Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will wrap up a mini two-game homestand with Central Oklahoma on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
• Washburn is 18-5 and 11-3 in the MIAA sitting in second place in the conference standings after topping blasting Northeastern State 87-60 after leading by as many as 36 in the game on Valentine's Day.
• Central Oklahoma is 10-13 this season and 3-11 in the MIAA.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 19.9 ppg which is fifth in the MIAA rankings … in MIAA games Blake is averaging 20.7 ppg.
• David Salach is averaging 12.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg after scoring a career-high 24 points against Fort Hays State earlier this season … Salach is tied for fourth in the MIAA in blocks at 1.2 per game.
• Jalen Lewis is averaging 8.9 ppg off the bench and he is tied for 14th in the MIAA in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.0 … he scored a career-high 20 point against Missouri Southern … he has hit 33 of 71 3-point attempts in MIAA games and his 46 3-pointers made this season is second on team and is third on the Ichabod freshman chart trailing Javion Blake's 52 and Shannon Kruger's 54 … his 205 points scored this season is just outside the top 10 as Kruger scored 228 during the 1998-99 season.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 8.5 ppg and Sevon Witt is scoring 8.0 ppg with 3.5 rpg overall but in MIAA play he is averaging 8.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg.
• Tyler Geiman is scoring 7.9 ppg as well as dishing out 5.4 assists per game, which is second in the MIAA behind Northwest Missouri's Trevor Hudgins who has 5.9 per game … Geiman has 82 assists and 18 turnovers in MIAA play and he scored a career-high 19 points against Missouri Southern … he is ranked 12th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio.
• Devyn Wilson is averaging 8.0 ppg off the bench scoring a career high 19 against Central Missouri with 2.9 rebounds and Will McKee is averaging 6.9 ppg while pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,656 career points placing fourth all-time at Washburn after passing Harold Brown who scored 1,651 points from 1970 to 1974 and Ryan Murphy who scored 1,654 points from 1999-2003 … currently sitting in on the all-time scoring chart is Will McNeill with 1,701 points …Blake's 192 career 3-point field goals is fifth on the all-time chart … he has played 3,418 career minutes which is third at Washburn … Blake also needs only two steals to become the sixth Ichabod to score at least 1,000 points and have at least 100 steals … Blake's 358 career free throw makes is sixth all-time at Washburn needing 10 more to move into fifth all-time … Blake has also moved into fifth on the all-time assist chart as an Ichabod with 299.
• David Salach has 103 career blocks which is second all-time at Washburn.
 
 MIAA Bod numbers
• 84.7 WU is third in the MIAA in scoring offense
• 73.3 WU is eighth in the MIAA in scoring defense
• 11.3 WU is second in the MIAA in scoring margin
• .430 WU is second in the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage
• +5.2 WU is first in the MIAA in rebounding margin
• 3.39 WU is third in the MIAA in blocks
• 17.78 WU is leading the MIAA in assists
• 5.4 Tyler Geiman is second in the MIAA in assists and fourth in the MIAA in assist to turnover ratio
 
 Single season record stat watch
• 84.7 Points per game this season for the Ichabods is fourth
• 214 3-pointers this season for the Ichabods is 10th
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 40-15 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 73-45 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 1-1 against Central Oklahoma.
 
Central Oklahoma head coach Tom Hankins …
• is 62-49 in his third year at Central Oklahoma.
• is 3-3 against Washburn.
• he spent the previous 18 seasons in the Division I ranks.
• is a native of Tulsa and was an assistant coach for 15 years at Oral Roberts before serving the last three seasons as associate head coach at Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
• helped ORU capture five Summit League championships and made three NCAA Division I national tournament appearances during Hankins' tenure there.
• went to SIU in 2012 as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, spending three seasons there before coming to UCO
 
 About Central Oklahoma
• The Bronchos are 10-13 and 3-11 in the MIAA.
• UCO lost 66-63 on Thursday at Emporia State.
• UCO is second in the MIAA in steals with 7.13 per game.
• Adarius Avery is averaging 19.8 points which is seventh in the MIAA to go along with a league-leading 10.7 rebounds per game … he is also sixth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .524 (167 of 319).
 
 Series history with Central Oklahoma
• Saturday's meeting will be the 30th in the series history.
• The Bronchos lead the series 16-13 after beating the Ichabods in the last meeting on Feb. 22, 2018 in Edmond by a score of 73-65.
• The Ichabods lost the first match ups as MIAA schools on Jan. 5, 2013 67-72 in Edmond and in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2013 99-88 in Kansas City.
• Washburn's two highest-scoring combined games in school history came against UCO. In 1992 the two teams scored 246 points (132-114, UCO) and in 1998 they scored 218 points (111-107, UCO).
• In the Jan. 13, 2018 meeting, the 49 points was the fewest by the Ichabods in a win in the shot clock era and the 96 combined points were the second fewest scored by Washburn and its opponent in the shot clock era.
• WU has scored at least 100 points against UCO three times and the Bronchos have done so twice.
 
