Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods are back in action on Saturday night in Lee Arena when they will host the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds at 6 p.m.
• The Ichabods are 3-1 weekend after topping Truman last time out on Nov. 20, 73-61.
• ENMU is 1-3 this season and will take on New Mexico State in an exhibition game on Nov. 21 before facing the Ichabods.
• ENMU lost to Texas El-Paso on Monday this week 66-59.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 21.5 ppg after recording his first career double double at Washburn recording 18 points and 10 rebounds against Truman last time out.
• David Salach is averaging 9.5 ppg and 8.3 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 11.5 ppg.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,285 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 87 career blocks which is fifth all-time at Washburn coming off a career-high six rejections against Rockhurst … he needs eight more to pass Bobby Chipman for fourth on the all-time chart.
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 25-11 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 58-41 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.
 
Eastern New Mexico head coach Tres Segler …
• is 25-35 in his third season as the Greyhounds head coach.
• has never faced the Ichabods.
 
 About Eastern New Mexico
• The Greyhounds are 1-3 this season and lost to UTEP on Monday in an exhibition game 66-59.
• The Greyhounds will face New Mexico State on Nov. 21 in another exhibition game before facing the Ichabods on Nov. 24.
• Chukuka Emil leads the team in points and rebounds with 12.5 and 9.0 respectively.
• Zach Parker (11.8), Isaiah Murphy (10.5) and Devin Pullium (10.3) also average double figures.
• ENMU is averaging 76.5 ppg while allowing 78.5 ppg.
 
 Series history with Eastern New Mexico
• Saturday's meeting will be the seventh all-time between the Ichabods and the Greyhounds.
• Washburn leads the series 5-1.
• Saturday's game will be the first between the two schools since a 63-55 win by the Ichabods on Nov. 18, 2006 in Portales.
• Overall, the Ichabods have won the last five in the series.
• The Greyhounds only win came in the first meeting on Feb. 1, 1969 in a 93-60 win.
• The Ichabods are 2-0 in the only two meetings in Topeka and the first since Nov. 21, 2004 in a 102-82 win in Lee Arena … the other win on Feb. 24, 1969 was played in Whiting Fieldhouse with the Ichabods winning 70-60.
 
 Last Meeting with Eastern New Mexico
Washburn 63, Eastern New Mexico -- Nov. 18, 2006
PORTALES, N.M. - Junior forward Kyle Snyder had his second career double-double with a career-high 17 rebounds as the Ichabods defeated Eastern New Mexico 63-55 Saturday night in the consolation game of the ENMU Shootout.
Senior forward Frank Phifer led Washburn with 17 points, sophomore forward Paul Byers had 15 and Snyder chipped in 12. Phifer scored the first four points for Washburn and then was silenced until the second half when he exploded for 13. Byers led WU in the first half with 11 points.
Each team shot 32 percent as they struggled from the field. Washburn was just 2-for-16 from the 3-point line but was able to edge the Greyhounds with a 48-24 advantage on rebounds, including a 17-1 lead on offensive boards, to make the difference. Washburn turned to ball over 21 times while ENMU let it go 18 times.
Snyder also led WU with four assists while junior guard Sergio Negrin led with three steals.
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 73, Truman 61 -- nov. 20, 2018
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn men's basketball team held off a second half surge by the Truman Bulldogs in a meeting of former MIAA members as the Ichabods picked up a 73-61 win on Tuesday night in Lee Arena.
After leading by as many as 13 points in the second half at 61-48 with 7:29 to play, an 8 to 1 run over the next 3:35 cut the margin to six with 3:54 to play as Washburn went through an 0-3 shooting stretch with a pair of turnovers. But Washburn responded with an 11 to 3 run to push the lead to a game-high 14 at 73-59 hitting all four shots from the field and both shots from deep to put the game out of reach as Javion Blake scored five points of his team-high 18 points during the run.
Blake finished with his first career double double with the 18 points adding a career-high 10 rebounds dishing out six assists as well.
Washburn (3-1) led 43-29 at the break after using a 17-0 spurt in the first half going 8 of 11 from the field during the run going on to shooting 49 percent from the field in the frame while holding the Bulldogs (0-4) to 40 percent.
Following Blake's 18 points, Tyler Geiman had 12 with a career-high-tying six rebounds and Tyas Martin scored 11. Truman was led by Nathan Messer's game-high 21 points hitting five 3-pointers.
Washburn finished the game 25 of 58 and hit 16 of 21 free throw attempts holding Truman to 23 of 54 shooting going 6 of 11 from the charity stripe. The Ichabods also held a 37 to 32 advantage on the glass turning 11 offensive rebounds into 18 second change points. Washburn also turned 14 turnovers by the Bulldogs into 24 points in a game which saw four lead changes.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,564-1,069-2 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 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.