Opening Tip
• Two of the top three scoring teams in the MIAA will square off on Wednesday in Joplin, Mo., as the Ichabods start a crucial two-game road swing beginning with Missouri Southern inside the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center.
• The Ichabods are averaging 86.1 ppg which is third in the MIAA while the Lions are leading the league at 88.0 ppg.
• Washburn is 13-3 and 6-1 in the MIAA coming off a come-from-behind 80-73 win over Fort Hays State last time out.
• The Lions are 14-4 overall and 5-3 in the league after topping Central Oklahoma 104-82 in Edmond.
• The Lions have gone over the 100-point mark five times this season including a 137-50 win over Baptist Bible on Nov. 29.
• Washburn did not votes in the latest NABC poll but was ranked No. 24 in the latest D2SIDA/Media poll on Jan. 15. Missouri Southern received votes in the latest NABC poll on Jan. 15.
• Wednesday's game will also pit a pair of former Kansas basketball teammates on the benches facing off against each other in Washburn's Brett Ballard and Missouri Southern's Jeff Boschee.
• Ballard and Boschee were members of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 teams at Kansas their junior and senior years.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 19.3 ppg which is sixth in the MIAA rankings … in MIAA games Blake is averaging 20.3 ppg hitting 52 of 100 shots overall and 17 of 40 from 3-point range.
• David Salach is averaging 13.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg after scoring a career-high 24 points against Fort Hays State last time out … Salach also leads the MIAA in blocks at 1.5 per game.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 9.4 ppg while and Jalen Lewis is averaging 8.9 ppg off the bench and he is 22nd in the MIAA in 3-point field goals made per game with 1.8 … in MIAA games he has upped his average to 9.4 ppg hitting 15 of 34 3-point attempts and his 28 3-pointer made this season is fifth on the Ichabod freshman chart.
• Devyn Wilson is averaging 8.1 ppg off the bench with 2.9 rebounds and in MIAA action he is scoring 8.9 ppg with 3.6 rpg.
• Tyler Geiman is scoring 7.1 ppg as well as dishing out 5.6 assists per game, which is second in the MIAA behind Northwest Missouri's Trevor Hudgins who has 5.9 per game … Geiman  has 47 assists and six turnovers in MIAA play.
• Will McKee is averaging 7.8 ppg while pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game which is 14th in the MIAA.
• Sevon Witt is scoring 7.9 ppg with 3.3 rpg overall but in MIAA play he is averaging 9.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,503 career points placing him seventh all-time at Washburn … next on the list is Ewan Auguste who scored 1,636 points from 1997 to 2001 … Blake's 172 career 3-point field goals is seventh on the all-time chart … he has played 3,184 career minutes which is third at Washburn.
• David Salach has 100 career blocks which is tied for second all-time at Washburn with Ewan Auguste.
• The Ichabod bench had gone 14-straight games outscoring their opponents until the FHSU bench outscored the Ichabod bench 22 to 13 … the only other game this season the WU bench was outscored was the first game of the season against Oklahoma Baptist (27 to 14).
 
 Bod numbers
• 90 and 26 -- The number of assists and turnovers by Tyler Geiman during the season
• 86.1 WU is third in the MIAA in scoring offense
• 73.1 WU is seventh in the MIAA in scoring defense
• .418 WU is leading the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage
• +5.9 WU is leading the MIAA in rebounding margin
• 4.0 WU is leading the MIAA in blocks
• 17.69 WU is leading the MIAA in assists
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 35-13 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 68-43 overall in his fourth 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 1-0 against Missouri Southern.
 
Missouri Southern head coach Jeff Boschee …
• is in his fifth season as the head coach at Missouri Southern and has gone 89-49.
• served four seasons as an assistant and associate head coach.
• was named the head coach of the Lions on July 1, 2014.
• spent three years at the Barstow School in Kansas City where in 2010 his team went 22-4.
• was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 1999-2000 and was a third team All-Big 12 pick his senior season. He helped lead the Jayhawks to a Final Four appearance in 2002 and previously held the conference record for three pointers made in a career with 338.
• holds the Kansas record for three's made in a career and is second all-time in games started.
• is 3-1 against Washburn.
 
 About Missouri Southern
• The Lions are 14-4 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA leading the league in scoring at 88.0 ppg.
• Missouri Southern is also a perfect 8-0 in home games this season.
• Cam Martin leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 22.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg.
• Elyjah Clark is scoring 15.9 ppg with 6.1 rpg and Kinzer Lambert is scoring 15.5 ppg with 6.6 rpg.
 
 Series history with Missouri Southern
• Wednesday's meeting will be 80th between these two schools in a series that dates back to 1968-69.
• Washburn leads the all-time series 48-31.
• Washburn is 25-17 in MIAA games against the Lions and 10-13 on the road against MSSU since joining the league in 1989-90.
• The Ichabods snapped an eight-game road losing streak to the Lions last season on Jan. 15 in an 86-78 win in Joplin.
• The two teams have met at least once a year since 1976-77.
• The Ichabods are 3-2 against the Lions in the MIAA Tournament.
• In games played in Topeka, the Ichabods are 29-11 overall and 22-8 in games played in Lee Arena.
• The teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament - on March 10, 2000 when the Lions picked up a 79-73 overtime win in Joplin and on March 12, 2011 when the Lions topped the Ichabods in overtime again 82-79 in Edmond, Okla.
• The 110-73 win by the Lions over the Ichabods in Joplin on Dec. 7, 2013 was the largest defeat suffered by an Ichabod team since joining the NCAA Division II ranks.
 
