Opening Tip
• Washburn will continue its three-game road trip on Wednesday at Missouri Western at 7:30 p.m.
• The Ichabods are 10-2 this season and 3-0 in the MIAA after topping Emporia State on the road on Jan. 5 in a 94-81 win.
• Missouri Western enters the game with an 8-7 record going 2-2 in league play winning both games of the Oklahoma two-step with wins at Central Oklahoma and at Northeastern State.
• The Griffons are 1-3 in home games this season with two of those losses coming in conference play with Lindenwood (75-58) and Lincoln (79-68).
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 19.7 ppg which is fourth in the MIAA rankings.
• David Salach is averaging 11.6 ppg and 5.9 rpg … his rebounding total is 18th in the MIAA.
• Jalen Lewis is averaging 9.3 ppg off the bench and he is 17th in the MIAA in 3-point field goals made per game with 1.8.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 8.9 ppg while Tyler Geiman is scoring 8.1 ppg as well as dishing out 5.6 assists per game, which is second in the MIAA.
• Will McKee is averaging 8.5 ppg while pulling down 7.2 rebounds per game which is fifth in the MIAA.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,435 career points placing him eighth all-time at Washburn … … next on the chart is Dan Buie in seventh who scored 1,484 points in two seasons at Washburn after averaging 24.7 ppg in 60 career games … Blake's 167 career 3-point field goals is seventh on the all-time chart … he has played 3,054 career minutes which is fifth at Washburn.
• David Salach has 95 career blocks which is fourth all-time at Washburn … he needs two more to pass Dan Buie for third and six more to pass Ewan Auguste for second … Salach leads the MIAA in blocks at 1.7 per contest.
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 32-12 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 65-42 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 Western.
 
Missouri Western head coach Sundance Wicks …
• is 8-7 in his first season as the Griffons' head coach.
• in 2017-18, Wicks helped lead Northern State to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season and postseason championships this year. Northern State also claimed the central region championship en route to the program's first-ever appearance in the national championship game.
• lettered four years as a student-athlete at Northern State from 1999-2003, Wicks held assistant coaching positions at Northern State, Colorado (2006-07), Northern Illinois (2007-11) and San Francisco (2015-16).
• has never faced Washburn.
 
 About Missouri Western
• The Griffons are 8-7 this season and 2-2 in the MIAA.
• Lavon Hightower leads the Griffons in scoring at 18.9 ppg with a team-high 7.6 rpg.
• The Griffons are 1-3 in home games and 4-2 on the road.
• The Griffons are averaging 74.3 ppg (12th in the MIAA) while allowing 76.2 ppg (12th in the MIAA).
• The Griffons are fifth in the MIAA in field goal defense at 43 percent.
 
 Series history with Missouri Western
• Wednesday's meeting will be the 91st between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 53-37 winning the last two games overall.
• The Ichabods are 29-21 against MWSU in MIAA games and 23-11 in Lee Arena and 30-13 in games played in Topeka overall.
• The Ichabods are 21-23 in games played in St. Joseph against the Griffons.
• Since joining the MIAA, the Ichabods are 10-18 in MIAA games played in St. Joseph.
• In the MIAA Tournament the Ichabods are 3-5 against the Griffons.
• The Ichabods lead 5-4 in overtime games including the 56-52 win three years ago in St. Joseph.
 
 Last Meeting with Missouri Western
Washburn 78, Missouri Western 74 -- Feb. 7, 2018
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods used a late game surge to build a six point lead and held on after the margin was cut to one late in a 78-74 win over Missouri Western Wednesday night in Lee Arena. 
After the Griffons went in front 59-58 with 7:14 to play in the game, Washburn scored seven straight to go up six at 65-59 with 5:49 to play as Cameron Wiggins hit four straight free throws. The Griffons used an 11-6 run over the next 3:30 to cut the lead back to one, but a driving Randall Smith layup and two free throws by Tyas Martin, who made his first start of the season, pushed the lead out to five.
The Griffons cut the lead back to three with 19 seconds to go, but Martin hit three more free throws sealing the win after a layup by Missouri Western at the buzzer cut the lead back to four.
Washburn led by one at the end of the first half after both teams shot above 50 percent from the field as the Griffons were 16 of 27 overall (59 percent) and the Ichabods were 16 of 31 (52 percent).
The Ichabods (18-5, 12-2 MIAA) were led by Cameron Wiggins and Javion Blake who each scored 16 points. For Wiggins it was a season high hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers in the win. Brady Skeens recorded his 34th double double of his career and 10th of the season and third straight with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks hitting 4 of 5 shots from the field. Martin scored 13.
Missouri Western was led by Lavon Hightower and Bryan Hudson who each chipped in 16 points.
Washburn outrebounded the Griffons (4-17, 2-12 MIAA) 36 to 26 overall and finished 48 percent from the field while the Ichabods were 47 percent overall. Washburn was 18 of 25 from the free throw line and the Griffons were 11 of 14.  Washburn turned 12 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points and outscored Western 42 to 34 in the paint..
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 94, Emporia State 81 -- Jan. 5, 2018
EMPORIA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods remained perfect in MIAA play with 94-81 win over Emporia State improving to 10-2 on the season and 3-0 in the MIAA.
The Ichabods led from start to finish in the first half as Tyas Martin scored the first six points of the game for Washburn as the Ichabods jumped out to a 19-9 lead with 13:12 to go in the frame. Washburn broke a 9-9 tie with a 10-0 run over the next 3:30 as Javion Blake hit a pair of 3-pointers while the Hornets were 0-6 during the Washburn run.
The Hornets cut the lead to eight at 26-18, but a 16-5 spurt pushed Washburn's lead out to 19 at 42-23 before taking a 53-35 lead into the break. Washburn was 19 of 39 in the first half hitting 7 of 20 3-pointers while holding the Hornets to 9 of 30 shooting. ESU was 13 of 16 from the free throw line compared to 8 of 9 for the Ichabods.
In the second half, the Hornets would get no closer than 10 with under one minute to play as the Ichabods won for the sixth time in the last eight meetings over Emporia State.
Blake led all scorers with 32 points on 12 of 18 shooting adding nine rebounds and four assists. Sevon Witt had 16 points off the bench with seven rebounds. Martin had 12 points and Jalen Lewis had 11 points. Tyler Geiman dished out a nine assists tying a career high.
Washburn was 36 of 64 from the field hitting 11 of 28 from 3-point range. The Ichabods outrebounded the Hornets, who dropped to 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA. ESU was 23 of 62 overall and hit 14 of 35 from 3-point range going 10 of 20 in the second half. Washburn had 23 assists in the game led by Geiman's nine. Washburn also held a 45 to 31 advantage on the glass turning eight offense rebounds into 12 second change point and they outscored the Hornets 44 to 18 in the paint.
 
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,572-1,070-2 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 593-275 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 439-87 (.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 wrap up its three-game road trip heading to Northwest Missouri on Jan. 12 before returning home to face Nebraska-Kearney Jan. 16 and Fort Hays State on Jan.19.
• Washburn will return to the friendly confines of Lee Arena to host Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 16 and then host Fort Hays State in the NCAA game of the week with will be televised on ESPN3 and the watchespn app.