• The Washburn Ichabods will open postseason play as the No. 3 seeded Ichabods will take on the No. 6 seeded Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in a rematch of last season's quarterfinal match up in Kansas City on Friday at noon inside historic Municipal Auditorium.
• The Ichabods are 20-8 and finished 14-5 in the MIAA after topping Northeastern State 88-86 in overtime last time out on Saturday, Feb. 24.
• The Lopers are 16-13 this season and went 11-8 in the MIAA and are riding a six-game winning streak after topping Southwest Baptist in the first round of the conference tournament in Kearney on Tuesday, Feb. 27 for their second-straight win over the Bearcats after defeating SBU in their regular season finale on Feb. 23.
• The Ichabods won the two regular season meeting with the Lopers taking the first meeting in Topeka on Dec. 9 in a 78-71 win and then topped the Lopers in Kearney on Feb. 1 in an 87-73 win.
• Friday's meeting with the Lopers will be the 43rd in the series and the Lopers lead 23-19.
• Washburn snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Lopers in the first meeting this season on Dec. 9 in Topeka in the win in Lee Arena.
• Washburn improved to 6-16 in games played in Kearney.
• In the MIAA Tournament, the Ichabods are 0-1 with the lone loss coming last season in a 75-69 defeat to the Lopers in Kansas City in the tournament quarterfinals when the ichabods were the No. 6 seed and the Lopers were the No. 3 seed.
• The Ichabods secured their first back to back 20-win seasons since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons … the Ichabods were 20-10 last season.
• Javion Blake and Brady Skeens are tied for the team lead in scoring this season with both averaging 14.4 ppg.
• Javion Blake has hit a team-high 52 3-pointers on 126 attempts hitting 41 percent from deep.
• 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 is 14th on the all-time scoring chart with 1,135 points.
• Brady Skeens leads the team on the glass with 10.7 rebounds a game adding 14.4 points per game shooting 73 percent from the field hitting 159 of 219 attempts with 2.4 blocks per game … in MIAA play he is averaging 13.8 ppg and 11.1 rpg.
• Brady Skeens became the 25th Ichabod to go over the 1,000 point mark in a career doing so at Pittsburg State earlier this season and is 13th on the career scoring chart with 1,155 points.
• Washburn is second the MIAA in blocks (4.3) trailing Central Oklahoma who is averaging 4.8 blocks per game.
• Washburn leads the league in assists at 15.3 per contest and third in field goal percentage at .485.
• The Ichabods are ranked first in field goal defense holding opponents to 41 percent shooting.
• Brady Skeens is first in the MIAA in rebounds at 10.7 per game and is first in the MIAA in blocks with 2.4 per game and ninth in steals per game with 1.3 … he is also first in field goal percentage (.732) … his field goal percentage is also first in the nation.
• Javion Blake's 137 career 3-point field goals is 10th on the all-time chart.
• Cameron Wiggins is fifth on the Ichabod all-time 3-point chart sitting at 182.
• Brady Skeens is third on the all-time rebounding chart at Washburn with 950 passing Ewan Auguste who was in third recording 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 236, which is 136 more than Ewan Auguste who is second on the chart with 100 blocks.
• In Brady Skeens 37 career double doubles at Washburn, he has averaged 15.2 ppg and 13.0 rpg.
• Randall Smith has 310 career assists which is fourth on the Ichabod career chart and he needs three more to move into third all-time at Washburn.
• David Salach moved into the top 10 sitting seventh on the all-time blocks chart and now has 76.
• Friday's game with Nebraska-Kearney will be Brady Skeen's 100th of his career in a Washburn jersey.
  14.3: The number of turnovers per game the Ichabods have had in the eight losses.
.636: Free throw percentage of the Ichabods (91 of 143) in the eight losses.
.441: Field goal percentage of the Ichabods (198 of 449) in the eight losses.
14.0: The number of turnovers per game the Ichabods have had in the 20 wins.
.710: Free throw percentage of the Ichabods (319 of 449) in the 20 wins.
.502: Field goal percentage of the Ichabods (561 of 1117) in the 20 wins.
73.2: Field goal percentage of Brady Skeens - best on Ichabod single season chart.
66: Number of blocks by Brady Skeens this season - second on Ichabod single chart … Skeens has both the school single season record of 97 which was set last season.
20: Most wins by an Ichabod coach in their first season on the bench (Bob Chipman - 1979-80 season) …and now …
20: Wins by Brett Ballard this season on the Ichabod bench.
18: Wins by Ichabod Hall of Famer Glenn Cafer in his first season on the Ichabod bench (1967-68 season) and A.C. Lonborg in his first season on the Ichabod bench (1923-24 season).
