Opening Tip
• The Washburn Ichabods will open the MIAA Championship Tournament on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. when they will take on Southwest Baptist in the quarterfinals in Kansas City's historic Municipal Auditorium.
• Washburn is 22-6 this season and finished 15-4 in the MIAA securing the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
• The Bearcats are 14-15 this season and defeated Lindenwood on Wednesday in Muncipal Auditorium in the first round of the tournament in a 76-75 win.
• The Ichabods swept the regular season series with the Bearcats winning 97-72 on Dec. 6 in Topeka and 74-65 on Feb. 9 in Bolivar.
• Washburn is 4-1 all-time against Southwest Baptist in the MIAA Tournament but the two teams have never faced-off in Kansas City.
• The teams' last meeting in the conference postseason was on Feb. 27, 2017 when the Ichabods won 89-70 in the first round match up.
• The lone win by the Bearcats over the Ichabods in the MIAA Tournament was on March 8, 1991 in Bolivar in an 85-72  victory.
• The Ichabods are 36-21 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament.
• The Ichabods are 2-2 in first round games (since expanding to 12 teams) … 18-6 in the quarterfinals, 11-7 in the semifinals and 5-6 in championship games.
• In games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 14-11.
• The Bearcats are 12-19 all-time in the MIAA Tournament recording their first win in the event since March 5, 2006 en route to the tournament title snapping a losing streak of 11 games.
• The Ichabods have secured their first back-to-back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 seasons this year … 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 28, 20-win seasons including this year.
• The Ichabod coaching record for the most wins in their first two seasons is now held by Brett Ballard with 44 wins … Bob Chipman had 41 during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
• As of the March 4 report, the Ichabods are playing the fourth-toughest schedule in the NCAA Division II ranks with an opponent winning percentage of .601 … from the MIAA Lindenwood had the second-toughest schedule this season and Nebraska-Kearny had the sixth while Fort Hays State was No. 8 and Southwest Baptist was No. 10.
• Javion Blake leads the Ichabods in scoring at 19.6 ppg which is fifth in the MIAA rankings … in MIAA games Blake is averaging 20.1 ppg … he passed Will McNeill for third on the Ichabod all-time scoring chart now sits at 1,747 points … McNeill had 1,701 points from 2008-13.
• David Salach is averaging 12.4 ppg and 5.5 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 1.0 per game.
• Tyler Geiman is scoring 8.6 ppg as well as dishing out 5.4 assists per game, which is first in the MIAA … Geiman has 108 assists and 25 turnovers in MIAA play and he scored a career-high 19 points against Missouri Southern … he is ranked sixth in the nation in assist to turnover ratio … he also recorded his first double double at Washburn against Lindenwood with 15 points, a career-high 10 rebounds while adding seven assists.
• Jalen Lewis is averaging 8.6 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 39 of 88 3-point attempts in MIAA games and his 52 3-pointers made this season is tied for second on team and is third on the Ichabod freshman chart tied with Javion Blake's 52 and Shannon Kruger's 54 … his 241 points scored this season is 10th on the Ichabod freshman scoring chart.
• Tyas Martin is scoring 8.2 ppg starting all 28 games this season.
• Devyn Wilson is averaging 7.9 ppg off the bench scoring a career-high 19 against Central Missouri with 2.9 rebounds and in MIAA play he is scoring 8.1 ppg with 3.1 rpg.
• Sevon Witt is scoring 7.5 ppg overall scoring 7.9 ppg in MIAA play and Will McKee is averaging 6.2 ppg while pulling down a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game.
• Javion Blake has scored 1,747 career points placing third all-time at Washburn after passing Will McNeill with 1,708 points … Blake's 202 career 3-point field goals is fourth on the all-time chart … he has played 3,571 career minutes which is third at Washburn … Blake also became the sixth Ichabod to score at least 1,000 points and have at least 100 steals (101) … Blake's 377 career free throw makes is fifth all-time at Washburn … Blake has also moved into fifth on the all-time assist chart as an Ichabod with 309 … Blake became the first Ichabod since Will McNeill to score at least 500 points in a season since McNeill scored 541 during the 2012-13 season … Blake reached double figures in his 100th career game against Missouri Western in the regular season finale having played 118 career games overall.
• David Salach has 104 career blocks which is second all-time at Washburn.
 
