Opening Tip
• The Washburn men's basketball team look to return to its winning ways as the Ichabods will host Southwest Baptist on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 14-4 and 8-1 in the MIAA holding a one game lead over Northwest Missouri in the conference standings.
• Washburn had its 12-game winning streak snapped at Pittsburg State last time out in a 76-74 loss to the Gorillas last time out on Saturday.
• The Bearcats are 10-8 overall and 4-5 in the MIAA tied for ninth in the conference standings.
• The Ichabods are 9-0 this season in Lee Arena and have won their last 14 dating back to last season.
• The Ichabods lead the all-time series with Southwet Baptist 38-17 and have won the last 10 games played against the Bearcats in Lee Arena and the last three overall in the series.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 15.9 ppg hitting a team-high 41 3-pointers on 90 attempts … he is scoring 16.0 ppg in MIAA play.
• Javion Blake became the 24th member of the Ichabod 1,000-point club and only the 14th to reach at least 1,000 points in under three full seasons in an Ichabod uniform … he ranks 19th on the all-time scoring chart with 1,027 points.
• Brady Skeens leads the team on the glass with 10.3 rebounds a game adding 13.8 points per game shooting 73 percent from the field hitting 99 of 136 attempts with 2.2 blocks per game.
• Brady Skeens became the 25th Ichabod to go over the 1,000 point mark in a career doing so at Pittsburg State on Saturday.
• Washburn is second the MIAA in blocks (4.2) trailing Central Oklahoma who is averaging 5.6 blocks per game.
• Washburn leads the league in assists at 15.8 per contest and third in field goal percentage at .490.
• The Ichabods are ranked first in field goal defense holding opponents to 39 percent shooting and Southwest Baptist is ranked third at 41 percent.
• Washburn is first in rebounding offense at 39.2 per game and fifth in rebounding defense at 31.7 per game and ranked first in the MIAA in defensive rebounds with 28.9 per game and ranked second in rebounding margin at +7.6 per game behind's Southwest Baptist's +8.8 rebound margin.
• Brady Skeens leads the MIAA in rebounds at 10.3 per game and is tied for first in the MIAA in blocks with 2.2 per game and 11th in steals per game with 1.3 … he is also first in field goal percentage (.728) … his field goal percentage is also first in the nation and his 39 total blocks is 25th while his total rebounds is 25th in the national rankings.
• Javion Blake made his 76th consecutive start against Pittsburg State starting every game of his Washburn career.
• Javion Blake's 126 3-point field goals is 10th on the all-time chart.
• Ichabod opponents have attempted 17 more free throws than Washburn has this season (412 to 395) and have made 23 more hitting 294 compared to 271 for Washburn … in MIAA play, Washburn has attempted 32 more free throws than its opponents making 21 more overall.
• Cameron Wiggins moved into eighth on the Ichabod all-time 3-point chart sitting at 159 tied for seventh on the all-time chart with Jordan Canfield (1992-97).
• Brady Skeens is fourth on the all-time rebounding chart at Washburn with 836 and trails Ewan Auguste who is in third and had 888 from 1997 to 2001.
• Skeens also went over the 200 block mark for his career against Central Oklahoma and the Ichabod all-time leader now has 209, which is 106 more than Ewan Auguste who is second on the chart with 100 blocks.
• Randall Smith has 272 career assists which is seventh on the Ichabod career charts needing five to move into the top five all-time at Washburn.
• David Salach moved into the top 10 sitting seventh on the all-time blocks chart and now has 72.
 
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 14-4 in his first season as the Ichabods' head coach and 47-33 overall in his third year as a head coach.
• was named the Washburn Ichabod men's basketball head coach on April 6, 2017 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 Pittsburg State.
 
Southwest Baptist head coach Clark Sheehy …
• is in his fourth season as the head coach at Southwest Baptist and has gone 46-58.
• overall he is 227-159 in his 13th season overall after spending the previous nine seasons at John Brown University.
• is 1-5 against Washburn.  
 