2 and 8: Number of points in the losses by the Ichabods have been defeated by in seven of their eight losses …this season the Ichabods have had three two-point losses, four eight-point losses and one 12-point loss.
9: Number of Ichabods who are in the 1,000 point/200 assist club after Brady Skeens went over the 200 assist mark against SBU on Saturday … he joined Javion Blake who joined the club earlier this season.
7: Number of steals Brady Skeens needs to become the sixth member in Ichabod history to join the 1,000 point/100 steal club.
2: Number of people in Ichabod program history in the 1,000 point/100 block club with Brady Skeens and Ewan Auguste.
11: Number of people in Ichabod program history in the 1,000 point/500 rebound club after Brady Skeens joined it this season.
  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. Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 20-8 in his first season as the Ichabods' head coach and 53-37 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 2-0 against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Nebraska-Kearney head coach Kevin Lofton …
• is in his 13th year as head coach at Nebraska-Kearney after being promoted from co-head coach two seasons ago.
• in his third season as the lone head coach on the squad, he has gone 57-35 in his third season.
• has recorded a 213-160 (.555) mark at UNK.
• is 8-4 against Washburn.  
  Washburn 88, Northeastern State 86 (ot) -- Feb. 24, 2018
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabods held off a huge rally by Northeastern State in the second half to pick up an 88-86 win in overtime over the RiverHawks wrapping up the regular season 20-8 and 14-5 in the MIAA.
After the Ichabods let a 20-point second half lead slip away sending the game to overtime, a drive by Randall Smith put the Ichabods up two at 78-76. The RiverHawks came up empty on their next trip and Tyas Martin hit a pair of free throws pushing the lead to 80-76 with 3:58 to go. The teams traded free throws and buckets. With WU leading by two, Brady Skeens hit one of two free throws with 1:59 to go up three at 86-83. Wiggins was then called for a foul on a 3-point attempt by Jamir Andrews and would hit all three free throws to tie the score at 86 with 1:40 to play.
Smith went to the lane with 1:11 to go and hit one to put the Ichabods up 87-86 with 1:11 to play in the game. The RiverHawks came up empty on their next attempt as did the Ichabods.
Drew Pyle hit a free throw with two seconds to play to put WU up 88-86 and NSU came up empty as the Ichabods intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass hanging on the for the win.
Washburn stretched its lead out to as many as 20 in the second half before the RiverHawks would chip away at the lead cutting it to six with 10:15 to go after scoring 10-straight points. Washburn built the lead back to 12 with 6:33 to go after a free throw by Brady Skeens following a 3-pointer by Cameron Wiggins.
However the RiverHawks came back with five straight points trimming the Ichabod lead to seven with 5:08 to play. The run continued to cut the lead back to four, but a Skeens bucket pushed it back to six with 4:16 to go.
Neither team would score until a baseline jumper by Jace Williams pushed the margin back to eight with 2:38 left, but Jamir Andrews hit a 3 from the top of the key with 2:18 to go cut the lead back to five.
After a timeout by the RiverHawks, Williams hit both free throws to put Washburn up 75-70 with 1:36 to go. The Ichabods committed a foul on a 3-point attempt with 1:03 to go and Andrews hit all three attempts cutting the lead to two with 1:03 to go.
Wiggins was fouled with 21 seconds to play in the game and hit one to go up three, but a 3-pointer by Tanner Mouse knotted the score at 76 sending the game to overtime.
In the first half, the Ichabods led by as many as 21 at after running a 1-point lead at 16-15 into an 18-point lead going on a 17-0 run over a 4:40 run as Washburn hit 5 of 9 from the field including 2 of 3 from deep while holding the RiverHawks 0 of 7 from the field. Washburn would go on to lead by 14 at the break taking a 48-34 advantage into the locker room paced by Tyler Geiman's nine points hitting all three of his 3-point attempts in the frame.
Washburn was outscored 42 to 28 in the second half helping the RiverHawks rally to push the game to overtime.
Skeens led the Ichabods with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 37th career double double adding two assists. Cameron Wiggins has 12 points followed by Geiman's 11 points. Blake had 10 points before fouling out and Martin had 10.
Andrews scored a career-high 39 points hitting nine 3-pointers.
Washburn shot 50 percent in the game going 29 of 58 from the field. In the overtime period Washburn was 3 of 5 from the field and NSU was 1 of 3 in the extra frame.
Washburn's bench outscored the NSU bench 33 to 17.
  Washburn 87, nebraska-Kearney 73 -- Feb. 1, 2018
KEARNEY, Neb. – The Washburn Ichabods snapped a four-game losing streak in Kearney topping Nebraska-Kearney 87-73 on Thursday.