 MIAA Bod numbers
• 83.3 WU is third in the MIAA in scoring offense
• 73.1 WU is sixth in the MIAA in scoring defense
• 17.29 WU is leading the MIAA in assists
• 10.4 WU is second in the MIAA in scoring margin
• .474 WU is fifth in the MIAA in field goal percentage
• .429 WU is first in the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage
• +4.5 WU is first in the MIAA in rebounding margin
• 3.36 WU is third in the MIAA in blocks
• 6.36 WU is third in the MIAA in steals
• 5.4 / 3.4 to 1 Tyler Geiman is first in the MIAA in assists and fourth in the MIAA in assist to turnover ratio
 
 Single season record stat watch
• 83.3 Points per game this season for the Ichabods is seventh (89.5 - 1994-95)
• 257 3-pointers made this season for the Ichabods is second (217 - 1996-97)
• 668 3-pointers attempted this season for the Ichabods is second (703 - 1996-97)
• .385 3-pointer percentage this season for the Ichabods is 13th (.472 - 1987-88)
• 17.2 Assists per game average this season which is 14th all-time at Washburn (19.8 - 1994-95)
• 136 Assists by Tyler Geiman which is eighth on the single season chart … the Ichabod single season record is 266 by Jordan Canfield set during the 1996-97 season
• 548 total points by Javion Blake which is 13th on the Ichabod single-season chart
• 151 assists by Tyler Geiman which is fifth on the Ichabod single-season chart
• 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 43-16 in his second season as the Ichabods' head coach and 76-46 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 4-0 against Southwest Baptist.
 
Southwest Baptist head coach Clark Sheehy…
• is in his fifth season as the head coach at Southwest Baptist and has gone 62-82.
• overall he is 243-182 in his 15th season overall after spending the previous nine seasons at John Brown University.
• is 1-9 against Washburn. 
 
 About Southwest Baptist
• Southwest Baptist is 14-15 overall and 7-12 in the MIAA.
• The Bearcats defeated Lindenwood 76-75 in the MIAA Tournament First Round on Wednesday.
• Karim Mouliom leads four Bearcats in double-figure scoring at 14.6 ppg. Damian Prgomet is scoring 10.5 ppg while Chris Rossow is scoring 11.5 ppg. Godfrey Rolle is scoring 11.7 ppg.
• Mouliom leads the team with 8.4 rpg.
• The Bearcats are 12-19 all-time in the MIAA Tournament recording their first win in the event since March 5, 2006 en route to the tournament title snapping a losing streak of 11 games.
 
 Series history with Southwest Baptist
• Thursday's meeting will be the 60th between Washburn and Southwest Baptist.
• Overall the Ichabods have won the last seven in the series.
• The Ichabods lead the all-time series 42-17.
• In Topeka the Ichabods are 25-3 against SBU since joining the MIAA winning the last 12 in Topeka.
• Washburn has won 31 of the last 39 games in the series.
• Washburn is 36-12 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 15-13 against SBU.
• The Ichabods are 6-7 in the last 13 games in Bolivar.
 
 Last Meeting with Southwest Baptist
Washburn 74, Southwest baptist 65 -- Jan. 9, 2019
BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods moved into second place standings all by themselves with a 74-65 win over Southwest Baptist in their final trip to Bolivar as an MIAA opponent.
Javion Blake led all scorers with his fourth 30-point game of the season in an efficient 11 of 17 shooting performance hitting 4 of 9 3-point attempts adding four assists and three steals. He was the only double figure scorer for Washburn and moved past Ewan Auguste into sixth on the all-time Ichabod scoring chart.
Washburn led 40-27 at the break over the Bearcats (11-11, 5-8 MIAA) after leading by as many as 14 in the first behind 53 percent shooting holding SBU to 32 percent shooting from the field. However SBU was able to keep the score as close as they did going 6 of 7 from the free throw line while the Ichabods missed their only attempt.
In the second half, the Bearcats came out of the gates with an 18-3 run taking the lead from Washburn at 45-43 with 15:01 to play in the game. The Ichabods came back with a 13-6 run of their own to go up five at 56-51 with 9:28 to play.
In a game of runs, SBU returned server with a 9-2 run building a 59-58 advantage with 7:26 to go, but the Ichabods pushed ahead with a 12-3 burst of their own going up 70-62 with 4:10 to go and SBU would not get any closer than seven the rest of the way as the Ichabods completed the two-game road trip with wins over SBU and Central Missouri.
Following Blake's 30 points, Tyler Geiman scored eight points along with Jalen Lewis. Gieman had six rebounds to go with five assists. Salach scored seven with five rebounds.
Godfrey Rolle led the Bearcats with 18 points.
Washburn finished the game 30 of 62 overall for a 48 percent clip while holding SBU to 38 percent shooting going 20 of 53. Washburn was 5 of 10 from the free throw line while SBU was 17 of 19.
The Ichabods held a 38 to 34 advantage on the glass and forced 13 turnovers leading to 19 points. 
  
