Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will make their final trip to Bolivar for an MIAA match up on Saturday to face the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. SBU is leaving the MIAA at the completion of the 2018-19 school year to become a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
• Washburn is 16-5 and 9-3 in the MIAA sitting in a tie for second place with Lincoln after beating Central Missouri 74-69 last time out on Feb. 6 in Warrensburg.
• The Bearcat are 11-10 overall and 5-7 in the MIAA after a Feb. 7 loss to Emporia State at home in an 89-77 loss.
• The Ichabods won the first meeting between the two teams on Dec. 6 in Topeka in a 97-72 win over the Bearcats.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 19.6 ppg which is fifth in the MIAA rankings … in MIAA games Blake is averaging 20.3 ppg.
• David Salach is averaging 13.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg after scoring a career-high 24 points against Fort Hays State earlier this season … Salach is tied for fifth in the MIAA in blocks at 1.3 per game.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 8.9 ppg and Jalen Lewis is averaging 8.7 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 is second on team and is fourth on the Ichabod freshman chart passing former Ichabod and PGA professional Gary Woodland.
• Sevon Witt is scoring 8.4 ppg with 3.7 rpg overall but in MIAA play he is averaging 9.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg.
• Tyler Geiman is scoring 7.9 ppg as well as dishing out 5.3 assists per game, which is second in the MIAA behind Northwest Missouri's Trevor Hudgins who has 5.9 per game … Geiman has 68 assists and 17 turnovers in MIAA play and he scored a career-high 19 points against Missouri Southern.
• Devyn Wilson is averaging 7.9 ppg off the bench scoring a career high 19 against Central Missouri with 2.9 rebounds and Will McKee is averaging 6.7 ppg while pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,610 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 185 career 3-point field goals is sixth on the all-time chart … he has played 3,354 career minutes which is third at Washburn.
• David Salach has 101 career blocks which is second all-time at Washburn with Ewan Auguste.
 
 MIAA Bod numbers
• 85.0 WU is fourth in the MIAA in scoring offense
• 74.4 WU is eighth in the MIAA in scoring defense
• 10.7 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
• 3.57 WU is second in the MIAA in blocks
• 17.76 WU is leading the MIAA in assists
• .563 David Salach is second in the MIAA in field goal percentage
 
 Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard …
• is 38-15 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 71-45 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 3-0 against Southwest Baptist.
 
Southwest Baptist head coach Clark Sheehy…
• is in his fifth season as the head coach at Southwest Baptist and has gone 59-77.
• overall he is 240-177 in his 15th season overall after spending the previous nine seasons at John Brown University.
• is 1-8 against Washburn. 
 
 About Southwest Baptist
• Southwest Baptist is 11-10 and 5-7 in the MIAA.
• The Bearcats lost to Emporia State 89-77 at home last time out on Feb. 7.
• Karim Mouliom leads four Bearcats in double-figure scoring at 14.6 ppg. Damian Prgomet is scoring 12.1 ppg while Chris Rossow is scoring 11.7 ppg. Godfrey Rolle is scoring 10.7 ppg.
• Mouliom leads the team with 8.4 rpg.
• In home games the Bearcats are 9-5 this season going 3-3 in MIAA home games.
 
 Series history with Southwest Baptist
• Thursday's meeting will be the 59th between Washburn and Southwest Baptist.
• Overall the Ichabods have won the last six in the series.
• The Ichabods lead the all-time series 41-17.
• In Topeka the Ichabods are 25-3 against SBU since joining the MIAA winning the last 12 in Topeka.
• Washburn has won 30 of the last 38 games in the series.
• Washburn is 35-12 against SBU in MIAA games.
• The Ichabods have won the last 12 games played in Topeka and have gone 4-1 against the Bearcats in the MIAA Tournament.
• SBU's last win came in the last meeting in a triple overtime 104-98 win on Jan. 30, 2016.
• In Bolivar, the Ichabods are 14-13 against SBU.
• The Ichabods are 5-7 in the last 12 games in Bolivar.
 