After the Lopers took a 63-62 lead with 9:07 to go in the game, the Ichabods outscored UNK 25-10 the rest of the way to sweep the regular season series with the Lopers picking up their first win in Kearney since a 72-56 win on Jan. 12, 2013.
The Lopers (9-12, 5-7 MIAA) scored four straight to cut the lead to three with 72-69 with 5:12 to go, but Washburn came back with 13 straight points of its own to go up 16 hitting 5 of 6 shots from the field as the Ichabods (16-5, 10-2 MIAA) recorded the 14-point win.
The Ichabods started out 2 of 13 from the field to start the game but would finish the half 13 of 14 only missing one shot from the field the final 11:52 of the first half as the Ichabods took a 42-35 lead into the break. The Lopers jumped out to a 15-7 lead before the Ichabods used a 17-4 run over the next 3:38 to go up 24-19. UNK tied the score at 26 with 6:16 to go in the half, but outscored the Lopers 16-9 the rest of the way taking the seven-point halftime advantage.
Brady Skeens recorded his 32nd double double of his Washburn career with 28 points tying a career high adding 15 rebounds with three blocks. Randall Smith had a season-high 16 points adding seven assists moving into the Ichabod all-time top five. Javion Blake scored 11 and Issac Clark and Tyas Martin each had 10.
The Ichabods finished 32 of 60 from the field hitting 17 of 33 shots in the second half and hit 9 of 10 free throws in the final 20 minutes of the game going 19 of 27 overall from the charity stripe.
The Lopers finished 41 percent from the field going 23 of 56 while hitting 22 of 27 shots from the free throw line and was led by Ty Danielson with 25 points.
Washburn outrebounded UNK 40 to 27 and held a 54 to 30 advantage in points in the paint.
  • The Lopers are 16-13 and went 11-8 in the MIAA finishing sixth in the conference race.
• They are averaging 78.0 points per game on the year while giving up 76.1 points per game.
• First team all-MIAA pick Trey Lansman leads three Lopers in double figures at 21.5 points per game adding 9.6 rebounds per game. Lane Rohrich is scoring 13.0 ppg and Ty Danielson is scoring 12.6 ppg.
  • Friday's meeting will be the 43rd in the series and the Lopers lead 23-19.
• All-time in games in Kearney, the Ichabods are 7-16.
• Washburn leads 12-6 in games played in Topeka.
• The two teams have only played once in the MIAA Tournament and it came last season in Bob Chipman's final game on the Ichabod bench as Washburn fell 75-69 in Kansas City. 
  (Feb. 27 2018) Kearney, Neb. – Five players scored in double figures and Nebraska-Kearney closed on a 14-7 run to slip past Southwest Baptist, 84-77, in an MIAA Tournament first round game Tuesday night at the Health & Sports Center.
The sixth-seeded Lopers (16-13) reach the quarterfinals for a fifth straight season where they'll take on the third-seeded Washburn Ichabods (20-8). Tip time is set for noon on Friday in Kansas City.
UNK and SBU (12-17) split the season series with each team winning on its home court. The Lopers bested the Bearcats, 80-62, this past Friday but things were much tougher tonight as they were 14 lead changes and 12 ties. Both squads led for 17 minutes and neither held a lead bigger than nine points until the very end. 30697
Down eight to start the second half, the Lopers tied things up by the 12 minute mark and it was a back and forth affair from there. UNK, struggling from behind the arc most of the night, hit three in a three-minute span to lead 68-65 with 5:05 left. However, SBU post Damian Prgomet converted a three-point play to knot things up for the 11th time.
It was all tied at 70 when a timeout was called with 3:46 left. That's when UNK took over, making five of six free throws to open up a 75-70 lead by the 2:30 mark. During this stretch, SBU missed a put back layup and the front end of a one-and-one.
The preverbal nail was put into the 'Cat coffin when sophomore reserve forward Kyle Juhl (Harlan, Ia.) hit a wide open three from the left corner to cap an 8-0 run. SBU didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way.
UNK tied it season in steals with 12 and that effort led to 23 points off 18 SBU turnovers. The Lopers also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds which turned into 18 second chance points. Entering tonight, Kearney was averaging six steals and eight o-boards a night.
Also making 27 of 38 free throws (71 percent), UNK ended with five made threes and got scoring from seven different players. Sophomore forward AJ Jackson (14) and freshman reserve post Weston Baker Magrath (15) had career-high point totals as they combined to go 13 of 14 from the field. Jackson (Bellevue West) record his third straight double figure game while Baker Magrath (Marshall, Minn.) had two blocks and five rebounds (four offensive).
