Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will continue their home stand by playing host to former MIAA member Truman State on Tuesday in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 2-1 weekend after topping Rockhurst last time out on Nov. 14, 76-72.
• The Bulldogs are 0-3 after falling to Northwest Missouri on Nov. 16 87-60 in Maryville.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 22.7 ppg after scoring a career-high 36 in the season opener against Oklahoma Baptist.
• David Salach is averaging a double double with 10.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg after pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds against No. 10-ranked Southern Nazarene.
• Also averaging double figures for the Ichabods is Tyas Martin at 11.7 ppg.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,267 career points placing him 10th all-time at Washburn passing Kyle Wiggins who scored 1,258 points from 2011-15 … Blake's 146 career 3-point field goals is 10th on the all-time chart.
• David Salach has 86 career blocks which is fifth all-time at Washburn coming off a career-high six rejections against Rockhurst last time out … he needs nine more to pass Bobby Chipman for fourth on the all-time chart.
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 24-11 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 57-41 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 has never faced Truman.
 
Truman head coach Jeff Horner…
• is 0-3 in his first season as a head coach and his first season at Truman.
• a former standout point guard at the University of Iowa (2002-06) comes to Kirksville after a successful four-year run at Division I University of North Dakota of the Big Sky Conference. There, Horner served as the director of operations for one season (2014-15) before three as an assistant coach (2015-18).
• graduated from the University of Iowa in 2006 with a degree in communication studies after starting all four years as a member of the Hawkeyes. He capped those four seasons by being named the Big Ten Tournament's Most Outstanding Player as a senior when Iowa defeated Ohio State in the title game.
• also a two-time Third-Team All-Big Ten honoree, a two-time team MVP and two-year team captain. To this day, he is still the school's all-time leader in assists (612) and three-pointers made (262) while his 1,506 career points are just outside the program's top 10 list.
• made four stops in the professional ranks including Bree, Belgium (2006-07), Paris France (fall 2007), the Iowa Energy of the NBA G League (2007-08), and Antibes, France (2008-09). That would mark the end of his playing career and beginning of his coaching experience. 
• has never faced the Ichabods.
 
 About Truman
• The Bulldogs are 0-3 this season looking for their first win under new head coach Jeff Horner.
• Taurin Hughes leads the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg … of Hughes 15 field goals this season, 12 of been from deep.
• Cade McKnight leads the team with 4.7 rebounds per game.
• Truman is averaging 67.0 ppg while allowing 86.3 ppg and -6.3 rebounds per game.
• The Bulldogs were tabbed sixth in the GLVC coaches poll.
 
 Series history with Truman
• Tuesday's meeting will be the 59th in the series with the Ichabods leading 40-18 all-time.
• The Ichabods are 26-5 all-time against the Bulldogs in Topeka.
• In games played in Lee Arena, Washburn is 25-3 all-time against Truman as the Bulldogs picked up victories in a 67-65 win on Feb. 1, 1999, an 81-72 win on Jan. 28, 2006 and a 64-56 in their last trip to Lee Arena picking up a 64-56 win on Jan. 16, 2013 which snapped a six-game Ichabod winning streak over the Bulldogs.
• The Ichabods were 1-2 in games against Truman played in Whiting Fieldhouse.
 
 Last time out for Truman
Northwest Missouri 87, Truman 60 -- Nov. 16, 2018
MARYVILLE, Mo. - In its first road trip under head coach, Jeff Horner, the Truman State University men's basketball team was tasked with the No. 5 team in the country, Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats proved too much for the Bulldogs and ran past them by a score of 87-60.
Truman falls to 0-3 on the young season while Northwest remains unblemished at 5-0. Next up, the Bulldogs will be at Washburn on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip while the Bearcats will do battle with Illinois Springfield on Monday at 8 p.m.
In these two teams' 197th meeting (Northwest leads 103-94), all 12 players that suited for Truman checked in, which includes the first-ever appearances for Olawale Odofin, T.J. Schilling and Caleb Socha. Of those 12, the Bulldogs were led in scoring by Turner Scott and Jacob Socha, each with 10 points, and 10 of them found the scoring column overall.
For the Bearcats, 54 of their 87 points (62 percent) came from two players in Trevor Hudgins (28) and Joey Witthus (26) while Diego Bernard also reached double-figures with 12. For Hudgins, 20 of his 28 points came in the first half, he has scored 20+ points in four of his team's five games and is averaging 24.4 per game on the season.
The Purple and White did manage to shoot 50 percent (8-of-16) from behind the arc and 90.9 percent (10-for-11) at the free throw line while outscoring Northwest's bench, 27-19.
 