 Last Meeting with Southwest Baptist
Washburn 97, Southwest Baptist 72 -- Dec. 6, 2018
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn men's basketball team used a hot-shooting night from 3-point range en route to a school-record 18 3-pointers as the Ichabods opened MIAA play with a bang with a 97-72 win over Southwest Baptist Thursday night in Lee Arena.
With the Ichabods holding a 7-6 lead with 16:44 to play in the first half, Washburn (6-1, 1-0 MIAA) ripped off a 12-0 run hitting three 3-pointers in a 2:56 span to build a 17-6 lead and SBU did not get within nine the rest of the way pushing out to a lead as many as 24 taking a 49-28 at the first half break after hitting 9 of 18 shots from deep and 56 percent of their shots overall in the frame while holding SBU (5-4, 1-1 MIAA) to 12 of 31 shooting. 
In the second half, Washburn stretched its lead to as many as 30 "cooling off" to 9 of 19 from deep in the frame cruising to the 25-point win.
Javion Blake led all scorers with a game-high 25 points. After to being held to five points in the first half, he erupted for 20 in the second half on 7 of 10 shooting from the field hitting 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Overall he hit 3-pointers in the game (6 of 10). He led four other Ichabods in double figures with Jalen Lewis scoring 14 (3 of 5 from deep), Devyn Wilson had 13 (3 of 6 from behind the arch), Tyler Geiman had 13 (3 of 5 from deep) adding nine assists and three steals and Will McKee (2 of 3 from deep) with 12 adding eight rebounds. The nine assists were a career-high for Geiman in the game and Lewis tied a season high with 14 as did Wilson with 13.
The Ichabods finished 18 of 37 overall from 3-point range in the record-setting performance and the 37 3-point attempts tied a school record set in 1992 against Central Oklahoma. Three times in school history the Ichabods connected on 15 shots from distance – most recently against Manhattan Christian on Nov. 30, 2017.
Chris Rossow had 21 to lead the Bearcats.
The Ichabods had a 41 to 34 advantage on the glass and turned 15 Bearcat turnovers into 22 points and outran SBU 26 to 2 in fastbreak points. Washburn also had 21 assists on its 34 made field goals (34 of 69 overall) for a 49.3 percentage. SBU shot 46 percent from the field hitting 25 of 55 overall.
 
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 74, Central Missouri 69 -- Feb. 6, 2019
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team withstood a 20-2 run midway through the second half rallying for a 74-69 win over Central Missouri improving to 16-5 on the season and 9-3 in the MIAA.
With the Ichabods leading 48-44 with 15:52 to go in the game, the Mules ripped off an 11-0 run to build a 55-48 advantage with 12:05 to play. The Ichabods came back with an 11-2 run of their own to take a 59-57 lead with 7:31 to go, but the Mules rallied to take a 66-63 lead with 4:01 to go in the game.
Devyn Wilson then scored the next six points for the Ichabods as Washburn tied the score on a Wilson 3-pointer with 3:49 to go and then he used a traditional 3-point play with 3:06 to go as Washburn led 69-66.
A 3-pointer by UCM's Michael Winger tied the score for the Mules at 69 with 2:07 to go, but a 3-pointer by Tyler Geiman and a pair of free throws by Wilson locked up the five-point win.
Washburn scored the first 11 points of the game and led by as many as 12 in the first half as the Ichabods took a 41-33 lead into the locker room.
Javion Blake led the Ichabods with 21 points hitting five 3-pointers and Wilson scored 19 on 5 of 7 shooting while hitting all seven free throw attempts. Geiman finished with 14 points, tying a career high with nine rebounds, seven assists and David Salach scored 12 points.
Jakob Lowrance led the Mules with 15 points pacing three Mules in double figures.
Washburn finished 24 of 49 from the field and was 13 of 26 from 3-point range in the game hitting 9 of 15 from deep in the first half. UCM was 44 percent from the field hitting 24 of 54 overall. Washburn finished 13 of 13 from the free throw line while the Mules were 11 of 17.
The Ichabods held a 32 to 25 advantage on the glass and had 19 assists on 24 field goals in the game. Washburn also had a season-high 19 turnovers leading to 21 points for the Mules. 
  
 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 1,578-1,073-2 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 599-278 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 returns 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.