• The Washburn Ichabods return to the NCAA Postseason for the first time since 2012 when they will face the No. 6-ranked Northern State Wolves in Maryville, Mo., in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament at 2:15 in Bearcat Arena.
• The Ichabods (22-9) and the Wolves (31-3) faced each other in the 2017-18 season opener in St. Joseph, Mo., at the Hillyard Classic hosted by Missouri Western with the Ichabods falling 69-57.
• The Ichabods fell in their last game 80-74 to Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Championship game in Kansas City on Sunday.
• The Wolves, who are riding a 10-game winning streak entering the NCAA Regional, won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Postseason and Regular Season titles topping Southwest Minnesota in tournament finals 81-75 on Feb. 27 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• The Wolves are ranked No. 6 in the NABC Top 25 poll and No. 7 in the D2SIDA poll.
• Saturday's game will be the second in the series between the two teams.
• Brady Skeens leads the team with 14.8 ppg and Javion Blake is averaging 14.4 ppg while Tyas Martin is the third Ichabod averaging double figures this season at 10.6 ppg.
• Brady Skeens leads the team on the glass with 10.7 rebounds a game adding 14.8 points per game shooting 73 percent from the field hitting 179 of 245 attempts with 2.4 blocks per game … in MIAA play he is averaged 15.2 ppg and 11.1 rpg.
• During the three games of the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Skeens averaged 18.7 ppg connecting on 20 of 26 shots from the field (.769 shooting percentage) adding 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
• 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 1,211 points.
• 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 1,182 points.
• Javion Blake's 139 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 191.
• Brady Skeens is third on the all-time rebounding chart at Washburn with 983 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 242, which is 142 more than Ewan Auguste who is second on the chart with 100 blocks.
• In Brady Skeens 39 career double doubles at Washburn, he has averaged 15.3 ppg and 13.0 rpg.
• Randall Smith has 316 career assists which is third on the Ichabod career chart.
• David Salach moved into the top 10 sitting seventh on the all-time blocks chart and now has 76.
  13.7: The number of turnovers per game the Ichabods have had in the nine losses.
.631: Free throw percentage of the Ichabods (111 of 176) in the nine losses.
.445: Field goal percentage of the Ichabods (224 of 503) in the nine losses.
13.6: The number of turnovers per game the Ichabods have had in the 22 wins.
.711: Free throw percentage of the Ichabods (319 of 449) in the 22 wins.
.515: Field goal percentage of the Ichabods (561 of 1117) in the 22 wins.
73.1: Field goal percentage of Brady Skeens - best on Ichabod single season chart.
72: Number of blocks by Brady Skeens this season - second on Ichabod single chart … Skeens has the school's single season record of 97 which was set last season.
22: Wins by Brett Ballard this season on the Ichabod bench.
20: Second-most wins by an Ichabod coach in their first season on the bench (Bob Chipman - 1979-80 season) …and now …
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 nine losses …this season the Ichabods have had three two-point losses, a six-point loss, 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 earlier this season … he joined Javion Blake who joined the club earlier in February.
4: 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.
17: Number of people rebounds Brady Skeens needs to become the third Ichabod in program history to record at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds joining Gary Carrier (1981-85 // 2,626 pts/1,167 rbs) and Tom Meier (1983-86 // 2,082 pts/1,155 rbs).
  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 22-9 in his first season as the Ichabods' head coach and 55-39 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 0-2 against Northwest Missouri.
 
Northern State head coach Paul Sather …
• is in his eighth year at the held for the Wolves in 2017-18. Sather, who is the 22nd head men's basketball coach at Northern State, is a 1996 graduate of NSU.
• has compiled a 157-81 record while at Northern State going 251-143 in his 12th season overall.
• spent five years as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a 94-62 record during his time there before returning to NSU.
• is 1-0 against the Ichabods.
  #7 Northwest Missouri 80, Washburn 74 -- March 4, 2018
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods fell to the No. 7-ranked Northwest Missouri 80-74 in the MIAA Championship game on Sunday in Municipal Auditorium.
In a game which saw 51 fouls combined called on both teams, Washburn fell behind 41-28 at the break after going 10 of 25 from the field while the Bearcats were 14 of 25 including 6 of 14 from 3-point range while the Ichabods were 0 for 5 from deep.
