Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will step outside of Lee Arena for the final time in the regular season as they will have road contests at Lindenwood on Thursday and at Lincoln on Saturday before wrapping up the regular season with home games against No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri on Feb. 28 and finishing off the regular season slate with Missouri Western on March 2.
• Washburn is 19-5 and 12-3 in the MIAA sitting in second place in the conference standings after beating Central Oklahoma 88-69 on Feb. 16 … the Ichabods lead Missouri Southern by one game in the conference race.
• Lindenwood is 14-14 overall and 7-9 in the MIAA snapping a five-game losing streak with road wins at Fort Hays State (73-67) and at Nebraska-Kearney (73-65) and at Lincoln on Tuesday night (86-82).
• The Ichabods topped Lindenwood in Lee Arena on Feb. 2 in an 84-77 victory.
• The game will be the last regular season meeting between the two schools as MIAA foes as Lindenwood is leaving the MIAA for the Great Lakes Valley Conference starting next season.
• The Ichabods are looking to secure their first back-to-back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 2002-03, 2003-04,  2004-05 seasons … the Ichabods were 20-10 in 2016-17 and 22-10 in the 2017-18 season in Brett Ballard's first season on the Washburn bench.
• In program history the Ichabods have had 27, 20-win seasons entering this year.
• The Ichabod coaching record for the most wins in their first two seasons on the Washburn bench is held by Bob Chipman with 41 during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons … Brett Ballard has 41 entering the Lindenwood game … Glenn Cafer had 38 wins in the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.
• 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 5.8 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 8.7 ppg off the bench and he is tied for 14th in the MIAA in 3-point field goals made per game with 1.9 … he scored a career-high 20 point against Missouri Southern … he has hit 33 of 74 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 209 points scored this season is just outside the top 10 as Kruger scored 228 during the 1998-99 season.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 8.4 ppg and Sevon Witt is scoring 7.6 ppg with 3.3 rpg overall but in MIAA play he is averaging 8.2 ppg and 3.7 rpg.
• Tyler Geiman is scoring 8.2 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 86 assists and 19 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 8.5 ppg off the bench scoring a career high 19 against Central Missouri with 3.0 rebounds and Will McKee is averaging 6.9 ppg while pulling down 5.7 rebounds per game.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,676 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 third on the all-time scoring chart is Will McNeill with 1,701 points …Blake's 195 career 3-point field goals is fifth on the all-time chart … he has played 3,442 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 361 career free throw makes is sixth all-time at Washburn needing five more to move into fifth all-time … Blake has also moved into fifth on the all-time assist chart as an Ichabod with 301.
• David Salach has 103 career blocks which is second all-time at Washburn.
 
 MIAA Bod numbers
• 84.8 WU is third in the MIAA in scoring offense
• 73.2 WU is eighth in the MIAA in scoring defense
• 17.78 WU is leading the MIAA in assists
• 11.6 WU is second in the MIAA in scoring margin
• .483 WU is second in the MIAA in field goal percentage
• .423 WU is second in the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage
• +5.4 WU is first in the MIAA in rebounding margin
• 3.39 WU is third in the MIAA in blocks
• 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
• 84.8 Points per game this season for the Ichabods is fourth
• 225 3-pointers made this season for the Ichabods is sixth
• 581 3-pointers attempted this season for the Ichabods is 13th
• .387 3-pointer percentage this season for the Ichabods is 10th
• 17.8 Assists per game average this season which is 11th all-time at Washburn
• 129 Assists by Tyler Geiman which is 11th on the single season chart needing three more to move into the top 10
• 5.4 Assists per game by Tyler Geiman which is fourth on the single season chart behind Jordan Canfield who had 8.1 apg in 1994-95 and 1996-97 and 5.5 in 1993-94
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 41-15 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 74-45 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 2-2 against Lindenwood going 0-2 while at Baker and 2-0 on the Ichabod sidelines.
 
Lindenwood head coach Lance Randall …
• was named the 19th head coach of the Lindenwood men's basketball program on May 11, 2015 recording a 67-53 record in his fourth season on the Lions sideline.
• came to Lindenwood after spending the previous four years as head coach at St. Leo University, where he compiled a record of 78-44 which also included three trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
• is 188-132 overall in his 11th season as a head coach.
• is 0-5 against Washburn.
 
 About Lindenwood
• The Lions are 14-14 this season and 7-9 in the MIAA and have won their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak.
• They are 5-5 at home this season going 5-7 in road games and 4-2 in neutral site games.
• Brad Newman leads the team in scoring at 20.7 ppg.
• Chandler Diekvoss is scoring 15.7 ppg with a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game … he has led the Lions in scoring in their last three of the last four games scoring 27 against Missouri Western, 23 at Fort Hays State and 25 at Nebraska-Kearney.
 
 Series history with Lindenwood
• Thursday's meeting will be the ninth all-time.
• Washburn leads the series 7-1.
• The average margin of victory in the series has been eight points.
• The Ichabods are 3-1 in games played in St. Charles winning the last two.
• Washburn has won all four meetings in Topeka including a 68-66 overtime win in Topeka on Jan. 2, 2016, last season's 78-60 win on Dec. 17, 2017 and an 84-77 win on Feb. 2, 2019 in Topeka.
• The teams have never met in the MIAA Tournament.
 
 Last Meeting with Lindenwood
Washburn 87, Lindenwood 77 -- Feb. 2, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods returned to their winning ways with an 84-77 win over the Lindenwood Lions in their last trip to Lee Arena as an MIAA school on Saturday afternoon.
With the Ichabods leading by three at the break at 35-32, Lindenwood cut the to one at 37-36,  Washburn used an 11-1 run to build the lead to 48-37 with 16:37 to go in the game. The Lions used an 8-0 run of their own to trim the margin back to four at 51-47 before back-to-back buckets by David Salach on a 3-pointer and a jumper pushed the difference back to eight.
The teams traded layup and the Lions would cut the Ichabod lead to three at 80-77 with 1:27 to play hitting five straight free throws, however the Ichabods hit four of their final free throws sealing the win.
Sevon Witt came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points recording his first double double as an Ichabod adding 11 rebounds (six offensive) with three blocks and four steals – all career-highs. He scored 14 points in the second half and went 7 of 11 from the field and hit 7 of 10 free throws in 22 minutes of work. Javion Blake scored 19 points with three assists and David Salach scored 15 with seven boards. Jalen Lewis scored 12 off the bench and Tyler Geiman had six points with five assists.
Lindenwood was led by Chandler Diekvoss' 23 points and nine rebounds.
After shooting 43 percent in the first half the Ichabods improved to 51 percent in the second half to finish at 48 percent overall hitting 31 of 65 shots. The Lions shot 50 percent in the game connecting on 26 of 52 attempts.
The Ichabods outscored the Lions 47 to 38 in the paint and 38 to 23 in bench points. The Ichabods were outrebounded 33 to 31 in the game, but turned 10 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points compared to seven for the Lions. Washburn also forced Lindenwood into 17 turnovers in the game. The teams were also whistled for a combined 37 fouls (20 for the Ichabods) in the game as Washburn finished 14 of 18 from the free throw line and the Lions were 19 of 24.
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 88, Central Oklahoma 69 -- Feb. 16, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team won its fifth-straight game using a big second half to pull away from Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon in Lee Arena in an 88-69 win. Washburn (19-5, 12-3 MIAA) led the Bronchos 36-33 at the half after the teams had nine ties and eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes as neither team led by more than four points. Washburn shot 52 percent from the field but also turned the ball over 12 times in the opening stanza compared to three for the Bronchos (10-14, 3-12).
Coming out of the break, the Ichabods pulled out to a four-point lead at 41-37 on a 3-pointer by Javion Blake and after a pair of UCO free throws, the Ichabods scored the next seven points of the game with five coming from Tyler Geiman on a lay-up and and 3-pointer with a bucket by Jace Williams in between pushing the lead to 49-39 with 17:11 to go.
UCO came back with four straight points trimming the margin back to five with 16:02 to play, but the Ichaobds responded with a 17-2 run over the next 5:38 and UCO would not get within 14 the rest of the way with 5:36 to go.
Blake led the Ichabods with 20 points in 24 minutes of action on 7 of 12 shooting hitting 3 of 6 3-pointers adding four rebounds and two assists. Geiman had 16 points hitting four 3-pointers with seven rebounds and four assists. David Salach had 12 points with eight rebounds including four offensive boards. Devyn Wilson scored 11 with four assists and Will McKee had seven points, 10 caroms, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
Adarius Avery had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bronchos.
Washburn shot 65 percent in the second half hitting 20 of 31 attempts shooting a season-best 59 percent from the field on 33 of 56 shooting. Washburn also had 11 3-pointers in 26 attempts and hit 11 of 12 free throws while holding a 36 to 25 advantage on the glass.
Washburn outscored UCO 42 to 22 in the paint in the game and only had four turnovers in the second half.
 
 D2SIDA Regional Rankings - as of Feb. 19
Week 13 poll                               Points    Record    LW             
1        Northwest Missouri (5)                           24-0             50            1
2        Southern Nazarene                                  22-4             42           T2
3        Missouri Southern State                         20-5             39            4
4        Northern State                                        20-6             38           T2
5        Washbur• 19-5                                         31                5
6        St. Cloud State                                        19-7             24            8
7        Wayne State                                           16-6             18            6
T8      Southern Arkansas                                  18-6             10            9
T8      Minnesota State                                      16-6             10           RV
10      Southeastern Oklahoma                          17-9              9            10
                                                                                              
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,581-1,073-2 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 602-278 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 445-88 (.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 to Jefferson City, Mo., to face 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.