 Last Meeting with Central Oklahoma
Central Oklahoma 73, Washburn 65 -- Feb. 22, 2018
EDMOND, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabods pulled within one with 2:12 to go, but Central Oklahoma hit 10 of its last 13 free throws as the Ichabods fell 73-65 to the Bronchos.
Randall Smith connected on his first 3-pointer of the game with 1:37 to go pulling the Ichabods within one at 61-60, but UCO came back with a 3-point play adding a pair of free throws before the a 3-point play by Tyas Martin cut the lead back to three at 66-63, but the Ichabods would get no closer as UCO outscored the Ichabods 7-2 hitting 7 of 8 free throws helping the Bronchos hang on for the win.
The Ichabods trailed 30-26 at the break as UCO hit a jumper right before the half to take the four-point lead into halftime. The Ichabods were 10 of 31 in the first half from the field and went 8:08 of the frame without a bucket. UCO also hit 10 field goals in the first half going 10 of 23 overall and 2 of 8 from 3-point range while going 8 of 12 from the free throw line compared to 5 of 9 for the Ichabods.
Javion Blake and Cameron Wiggins each scored 13 to lead the Ichabods.
The Ichabods finished 22 of 59 from the field for the game shooting 12 of 28 in the second half and 11 of 14 from the free throw line. UCO was 21 of 48 from the field and hit 28 of 36 free throws. The Ichabods were outrebounded 44 to 32 overall in the game.
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 87, Northeastern State 60 -- Feb. 14, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team jumped out to a 21-5 lead over Northeastern State building a lead as many as 36 midway through the second half and never looked back in an 87-60 Valentine's Day victory. The Ichabods improve to 18-5 with the win and 11-3 in the MIAA to remain in sole possession of second place in the league race.
The Ichabods shot a blistering 73 percent in the first half from the field and connected on 11 of 13 3-point attempts for an 85 percent average while building a 48-22 lead at the end of the first half. Washburn held the RiverHawks (12-11, 6-8 MIAA) shooting in the opening frame. Washburn hit 7 of its first 9 shots from the field and 5 of its first 16 3-point attempts en route to 17 3-pointers on the evening – one shy of the school record set earlier this season against Southwest Baptist in Lee Arena.
In the second half, the RiverHawks would get no closer than 22 with 1:38 to go in the game.
Javion Blake led the Ichabods with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting with two assists in 28 minutes of play. Blake upped his career scoring total to 1,656 passing Harold Brown (1970-74) and Ryan Murphy (1999-2003) to move into fourth place all-time on the Ichabod scoring chart. Next on the list is Will McNeill (2008-13) who scored 1,701 points in 117 games.
Jalen Lewis scored 14 off the bench hitting four 3-pointers in six attempts. Devyn Wilson scored 12 points and Will McKee added 11 points with a game-high nine rebounds. Tyler Geiman scored seven points and dished out nine assists. David Salach scored nine points with six boards, two assists and two blocks.
Caleb Smith led the RiverHawks with 22 points.
Washburn outrebounded the NSU 36 to 30 and turned 14 RiverHawk turnovers into 20 points. Washburn had 23 assists on 32 buckets and finished the game 32 of 57 from the field for a 56 percent clip while NSU was 24 of 57 for a 42 percent average.

 D2SIDA Regional Rankings - as of Feb. 11
Week 13 poll                             Points   Record   LW            
1        Northwest Mo                                         60            23-0          1              
T-2    Northern State                                        50            19-5          3              
T-2    Southern Nazarene                                 50            20-4          2              
4       Missouri Souther• 44                           19-5             4             
5       Washbur• 34                                         17-5              6             
6       Wayne State                                           24            17-7          5              
7        Lincol• 23                                              16-6             7             
8       St. Cloud State                                        19            17-7          8              
9       Southern Arkansas                                 12            17-5         10             
10     Minnesota State                                       7              16-8          9
Also receiving votes: MSU Moorhead - 3, Southeastern Okla. - 3, East Central - 1                                          
 
Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,580-1,073-2 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 601-278 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 444-88 (.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 travel for a pair of road games at Lindenwood on Feb. 21 and at Lincoln on Feb. 23 and then return home to face Northwest Missouri on Feb. 28 before wrapping up the regular season against Missouri Western on Senior Day on March 2. The MIAA Tournament will start on March 5 in Kansas City as now the top 10 teams in the final standings will go straight to Kansas City with the top two teams in the final standings will receive first-round byes.