Thanks to a 12 of 14 effort at the line, senior forward Trey Lansman (Harlan, Ia.) tallied 21 points. He also handed out five assists and pulled down four rebounds. Next, senior guard Ty Danielson (York) made all six freebies he attempted to tally 13 with junior guard Isaiah McKay (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) finishing with 10 on two made treys.
For SBU, Progment had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks with guard Chris Rossow, the MIAA Freshman of the Year, at 14 points, eight dimes and six rebounds. Finally, junior wing Karim Mouliom had 14 points and five boards coming off the bench.
The Bearcats had eight blocks, went 9 of 22 from the three point line, shot 46 percent from the field and pulled down 13 offensive rebounds. However, seven second half turnovers led to 14 UNK points.
  • The Ichabods are 34-20 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament.
• The Ichabods are 2-2 in first round games (since expanding to 12 teams) … 17-6 in the quarterfinals, 10-7 in the semifinals and 5-5 in championship games.
• In games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 12-10.
• In quarterfinal games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 7-4. In semifinal games played in Municipal the Ichabods are 4-3 and in championship games in Kansas City the Ichabods are 1-3.
• As the No. 1 seed, the Ichabods are 21-3, at No. 2 they are 4-3, at No. 3 they are 0-2, at No. 4 they are 2-3, at No. 6 the Ichabods are 4-5, at No. 7 they are 0-1 and as the No. 8 seed they are 3-3.
• Washburn has never been the No. 5 seed.
• Former head coach Bob Chipman has won more MIAA Tournament games than any other coach. He has won 34 games going 34-19 recording a .653 winning percentage.
• Chipman's five tournament titles is the most by any coach. Tom Smith (MWSU), Steve Tappmeyer (NWMSU) and Ron Shumate (Southeast Missouri) and Kim Anderson (UCM/PSU) each have four titles.
• Overall, here's how the Ichabods have fared against MIAA opponents in the conference tournament by round and in Kansas City.
• First Round games were added for the MIAA Tournament starting in 2013 as the league expanded to 15 teams. The top four teams in the final standings received an automatic bye to Kansas City for the quarterfinals.
Team      1st Rnd        Qrts.       Semis      Finals      In KC       Total
UCM             —                4-0            1-1             —             3-1           5-1
ESU               —                4-1             —              —             3-1           4-1
FHSU           1-0                —             1-0             —             1-0           2-0
MSSU           —                1-0            2-1            0-1            1-1           3-2
MWSU         0-1                —             2-2            1-2            1-1           3-4
NSU              0-1                —             —              —             —            0-1
NWMSU      —                2-2            0-2            1-1            0-2           3-4
PSU               —                1-0            2-0             2-0           2-0           5-0
SBU              1-0               1-0            1-1             1-0            —            4-1
UCO             —                0-1            —              —            0-1            0-1
UNK              —                0-1              —               —            0-1            0-1
--- vs former members
MS&T          —                1-1            —              —             1-0           1-1
UMSL           —                1-0            —              —             —            1-0
SEMO          —                 —             —              —             —             —
TSU               —                2-0            1-0              —             —            3-0
UNO             —                 —             —             0-1            0-1           0-1
Totals         2-2             17-6       10-7          5-5          12-9      32-20
 
MIAA Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, February 27, 2018 (Campus Sites)
Game 1: at #8 Pittsburg State 81, #9 Lincoln                          
Game 2: at #5 Central Missouri 75, #12 Missouri Western 59                      
Game 3: at #6 Nebraska Kearney 84, #11 Southwest Baptist 77
Game 4: at #7 Fort Hays State 71, #10 Lindenwood 65
 
Quarterfinals:                                                                                         
Friday, March 2, 2018 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 5: #3 Washburn vs. #6 Nebraska-Kearney                          12:00 p.m.                                                          
Game 6: #2 Missouri Southern vs. #7 Fort Hays State                  2:15 p.m.
Game 7: #1 Northwest Missouri vs. #8 Pittsburg State                  6:00 p.m.
Game 8: #4 Central Oklahoma vs. #5 Central Missouri                8:15 p.m.
 
Semifinals:
Saturday, March 3, 2018 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6                                6:00 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8                              8:15 p.m.
 
Championship:
Sunday, March 4, 2018 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 11: MIAA Championship                                                   3:30 p.m.
  •     The Ichabods are 1,560-1,067-2 (.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 583-273 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.
  •     The Ichabods are 433-87 (.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.
  •     The winner of the Washburn/Nebraska-Kearney game will play at 6 p.m. on Saturday night in Kansas City in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals.