Opening Tip
• The Ichabods are back on the road for a pair of games starting with Central Missouri on Wednesday at the UCM Multi starting at 7:30 p.m.
• Washburn is 15-5 and 8-3 in the MIAA after topping Lindenwood 84-77 last time out rebounding from a 75-73 loss to Lincoln on Jan. 31.
• The Mules are 11-9 overall and 4-7 in the MIAA after winning at Central Oklahoma last time out in a 61-58 win over the Bronchos halting a three-game losing streak.
• The Ichabods won the first meeting between the two teams on Dec. 8 in Topeka in a 70-50 win over the Mules.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 19.5 ppg which is fifth in the MIAA rankings … in MIAA games Blake is averaging 20.3 ppg.
• David Salach is averaging 13.3 ppg and 5.9 rpg after scoring a career-high 24 points against Fort Hays State … Salach is tied for second in the MIAA in blocks at 1.3 per game.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 9.2 ppg and Jalen Lewis is averaging 9.1 ppg off the bench and he is 15th 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 27 of 58 3-point attempts in MIAA games and his 40 3-pointers made this season lead the team and is fourth on the Ichabod freshman chart passing former Ichabod and PGA professional Gary Woodland.
• Sevon Witt is scoring 8.7 ppg with 3.8 rpg overall but in MIAA play he is averaging 10.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg.
• Tyler Geiman is scoring 7.6 ppg as well as dishing out 5.2 assists per game, which is second in the MIAA behind Northwest Missouri's Trevor Hudgins who has 5.9 per game … Geiman has 61 assists and 11 turnovers in MIAA play and he scored a career-high 19 points against Missouri Southern.
• Devyn Wilson is averaging 7.3 ppg off the bench with 3.5 rebounds and Will McKee is averaging 7.1 ppg while pulling down 5.6 rebounds per game.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,589 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 180 career 3-point field goals is fifth on the all-time chart … he has played 3,317 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.
 
 MIAA Bod numbers
• 85.6 WU is fourth in the MIAA in scoring offense
• 74.7 WU is eighth in the MIAA in scoring defense
• 11.0 WU is second in the MIAA in scoring margin
• .432 WU is third in the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage
• +5.2 WU is second in the MIAA in rebounding margin
• 3.65 WU is second in the MIAA in blocks
• 17.70 WU is leading the MIAA in assists
• .560 David Salach is third in the MIAA in field goal percentage
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 37-15 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 70-45 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 Missouri.
 
Central Missouri head coach Doug Kaleskint …
• is 91-49 in his fifth season as the head coach at Central Missouri and 180-83 overall in his ninth season as a head coach.
• spent five seasons at Arkansas Tech, including the last four as head coach.
• he compiled a 90-34 (.726) record with the Wonder Boys with four conference championships and four trips to the NCAA-II National Tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2012.
• is 3-3 against Washburn.  
 
 About Central Missouri
• The Mules are 11-9 overall and 4-7 in the MIAA.
• The Mules snapped a three-game losing streak with a 61-58 win at Central Oklahoma for their first true road win of the season … in home games the Mules are 9-2 with losses coming to Lindenwood and to Southwest Baptist.
• Jafar Kinsey leads the Mules in scoring at 13.2 ppg and has 5.3 rpg hitting 29 of 85 3-pointers this season … Kinsey is a graduate transfer from North Dakota.
• Jakob Lowrance is scoring 11.9 ppg and a team-high 6.9 rpg and Blake Spellman is scoring 10.4 ppg with 3.1 apg.
 
 Series history with Central Missouri
• Wednesday's meeting will be the 102nd between these two teams
• UCM leads the all-time series 51-50.
• Washburn is 21-9 against UCM in Lee Arena and 26-21 in all-time MIAA games.
• In road MIAA games played in Warrensburg, the Ichabods are 9-15.
• The Ichabods have won eight of the last 13 meetings.
• The last time the teams met in the conference tournament was during the 2010 season when the Ichabods as the No. 8 seed topped the No. 1-seeded Mules 79-60.
• The Ichabods are 5-1 all-time against Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament.
 
 Last Meeting with Central Missouri
Washburn 70, Central Missouri 50 -- Dec. 8, 2018
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods moved to 2-0 in the MIAA and 7-1 overall with a 70-50 win over Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon in Lee Arena.
With Central Missouri (5-4, 0-2 MIAA) leading 18-16 with 8:04 to play in the opening half, Washburn would outscore the Mules 23 to 4 the remainder of the frame taking a 39-22 lead into the locker room. Washburn held the Mules to 9 of 25 shooting for the first half and 1 of 9 shooting during the closing run.
The Mules scored the seven of the first nine points of the second half leading to an Ichabod timeout and then responded by hitting six of their next nine shots and a pair of free throws pushing their lead back to 21 leading by as many as 26 in the game snapping a two-game winning streak by the Mules in the series.
Washburn was led in a balanced scoring attack with Javion Blake scoring 12 points while David Salach scored 11 along with Tyler Geiman and Sevon Witt scored 10 off the bench. Geimna had six assists and Will McKee led the Ichabods with 11 rebounds adding three blocks, four assists and four points.
UCM was led by Brandon Emmert who had 11 points as the only Mule to reach double figures.
Washburn outshot the Mules 41 percent to 36 percent and held a 41 to 33 advantage on the glass outscoring UCM 34 to 20 in the paint and the Ichabod bench held a 30 to 22 margin in points. Washburn finished 10 of 26 from 3-point range after going 8 of 14 in the first half. UCM was 14 of 25 from the free throw line while the Ichabods hit on 6 of 7 attempts..
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 84, 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. Washburn moves to 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the conference while the Lions drop to 11-12 and 4-7 in the league race. The Ichabods are back in action at Central Missouri on Feb. 6 at Central Missouri.
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 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. 
 
 D2SIDA Regional Rankings - as of Feb. 4
Week 12 poll                             Points   Record   LW            
1        Northwest Missouri (6)                          60            21-0          1              
2       Southern Nazarene                                 53            19-3          2              
3       Northern State                                        47            17-5          5              
4       Missouri Souther• 40                           17-5            T-3           
5       Wayne State                                           36            17-5          6              
6       Washbur• 31                                         15-5           T-3           
7        Lincol• 22                                              15-5            NR            
8       St. Cloud State                                        19            16-6          9              
9       Minnesota State                                       9             15-7          8              
10     Southern Arkansas                                  8             16-4        RV
Also receiving votes: Sioux Falls - 3, East Central - 1, MSU Moorhead - 1                                       
 
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,577-1,073-2 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 598-278 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 443-88 (.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 is on the road to face Southwest Baptist on Feb. 9 before returning home to face Northeastern State on Valentine's Day and then Central Oklahoma on Feb. 16. After a pair of road games at Lindenwood on Feb. 21 and at Lincoln on Feb. 23, Washburn returns 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.