Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will host Ottawa on Saturday, Nov. 25 wrapping up four games of basketball in Lee Arena with a 6 p.m. start against the Braves.
• The Ichabods are 2-3 coming off an 86-78 loss to No. 1 Northwest Missouri last time out in Kansas City on Tuesday.
• The Braves are 1-6 this season and Saturday's game will be an exhibition game in the standings for Ottawa.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 14.0 ppg hitting a team-high 12 3-pointers on 26 attempts.
• Brady Skeens leads the team on the glass with 10.6 rebounds a game and is averaging a double double this season with 11.8 points per game shooting 69 percent from the field hitting 22 of 32 attempts with 2.4 blocks per game.
• Washburn is third in the MIAA in blocks at 3.3 per game and second in assists averaging 15.0 per contest.
• Brady Skeens is second in the MIAA in rebounds at 10.5 per game and leads the MIAA in blocks with 2.8 per game and 11th in steals per game with 1.8.
• Tyler Geiman is coming off a career-high 15 points and is 10th in the MIAA in assists at 3.5 per game.
 
Ichabods on Radio
Washburn games will be broadcast on KTPK 106.9 FM radio with Jake Lebahn and Dan Lucero calling the action. Game will also be streamed live on the wusports.com website by following the listen live links on the men's basketball schedule page.

Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 2-3 in his first season as the Ichabods' head coach and 35-33 overall in his third year as a head coach.
• was named the Washburn Ichabod men's basketball head coach on April 6, 2016 after spending the 2014-15 to 2016-17 seasons as an assistant coach with the Wake Forest basketball program after working under head coach Danny Manning 2014-17 seasons and at the University of Tulsa during the 2012-14 seasons.
• he helped Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 season following the 2016-17 season. 
• while at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane played in the postseason both years, including earning a No. 13 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Tulsa also participated in the 2013 CBI, finishing that season with a winning record of 17-16 overall.
• before joining Manning at Tulsa, Ballard spent two seasons as the head basketball coach at Baker University going 35-33 overall, including a 21-12 mark in his final season at the helm in 2011-12. 
• prior to taking over the head coaching position at Baker, Ballard spent seven years on Bill Self's staff at Kansas, his alma mater. 
• he played two years for the Jayhawks under head coach Roy Williams from 2000-02 after transferring from Hutchinson Community College in his hometown of Hutchinson, Kan. In his two seasons as a Jayhawk, the team reached the 2001 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and appeared in the 2002 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.
• he earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education from Kansas in 2003 earning an Academic All-Big 12 selection as a senior for his efforts in the classroom.
• is 2-2 against Ottawa coaching four times against the Braves while at Baker.
 
Ottawa head coach Aaron Siebenthall …
• is 29-39 in his third season as the Braves head coach.
• spent nine seasons as an assistant at Ottawa.
• is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
 
Last Time Out For the Ichabods
#1 Northwest Missouri 86, Washburn 78 -- Nov. 21, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods went toe to toe with No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri but fell 86-78 on Tuesday night in Municipal Auditorium. 
Washburn trailed 42-39 at the half after each team shot hit more than half of their shots as Washburn was 15 of 27 from the field and the Bearcats (4-0) were 14 of 26 from the field overall.
After the Bearcats led by five with 15:29 to go on one of their 14 3-pointers in the game, Washburn scored the next six to go up one at 52-51 with 12:04 remaining.
Washburn built the lead up to four with 7:44 to play on Javion Blake's 3-pointer, but Northwest scored 13 of the next 17 points over the next 2:27 with the reigning national player of the year in Justin Pitts scored seven points building a five point lead with 5:17 to go.
Washburn cut the lead to four with 3:14 to play, but did not get any closer in the non-conference loss to the Bearcats.
Tyler Geiman and Brady Skeens led the Ichabods with 15 points and Skeens recorded his 27th career double double and second straight with 15 points and 10 boards. David Salach scored 11 and Isaac Clark scored 10.
Justin Pitts led Northwest with 22 points and Chris-Ebou Ndow had 19.
Washburn held a 29 to 23 advantage on the glass holding the Bearcats to two offensive rebounds. The Ichabods finished 30 of 57 from the field for a 53 percent average while Northwest finished 26 of 46 for 57 percent from the field. 
 