Last Time Out For the Ichabods
Pittsburg 76, Washburn 74 -- Jan. 20, 2018
PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team had its 12-game winning streak come to an end in a 76-74 loss at Pittsburg State. Washburn falls to 14-4 and 8-1 in the MIAA. 
A 3-pointer by Jabari Antwine with five seconds to play put the Gorillas (11-7, 4-5 MIAA) up 76-74 and after a timeout Washburn's half court attempt came up short.
Washburn trailed by as many as 13 in the first half at 35-22 with 4:50 to go, but scored 10-straight points cutting the lead to three and would eventually tie the game on a Tyas Martin 3-pointer knotting the score at 38-38.
In the second half, Washburn opened the frame on a 9-1 run and built a lead of nine with 11:12 to play in the game. With Washburn leading 64-58, the Gorillas went on an 11-2 run over the next 2:47 to take a one point lead at 67-66.
A Cameron Wiggins 3-pointer pushed Washburn back up 69-67 with 4:39 to go and the Ichabods would go up five at 73-68 with 2:35 to play, but the Gorillas closed the game on an 8-1 run for the comeback win hitting all three field goal attempts including two 3-pointers while the Ichabods were 0-2 from the field during the same stretch with the only points on a Brady Skeens free throw with 1:12 to play.
Skeens became the 25th Ichabod to reach the 1,000-point mark leading the Ichabods with his 30th career double double with 17 points and 12 rebounds adding three blocks going 8 of 11 from the field. David Salach scored a season high 14 points and Javion Blake scored 10 with six assists. Antwine led the Gorillas with 18 points.
Washburn finished 30 of 66 from the field (46 percent) while the Gorillas were 27 of 62 (44 percent). Washburn outrebounded Pitt State 41 to 38.
 
About The southwest baptist
• The Bearcats are 10-8 and 4-5 in the MIAA.
• SBU has lost its last two games falling 69-58 to Lindenwood and 75-74 to Lincoln both at home.
• Logan Hovey leads the team with 18.9 ppg and 7.6 rebounds per game.
• Marlon Alcindor is scoring 12.0 ppg.
• SBU is scoring 77.6 points per game and allowing 71.8 ppg.
 
Series History with Southwest Baptist
• Wednesday's meeting will be the 56th between Washburn and Southwest Baptist.
• The Ichabods lead the all-time series 38-17.
• In Topeka the Ichabods are 23-3 against SBU since joining the MIAA winning the last 10 in Topeka.
• Washburn has won 27 of the last 35 games.
• Washburn is 32-12 against SBU in MIAA games.
• The Ichabods have won the last 10 games played in Topeka and have gone 4-1 against the Bearcats in the MIAA Tournament.
• SBU's last win came in the last meeting in a triple overtime 104-98 win on Jan. 30, 2016.
• In Bolivar, the Ichabods are 13-13 against SBU.
• The Ichabods are 4-7 in the last 11 games in Bolivar.
• Washburn won all three meetings over the Bearcats during the 2016-17 season including an 89-70 win over SBU in the first round of the MIAA Tournament played in Topeka.
 
Last time out for Southwest Baptist
(Jan. 20, 2018) -- Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist fell against Lincoln in a crushing loss on two free throws from the Blue Tigers with .3 seconds left. The loss makes SBU's record 10-8 (4-5 MIAA) while Lincoln goes to 9-10 (3-7 MIAA). 
Damian Prgomet scored 16 points for the Bearcats on seven of nine field goals and made both of his free throw attempts. He also blocked three shots. Logan Hovey added 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Marlon Alcindor was the other Bearcat in double figures with 14 points, including seven of eight at the line. Chris Rossow was the leader in assists with six.  As a team, Southwest Baptist made 53.5% (23-43) of their field goals and 44.4% (8-18) of their three pointers. SBU had the slight edge on the boards over the Blue Tigers, 31 to 27, and managed to force 11 Lincoln turnovers. 
After the first five minutes in the first half, the game was tied 10-10. At the 9:40 mark, Hovey drained a three pointer that made the score 21-17 Bearcats. Less than five minutes remaining in this half, Kai Woodfall banged home a three of his own and to retake the lead, 30-28. Unfortunately, Lincoln closed the half with an 8-4 spurt to give them a 36-34 advantage at haltime.
Starting the second half behind, SBU found a way to come back with the lead with a three pointer again by Hovey at the 16:15 mark. Prgomet powered home an incredible dunk to tie up the score 49-49 with 12:15 left in the second half. With about 10 minutes remaining, for the next four minutes of game action, Lincoln went on a 13-0 run, making the score 64-57 Blue Tigers. At the end of the game, Southwest Baptist was behind Lincoln by just two points but with .3 seconds to go Cartier Dean splashed home a three to make the score 74-73 Bearcats. After a timeout, Lincoln was trying to inbound the ball but a foul on SBU was called, which led Lincoln to have two free throws. John Burton from Lincoln swished both of them to send Lincoln home with a dramatic 75-74 win. 
 
Washburn Ichabod Basketball HIstory
•    The Ichabods are 1,554-1,063-2 (.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 579-269 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 431-85 (.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
•    The Ichabods will face Central Missouri on Jan. 27 in a 1 p.m. start in Lee Arena.