In the second half the Ichabods fell behind by as many 12 13 before rallying to cut the lead to three on four different times but could not get any closer down the stretch as the Bearcats held on for the win.
Washburn was led by Brady Skeens who had a game-high 22 points with 13 rebounds for his 39th career double double going 8 of 13 from the field. Randall Smith scored 14 and Javion Blake had 13 for the Ichabods, whose record slipped to 22-9.
Northwest Missouri, 27-3, had four players in double figures led by Ryan Welty's 21 points.
Washburn outrebounded the Bearcats 33 to 29 and finished the game at 48 percent after going 16 of 29 from the field in the second half. Northwest finished 23 of 46 overall as the Ichabods held the Bearcats to 9 of 21 shooting in the second half.
Both Skeens and Blake were named to the MIAA All-Tournament team..
  Northern State 69, Washburn 57 -- Nov. 10, 2017
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A nine point halftime deficit and 16 first half turnovers was too much to overcome for the Washburn Ichabod basketball team in its season opener as they fell to the preseason NSIC favorite Northern State in a 69-57 loss in the first game of the Hillyard Classic.
The Ichabods had leads of six twice in the first half at 10-4 with 16:25 to play and 12-6 with 14:27 to play before the Wolves 14-2 run over the next 7:53 to take a 20-14 lead before a 3-pointer from Tyler Geiman halted the run with a 3-pointer. After the teams traded jumpers, Northern State pushed its lead to as many as 11 in the opening half at 36-25 before a Geiman layup pulled Washburn within nine at the break down 36-27.
The Ichabods outshot the Wolves 55 percent to 41 percent, but 16 turnovers in the first 20 minutes led to 11 points for Northern State.
Northern State built a lead of as many as 22 points at 55-33 with 11:35 to go in the game before an Ichabod 12-0 run cut the lead to 10 with 6:09 to play. After a free throw by Randall Smith, Washburn trimmed the lead to nine with 5:57 to play, but would not get any closer than 10 on two separate occasions as the Wolves would go on for the 12-point win.
Isaac Clark led the Ichabods with 14 points off the bench and Javion Blake scored 11 of his 13 in the second half. Brady Skeens had eight points with a game-high 11 rebounds adding four blocks, three steals and three assists.
Darin Peterka led four Wolves in double figures with 12 points.
Washburn finished 24 of 59 from the field and was only 3 of 4 from the free throw line while the Wolves were 23 of 55 overall and hit 18 of 21 free throws in the game. The Ichabods held a 35 to 33 advantage on the glass and finished the game with 22 turnovers with six miscues in the second half.
  • The Northern State Wolves are 31-3 overall going 20-2 in the Northern Sun and have won their last 10 games.
• Head Coach Paul Sather was named the NSIC Coach of the Year, while Ian Smith was named to the NSIC All-Conference first team, and Darin Peterka, DJ Pollard, and Logan Doyle were named to the All-Conference second team. Northern State won both the NSIC Overall and North Division Conference Championships, notching the first overall title since 2002-03 and first division title in program history.
• The Wolves finished the regular season leading the NSIC in scoring defense (65.5), scoring margin (+14.4), field goal percentage defense (.425), and rebounding margin (+8.4). 
• Junior Ian Smith drained the game winner in the semifinals over Minnesota State, sending NSU to their first NSIC Tournament Championship game since 2007-08.
• DJ Pollard leads five averaging double figures this season, notching 12.8 points per game. Darin Peterka (12.3 ppg) and Ian Smith (12.1 ppg) are each scoring double figures per game, while Logan Doyle and Carter Evans are recording 11.9 and 10.2 respectively. Doyle leads the team averaging 7.1 rebounds per game and shooting 67.2 percent from the floor. Peterka is the leader from the arc with 58 made 3-pointers and a 41.7 shooting percentage. Smith continues to hold a team high 139 assists for a 4.2 apg average and has a team-high 44 steals this season.
• As a team, the Wovles are shooting 51 percent from the field hitting 1000 of 1973 attempts and have connected on 100 more 3-pointers than their opponents this season going 287 of 728 from deep for a .394 average.
• In their second game of the season, the Wolves lost to Northwest Missouri 71-60 at the Hillyard Classic in St. Joseph on Nov. 12.
  • Saturday's meeting will be the second in the series and the second one this season.
