Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will look for their seventh-straight win as they travel to Jefferson City, Mo., in a battle between the capital cities of Kansas and Missouri on Monday night in Jason Gymnasium when they will take on the Lincoln Blue Tigers.
• The Ichabods are 8-3 and 3-0 in the MIAA after defeating Lindenwood on Saturday in a 76-74 win over the Lions.
• The Blue Tigers 5-6 and 0-3 in the MIAA after falling to Emporia State last time out 77-75.
• The Blue Tigers' three MIAA losses have come in an average of 5.6 points falling at Missouri Southern by four, at Pittsburg State by 11 and last time out against the Hornets by two. 
• The Ichabods have won the last 27 games in the series.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 16.1 ppg hitting a team-high 27 3-pointers on 55 attempts coming off a career-high 26 points against Lindenwood last time out.
• Brady Skeens leads the team on the glass with 10.2 rebounds a game adding 12.4 points per game shooting 73 percent from the field hitting 55 of 75 attempts with 2.2 blocks per game.
• Washburn leads the MIAA in blocks at 4.4 per game and is second in assists averaging 16.7 per contest.
• The Ichabods are ranked second in field goal defense holding opponents to 39 percent shooting and ranked second in field goal percentage at 51 percent.
• Brady Skeens is second in the MIAA in rebounds at 10.2 per game and leads the MIAA in blocks with 2.2 per game and ninth in steals per game with 1.5 … he is also first in field goal percentage (.733) … his field goal percentage is also second in the nation and his 24 total blocks is 10th while his total rebounds is 13th in the national rankings.
• The Washburn bench has outscored its opponents bench 311 to 179 in the eight games.
• Javion Blake made his 69 consecutive start against Lindenwood starting every game of his Washburn career.
• Javion Blake also went over the 100 career 3-point field goals made chart and now has 112 in his junior season which is 13th on the all-time made chart.
• Ichabod opponents have attempted 45 more free throws than Washburn has this season (269 to 224) and has made 41 more hitting 191 compared to 150 for Washburn.
• Cameron Wiggins moved into eighth on the Ichabod all-time 3-point chart with his 151st against Lindenwood.
• Brady Skeens moved into fourth on the all-time Ichabod rebounding chart passing Ryan Murphy who had 738 from 1999 to 2003 …Skeens now has 762 at Washburn … in third place on the career chart is Ewan Auguste who had 888 from 1997 to 2001.
• Skeens also needs only six blocks to reach 200 for his career.
• Randall Smith has 257 career assists which is  eighth on the Ichabod career charts.
• David Salach moved into the top 10 sitting  in a tie for seventh on the all-time blocks chart and now has 67.
 
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 8-3 in his first season as the Ichabods' head coach and 41-33 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 33-30 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 0-0 against Lincoln.
 
Lincoln head coach Jason Moseley…
• is 42-57 in his fourth year at Lincoln.
• 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.
• is 0-3 against Washburn.
 
Last Time Out For the Ichabods
Washburn 76, Lindenwood 74 -- Dec. 16, 2017
ST. CHARLES, Mo. --- Washburn men's basketball held off Lindenwood's late rally to extend its win streak to six games and improved to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in conference action with a 76-74 decision at Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
The Ichabods jumped out to an early eight-point lead behind an 11-3 to open the contest. The run was fueled by Cameron Wiggins who knocked down three consecutive attempts from behind the arc.
Washburn continued to control the opening half midway though as it registered a 12-8 run pushing out to a 23-15 lead with 10:31 left in the half. The Ichabods shot 5-for-9 during the run and made 2-of-4 from deep with Issac Clark account for both made treys.
Leading the 26-18, the Ichabods then saw their margin dwindle to one at the 3:23 mark as Lindenwood tallied 11 of the next 15 points to make it, 31-30. Washburn however ended the first half strong with a 6-0 spurt to taking a 36-29 advantage into the break.
During the first 20 minutes, Washburn converted 14-of-31 attempts from the floor for 45.2 percent shooting while Lions completed 9-of-29 for 31 percent. The Ichabods also outrebounded the Lions in the first, 23-13.
The Lions opened the second witha a 12-5 run knotting the game at 41 with 16:39 remaining. Washburn again responded with a 5-0 spurt sparked by consecutive dunks from Brady Skeens and Jace Williams.
Lindenwood then responded with an 11-6 run as it leveled the score at 52-52 with 8:26 on the clock. After trading layups, the Lions took a 57-56 lead at the  7:03 mark, their first since the 17:27 mark of the first half. 
At 4:37, Washburn nudged out to a 63-61 lead as it used a 5-0 run to regained the lead. The Ichabods held off Lindenwood late as they made 7-of-8 from the line during the final 1:17 to capture the 76-74 victory. The Ichabods had three in double-figures with Javion Blake leading the way with a game-high 26, while Wiggins and Tyas Martin finished with 12 and 10 respectively. Skeens registered a pair of highs as he finished with nine rebounds and six assists. 
Washburn shooters completed 27-of-54 for 50 percent from the field including 6-of-21 from long range. The Ichabods also completed 80 percent from the charity stripe, while dominating the glass, outrebounding Lindenwood 39-24. 
 