 Last Meeting with Missouri Southern
Washburn 86, Missouri Southern 78 -- Jan. 15, 2018
JOPLIN, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods continued one streak and snapped a pair of others as they picked up an 86-78 win over Missouri Southern. With the win, Washburn won its 12th game in a row improving to 14-3 and 8-0 in the game while in the process recording its first win in Joplin since Jan. 21, 2006 ending an eight-game losing streak in the Leggett and Platt Center. The win also ended a five-game winning streak by the Lions in the series.
The Ichabods led by as many as 15 in the game as a pair of Tyler Geiman free throws capped a 7-0 run pushing Washburn to a 59-44 lead. The Lions chipped away cutting the lead back to 11 before Cameron Wiggins hit a pair of free throws with 6:07 left.
The Lions (11-7, 6-3 MIAA) came back and cut the lead to as few as six at 69-63 with 2:56 to play in the game, but a mini 4-0 run pushed the Ichabod advantage back to 10 on free throws by David Salach and Javion Blake.
The teams combined for 22 free throws (with 20 for Washburn) the final 1:46 of the game as the Lions would get no closer than seven with nine seconds to play in the game.
The Ichabods led at the half 29-22 after holding the Lions to 5 of 23 shooting from the field. The Lions were able to keep the lead under double figures as MSSU hit 9 off 11 free throws compared to 2 of 5 for Washburn. The Ichabods also forced 12 Lion turnovers in the first half. Randall Smith led the Ichabods with seven points in the opening frame.
Isaac Clark led four Ichabods in double figures with 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting adding a career high eight rebounds.  Brady Skeens recorded his 29th career double double and his fourth of the season with 15 points, 13 rebounds adding four blocks playing 37 of 40 minutes. Javion Blake scored 12 points and Randall Smith had 10.
C.J. Carr led the Lions with a game-high 28 points.
The Ichabods dominated on the glass outrebounding the Lions 50 to 37 and held the Lions to 36 percent shooting going 22 of 62 from the field. Washburn was 26 of 62 overall hitting 4 of 18 from deep.
Washburn finished 30 of 43 from the free throw line and the Lions were 26 of 33 as the teams combined for 76 free throws and 61 fouls.
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 80, FOrt Hays State 73 -- Jan. 19, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Ichabods mounted a furious rally coming back from down seven with 5:10 to go outscoring Fort Hays State 20-6 the rest of the game as Washburn topped the Tigers 80-73 in the NCAA Division II Showcase game on a frigid Saturday in Lee Arena. With the win the Ichabods remain perfect in Lee Arena at 9-0 moving to 13-3 on the season and 6-1 in the MIAA.
Will McKee jump started the run with a free throw and then David Salach scored five straight points for the Ichabods as Washburn cut the Tiger lead to one at 67-66 with 3:32 to play. A breakaway layup by Javion Blake off a pass from Tyler Geiman and a two more free throws by McKee pushed the lead to 70-67 with 2:27 to go.
The Tigers hit two free throws with 2:20 to play, but a dunk by Salach and a layup by Blake pushed the lead back to five at 74-69 with 1:41 to go. A 3-pointer by Brady Werth trimmed the lead back to two at 74-72 with 91 seconds remaining, but Washburn finished the game with a 16 to 5 spurt closing out the win with the second half comeback in the only meeting between the two schools in the regular season.
Washburn led by four at the break up 38-34 behind 63 percent shooting while the Tigers, who dropped to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA, shot 50 percent hitting 14 of 28 from the field.
Salach led the Ichabods scoring a game-high and career-high 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field adding five rebounds. Blake scored 19 with six assists and McKee finished with 13 points. Salach also recorded two blocks moving his career total to 100 tying Ewan Auguste for second on the all-time Ichabod chart.
Marcus Cooper scored 21 to lead the Tigers and Werth scored 20.
Washburn wrapped up the game shooting 56 percent from the field going 29 of 52 overall while the Tigers dropped to 38 percent in the second half hitting 44 percent from the field overall at 25 of 57. Washburn was a season-best 18 of 21 from the free throw line and held a 28 to 27 advantage on the glass.
Both teams stayed under 10 turnovers as the Tigers committed nine and the Ichabods had only seven
 
 Regional Rankings - as of Jan. 16
• The Ichabods are ranked third in the D2SIDA Regional rankings behind Northwest Missouri and Northern State.
      School                               Record     Pts.      LW
1        Northwest Missouri State (6)              16-0            60            1
2       Northern State                                      13-3            53            4
3       Washbur• 11-3                                       46               2
4       Missouri Souther• 13-3                          37               6
5       Wayne State                                          13-3            35            7
6       Southern Nazarene                               13-3            26            3
7        Sioux Falls                                             12-4            20          RV
8       Minnesota State                                    12-4            16            5
9       Southern Arkansas                               12-2            13          RV
10     Pittsburg State                                     12-3            10           10
Also receiving votes: Lincoln (Neb.) - 9; St. Cloud State - 4; Fort Hays State - 1
 
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,575-1,071-2 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 596-276 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 442-87 (.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 be back in action at Pittsburg State on Jan. 26 before hosting Lincoln on Jan. 31 and Lindenwood on Feb. 2 in Lee Arena.