• The Ichabods (22-9) and the Wolves (31-3) faced each other in the 2017-18 season opener in St. Joseph, Mo., at the Hillyard Classic hosted by Missouri Western with the Ichabods falling 69-57.
  (Feb. 27, 2018) Sioux Falls, S.D. – The No. 9 Northern State University men's basketball team sealed their first NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament Title since the 2004-05 season, defeating Southwest Minnesota State 81-75 on Tuesday evening from the Sanford Pentagon. The Wolves swept the NSIC championships winning the overall, north division, and tournament crowns. They are now 31-3 this season.
It was a team effort for the Wolves as five players scored in double figures in the win. Northern held control for a majority of the game, despite multiple SMSU comeback attempts. The Wolves led by as much as 20, midway through the second half riding their 10-point lead following the first 20 minutes of regulation. Southwest out-scored Northern in the second, 43-39, however it was not enough to overcome the first half deficit.
Northern shot 58.7 percent from the floor, 62.5 percent from the arc, and 68.0 percent from the foul line in the win. The knocked down a game high ten from beyond the arc, and added 16 assists, six blocks, and four steals. NSU out-rebounded SMSU 33-28 in the game, notching 11 second chance points off of eight offensive boards. In total the Wolves tallied 28 points in the paint, 13 points off the bench, ten points off turnovers, and four fast break points.
DJ Pollard led the team with 21 points in the game, shooting 70.0 percent from the floor. The senior hit 4-of-5 from the arc and added four rebounds and two assists. He was followed by Darin Peterka with 15 points, shooting 75.0 percent from both the floor and the 3-point line. Peterka added a team second best five rebounds, as well as three assists and one steal.
Gabe King tallied his second straight game in double figures, notching 13 points, with a team high six rebounds. King hit 5-of-9 from the floor and added two assists, one block, and one steal. Ian Smith notched 12 points, five rebounds, two steals, and a team leading five assists.
Logan Doyle led the team off the bench with 11 points, shooting 75.0 percent from the floor as well. Doyle notched five rebounds, and a team second best two blocks for the Wolves. Fellow 'big' man Carter Evans tallied a career game, as he scored the first points of the game for the Wolves and became the 54th member of the 1,000 point club. Evans finished the night with seven, as well as a team leading six rebounds and three blocks. Bo Fries grabbed the final two team points, on a fast break layup which gave Northern the 80-75 lead with just 31 seconds remaining.
Three Wolves were named to the all-tournament team following the win, in Ian Smith, Darin Peterka, and MVP DJ Pollard.
  •    The Ichabods are 14-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
•    Washburn advanced to the 2001 NCAA Championship game falling 72-63 to Kentucky Wesleyan.
•    Washburn is 8-7 in neutral site NCAA tournament games.
•    The Ichabods are 1-2 in NCAA tournament away games.
•    Washburn is 5-3 in NCAA tournament home games.
•    The Ichabods are 8-4 in NCAA tournament first round games.
•    Washburn is 3-5 in second round NCAA tournament games.
•    The Ichabods are 1-1 in NCAA regional tournament games played in Missouri with both games being played in Joplin at the 2000 NCAA Central Regional.
•    Against other foes in NCAA play at this year's regional tournament: the Ichabods are 2-1 against No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri; 0-2 against No. 5 seed Missouri Southern. The Ichabods have not face No. 2 seed Northern State, No. 3 seed Southern Nazarene, No. 4 seed Southwest Minnesota State, No. 6 seed St. Cloud State or No. 8 seed Minnesota State.
  Saturday, March 10, 2018
12:00 pm  Game 1: #3 Southern Nazarene  vs #6 St Cloud State
2:15 pm    Game 2: #2 Northern State vs #7 Washburn
6:00 pm    Game 3: #1 Northwest Missouri State vs #8 Minnesota State
8:15 pm    Game 4: #4 Southwest Minnesota State vs #5 Missouri Southern State 
 
Sunday, March 11, 2018
5:00 pm    Game 5: game 1 winner vs game 2 winner
7:30 pm    Game 6: game 3 winner vs game 4 winner
 
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
7:00 pm    Game 7: championship game
  •   The Ichabods are 1,561-1,068-2 (.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 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.
  •   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/Northern State game will face the winner of the Southern Nazarene/St. Cloud State game at 5 p.m. on Sunday.