About The Lincoln Blue Tigers
• The Blue Tigers are 5-6 and 0-3 in the MIAA. 
• In home games the Blue Tigers are 2-1.
• Amariontez Ivory leads five Blue Tigers in double figure scoring at 16.8 ppg while John Burton is scoring 16.5 ppg. Terrance Smith is scoring 14.8 ppg while Marquise Williams is scoring 12.2 ppg. Maurice Mason is scoring 12.0 ppg.
• Marquise Williams leads the team and the MIAA in rebounding at 10.6 ppg.
• Lincoln is scoring 82.7 ppg while allowing 75.8 ppg and outrebounding its opponents by 5.7 per game.
 
Series History with Lincoln
• Monday's meeting will be the 31st in the series history and Washburn leads 27-3.
• Washburn has won the last 27 meetings in the series which began on Dec. 18, 1957 with the Blue Tigers winning 93-80. Lincoln won the next two and the teams did not meet again until Jan. 24, 1990 when the Ichabods won 98-93 on the road.
• Washburn has won the last 27 games in the series and the last seven match ups by an average margin of 21.4 points per game.
• Overall the Ichabods are 11-1 against Lincoln in Jefferson City all-time having won their last 11 games with the lone loss coming in 1957 in the first meeting in the series.
• In Topeka, the Ichabods are 14-1 and have won the last 14 meetings.
• In neutral site games Washburn is 2-1.
 
Last Meeting with Lincoln
(Dec. 19, 2016) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team finished off the calendar year with a 86-57 over Lincoln improving to 10-2 and 2-2 in the MIAA leading from start to finish over the Blue Tigers. In a game which saw a combined 42 fouls called with two technicals and an ejection, Washburn shot 49 percent from the field just missing becoming the first team to hit half of its shots against the Blue Tigers this season.
Washburn was 15 of 30 from the field in the first half jumping out to a 45-31 lead while holding the Blue Tigers to 9 of 36 shooting from the field as Washburn jumped out to a 12-2 advantage 3:55 into the game as Lincoln wouldn't get closer than eight the rest of the half. The teams shot 38 free throws in the first half.
In the second half, Washburn used a 20-4 run over the first 6:10 of the frame building a 30-point lead at 65-35 and would continue the run scoring 15 of the next 20 points going up by 40 with 6:31 to play cruising to the 29-point lead as the Blue Tigers scored the last nine points of the game.
David Salach led the Ichabods with 19 points on 9 of 12 shooting with three rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Brady Skeens scored 16 on 6 of 8 shooting with eight rebounds and three blocks. Randall Smith and Cameron Wiggins each scored 12.
Anthony Virdure led the Blue Tigers with 15 points before being ejected with 9:57 to play in the game picking up his second technical.
Washburn finished 31 of 63 from the field shooting 49 percent holding Lincoln (8-4, 2-2 MIAA) to 20 of 72 shooting. Washburn outrebounded the Blue Tigers 47 to 37 in the game. Washburn finished 22 of 31 from the free throw line compared to 11 of 20 for Lincoln.
 
Last time out for Lincoln
(Dec. 16, 2017) -- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to take the lead several times, but Emporia State made some big buckets late to escape with a 77-75 win over the Blue Tigers on Saturday (Dec. 16).
Maurice Mason nearly had a double-double, as he accounted for 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds. John Burton and Marquise Williams each scored 17 points and grabbed four rebounds, with Burton additionally dishing five assists. Williams, meanwhile, led LU with three blocks.
Lincoln (5-6, 0-3 MIAA) trailed Emporia State (6-5, 2-1 MIAA) 40-30 at halftime, and the Hornets scored the first five points of the second half to extend its advantage to 15. A three-pointer by Burton pushed LU onto a 13-4 run, which was briefly halted by a pair of Hornet free throws. Burton hit another trey, however, to pull the Blue Tigers to within 51-47.
Two more free throws later gave ESU a 58-49 lead, but an old-fashioned three-point play from Williams followed by a pair of buckets by Calvin Chambers and two more makes at the line allowed Lincoln to tie the game. Burton later drained a three to give LU a three-point advantage, but Emporia State scored the next five points to regain the lead. ESU made 15 of its 20 shots at the free throw line and shot .482 for the game while forcing Lincoln into 17 turnovers. The Blue Tigers, meanwhile, shot .578 from the floor, but came away with just 11 takeaways.
The Blue Tigers would re-take the lead two more times, with Chambers making a pair of shots at the charity stripe to put LU ahead, 73-72, with 1:34 remaining. Emporia State made a big three-pointer during its next possession, however, and later made two more free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound to extend its lead to four. Lincoln finished with a 27-26 edge in rebounding, but ESU was more successful on the offensive glass with 10 offensive boards to LU's five.
Williams made a quick layup to pull LU to within two, and then the Blue Tigers forced Emporia State into a turnover to get the ball back with eight seconds remaining. Burton attempted to make a three after getting an inbound pass out of a timeout, but his shot bounced off the rim, and the Hornets grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.
Chambers totaled 14 points and Grant Olsson added eight while Terrance Smith and Amariontez Ivory rounded out the scoring with three points apiece. Smith also grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists while Ivory tallied two rebounds.
 
Washburn Ichabod Basketball HIstory
•    The Ichabods are 1,548-1,062-2 (.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 573-268 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 427-85 (.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 will wrap up the 2017 calendar year hosting Avila on Dec. 30 in its final non-conference match up of the season starting at 2 p.m. The Ichabods will return to conference play on Jan. 6 opening a three-game home stand with Emporia State followed by games with Northeastern State on Jan. 11 and Central Oklahoma on Jan. 13.