, at Washburn 82 | Dec. 20, 2021 | Topeka, Kan.

• Christian Cook turned in a career-high 26 point performance as Northeastern State held back Washburn.
• Cook had 11 points at the half and shot 8-for-13 from the field to pace all players on the floor, and it was his fifth 20-point performance. 
• Emeka Obukwelu was a rebound short of a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds. He also dished out four assists, a season-best for the graduate student.   Tylor Arnold matched Obukwelu in rebounds and assists, turning in a 15 point afternoon.
• With 8:27 left and the game tied at 57-57, NSU scored six unanswered in the following minute to claim the lead for the final time.   

Series Notes

Northeastern State trails 8-10 | 4-4 at home | 3-6 in Topeka | 1-0 neutral 

• Washburn has won the last four meetings inside the NSU Event Center.  The RiverHawks last win was on Jan. 7, 2016 (75-65).
• Saturday is the ninth February meeting with the Ichabods, and fourth overall in Tahlequah.
• Northeastern State has averaged 71.5 points when facing Washburn. 
• In MIAA play, the Ichabods are 10-6 over NSU.
• First meeting was during the 2003 NCAA South Central Regional, NSU would win that contest 64-59 during their run to the National Championship that season.