About The Opponents
Ottawa Braves
• Ottawa is 1-6 this season and 1-2 in the KCAC.
• Saturday's game with the Ichabods will be an exhibition game for the Braves.
• Ottawa has also faced NCAA D2 foe Drury with the Panthers winning 107-57 in an exhibition game in Springfield.
• The Braves lost to Baker 79-72 in their season opener.
• Hollis Mitchell leads the team in scoring at 16.4 ppg pacing five Braves in double figures. Alex Greisen (14.7), Isaiah Palmer (12.7), Titus Rice (12.6) and Tasmania Indaiana Jones (10.9) also averaged double digits.
• Tasmania Indaiana Jones also has a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game.
 
Series History with Ottawa 
• Saturday's meeting will be the 70th meeting in school history and the first since  a 94-69 Ichabod win on Nov. 22, 2005 in Topeka.
• Washburn leads the series 52-17 all-time.
• Washburn has won the last 21 games in the series.
• Ottawa's last win came on Dec. 29, 1959 in an 85-68 win in Ottawa.
• The series dates back to the first meeting on Jan. 25, 1909 which the Braves won 25-21.
 
Last Meeting with Ottawa
(Nov. 22, 2005) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods pulled away from a three-point halftime lead to a 25-point win over Ottawa in the Lee Arena home opener. Rashad Adams led five Ichabods in double figures with 16 points, scoring all his points in the second half. Also in double figures for the Ichabods were Kris Milburn with 15, while Kyle Fisher and Brady Sisk each had 13. J.B. Murray scored 10. The Ichabods held Ottawa to 32 percent shooting in the second half. The Ichabods outrebounded the Braves 47 to 37.
 
Last time out for Ottawa
(Nov. 21, 2017) -- SALINA, Kan. – The Ottawa University men's basketball team was defeated by Kansas Wesleyan University, 84-69, in Mabee Arena on Tuesday night.
The Coyotes took an early 9-3 lead over the Braves in the opening minutes of the first half. KWU increased the lead to 20-11 over the Braves. A 3-pt field goal by Devin Perez cut the deficit to 20-14 with 10:46 on the clock.
KWU continued to build upon its lead and with 5:28 left in the half, led 36-18. OU was not able to cut into the deficit and the Coyotes took a 44-23 lead into the locker room.
Kansas Wesleyan increased its lead to 50-27 over the Braves at the start of the second half. Ottawa then began to cut into the deficit. A 3-pt field goal by Kyle Patrick cut the Coyote lead to 60-50 with 10:43 on the clock. That would be all the closer the Braves would get as the Coyotes took the 84-69 victory.
The Braves shot 35 percent from the floor, 23.1 percent from behind the 3-pt line and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. Titus Rice led OU with 16 points. Tasmania Indaiana Joes finished with a double-double. He scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Isaiah Palmer scored 11 points.
 
Washburn Ichabod Basketball HIstory
•   The Ichabods are 1,542-1,062-2 (.592) all-time in the 114th year in the program's history.
•   Washburn is the fifth-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
•   Washburn is the winningest MIAA program since the 1989-90 season with an overall record of 569-268 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
•   The Ichabods have recorded 26 20-win seasons and they have one 30-win seasons after going 35-4 during the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season.
•   Washburn has won 21 conference championships including 10 MIAA titles.
•   Washburn has received 12 NCAA Tournament bids going to three Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
 
Home Sweet Home
•   The Ichabods are 423-85 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
•   The 2017-18 season marks the 33rd 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 returns to the road to take on Newman at 7:30 p.m. in Wichita on Nov. 28. Washburn will face Manhattan Christian on Nov. 30 before opening MIAA play against Fort Hays State in Lee Arena on Dec. 6.