 Last Meeting with Truman
Truman 64, Washburn 56 -- Jan. 16, 2013
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Truman spelled disaster as the Bulldogs knocked off the No. 10-ranked Washburn Ichabods at home in a 64-56 loss in Lee Arena.
The start of the game could not have gone much better for the Ichabods as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead 4:20 into the game and Truman did not score until 10 seconds after that for its first points of the game. Washburn led the entire first half taking a 28-25 lead into the halftime break behind 46 percent shooting from the field while the Bulldogs (6-9, 3-4 MIAA) were held to 40 percent.
In the second half, Washburn built a lead of six at 34-29 with 18:23 to play and it wasn't until the 14:21 mark until the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game at 36-35. The teams traded baskets to exchange the lead four times but a 3-pointer by Cole Myers jump started a 13-1 Bulldog run over the next 3:24 pushing Truman out to an 11-point lead at 52-41 with 7:34 to play.
The Ichabods would counter with a 12-3 run over their own over the next 2:35 of the game to cut the Bulldog lead back to two at 55-53 but would get no closer as Truman pushed the lead back to the final margin of eight outscoring Washburn the final 2:14 of the game for its first win in Topeka since an 81-72 win on Jan. 28, 2006 snapping a streak of six straight games while improving to 5-26 all-time in Topeka.
Washburn was led by Will McNeill who scored 20 points adding five steals, five rebounds and three assists going 8 of 11 from the free throw line. Martin Mitchell finished with 13 points. Bobby Chipman led the Ichabods with seven rebounds.
Truman shot a blistering 67 percent in the second half hitting 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range in the second half propelling themsevles to the win finishing 8 of 16 from behind the arc. Washburn fishing 10 of 34 in the second half including 0 of 6 from 3-point range finishing 21 of 58 for 36 percent from the field and 3 of 13 from 3-point range.
Tom Norton came off the bench to score 15 including 4 of 5 shooting from 3-point range. Seth Jackson had 13 points.
Washburn scored 23 points of 18 Truman turnovers while only committing nine turnovers on the night.
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 76, Rockhurst 72 -- Nov. 14, 2018
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn's David Salach had two blocks in a 10-second stretch in the final 29 seconds of the game en route to a career-high six as the Ichabods rallied and then held off a Rockhurst comeback attempt in a 76-72 win over the Hawks in the home opener in Lee Arena on Wednesday night. Washburn will be back in action hosting Truman State on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
With Washburn (2-1) holding a 72-70 lead with 29 seconds to play, Salach blocked a shot by Curtis Lewis and then after an offensive rebound by the Hawks (1-2), Salach picked up another rejection and was fouled with 18 seconds to play and hit both free throws with 18 seconds to play staking the Ichabods to a 74-70 lead. Washburn then fouled a Hawk shooter with 12 seconds left and Lewis hit both free throws against cutting the lead back to two, but Javion Blake connected on both free throws with five seconds to play putting Washburn back up 76-72 as the Ichabods picked up the win.
Washburn trailed 35-33 at the break after leading by as many as nine in the first half at 24-15, but the Hawks came back to tie the score at 24 after a 9-0 run building a lead as many as the halftime deficit of two with a 3-pointer with 47 seconds to play in the half.
The Hawks pushed their lead to as many as seven in the second half with 17:53 to play, but the Ichabods clawed their way back using a traditional 3-point play by Tyler Geiman with 9:38 to go up 57-56.
Washburn went up 10 with 3:56 to play at 70-60, but the Hawks came back with a 10-2 run cutting the lead to two, but would not get any closer as the Ichabods picked up the win.
Blake led all scorers with 19 points tying his career-high with eight rebounds dishing out six assists. Tyas Martin had 15 points and Will McKee had 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Salach finished with six points, six blocks and five rebounds. 
Rockhurst was led by Lewis' 15 points.
Washburn finished 29 of 66 from the field for a 44 percent clip hitting 4 of 17 3-pointers and 14 of 16 free throws. Rockhurst was 23 of 57 for a 41 percent average and 7 of 24 from deep going 19 of 24 from the charity stripe.
Washburn had a 44 to 30 advantage in the paint and forced 20 Rockhurst turnovers leading to 15 points. The Ichabods had 36 rebounds with 10 on the offensive end gaining 12 second-chance points.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,563-1,069-2 all-time in the 115th year in the program's history.
• Washburn is the 10th-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 586-274 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 27 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 434-87 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2018-19 season marks the 34th 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 continue its homestand facing Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 24. The Ichabods will then play host to Saint Mary on Nov. 29 before opening MIAA play on Dec. 6 with Southwest Baptist and Central Missouri on Dec. 8 before leaving for Las Vegas Dec. 17 and 18 for non-conference games with West Texas A&M and Indianapolis. Washburn will wrap up the fist semester with Avila on Dec. 30 and then return to MIAA play on Jan. 5 at Emporia State.