 Last time out for the Ichabods
Washburn 93, Missouri Western 90 -- March 2, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the No. 2 seed at the MIAA Basketball Championships in a 93-90 thriller over Missouri Western on Senior Day in Lee Arena. With the win the Ichabods finish the regular season at 22-6 and 15-4 in the MIAA.
Making his second start of his career, senior Emeka Ogbonna scored the Ichabods' first seven points of the game as the Ichabods jumped out to a 7-2 lead and then after a layup by fellow senior Javion Blake would lead 9-2. The Griffons scored five straight points cutting the lead to two, but Ogbonna scored again with his ninth point of the game en route to tying his career high of 11 scored against Fort Hays State in his first start of his career during the 2016-17 season.
The Ichabods led by as many as 13 in the first half at 26-13 before the Griffons ripped out a 22-8 run over the next five minutes to take a lead of 35-34 for their first lead of the game. Washburn scored 11 of the final 15 points of the first half to take a 46-43 lead into the break.
Washburn opened the second half on an 18-5 run to build a 64-48 lead with 13:02 to go in the game, but the Griffons, who finished the season with a 12-18 record going 6-13 in the MIAA, would rally and cut the lead to three times in the final 6:28 including under four twice in the final 50 seconds but would not get any closer.
Blake led the Ichabods scoring 19 of his game-high 34 points in the second half adding five assists and six rebounds. Sevon Witt scored 18 with six rebounds and three blocks while Tyler Geiman had 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds with two steals. Ogbonna, in addition to his 11 points, had seven rebounds playing a career-high 28 minutes.
The Griffons were led by Tyrell Carroll who had 23 points.
Washburn was outrebounded 38 to 37 in the game, but forced 11 turnovers leading to 17 points and had nine boards leading to 13 points.
The Ichabods were 32 of 66 from the field for a 49 percent average while holding the Griffons to 44 percent for the game. Washburn's bench outscored the Griffons 34 to 5 in the game.
 
 Ichabods in the MIAA Tournament
• The Ichabods are 36-21 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament.
• The Ichabods are 2-2 in first round games (since expanding to 12 teams) … 18-6 in the quarterfinals, 11-7 in the semifinals and 5-6 in championship games.
• In games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 14-11.
• In quarterfinal games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 8-4. In semifinal games played in Municipal the Ichabods are 5-3 and in championship games in Kansas City the Ichabods are 1-4.
• As the No. 1 seed, the Ichabods are 21-3, at No. 2 they are 4-3, at No. 3 they are 2-3, at No. 4 they are 2-3, at No. 6 the Ichabods are 4-5, at No. 7 they are 0-1 and as the No. 8 seed they are 3-3.
• Washburn has never been the No. 5 seed.
• Former head coach Bob Chipman has won more MIAA Tournament games than any other coach. He has won 34 games going 34-19 recording a .653 winning percentage.
• Chipman's five tournament titles is the most by any coach. Tom Smith (MWSU), Steve Tappmeyer (NWMSU) and Ron Shumate (Southeast Missouri) and Kim Anderson (UCM/PSU) each have four titles.
• Overall, here's how the Ichabods have fared against MIAA opponents in the conference tournament by round and in Kansas City.
• First Round games were added for the MIAA Tournament starting in 2013 as the league expanded to 15 teams. The top four teams in the final standings received an automatic bye to Kansas City for the quarterfinals.
Team         1st Rnd       Qrts.          Semis         Finals          In KC             Total
UCM                —             4-0             1-1              —               3-1                5-1
ESU                 —             4-1              —               —               3-1                4-1
FHSU              1-0              —             2-0              —               2-0                3-0
MSSU              —             1-0             2-1             0-1              1-1                3-2
MWSU            0-1              —             2-2             1-2              1-1                3-4
NSU                0-1              —              —               —               —                0-1
NWMSU          —             2-2             0-2             1-1              0-3                3-5
PSU                 —             1-0             2-0             2-0             2-0                5-0
SBU               1-0             1-0             1-1             1-0              —                4-1
UCO                —             0-1              —               —               0-1                0-1
UNK                 —              1-1               —               —               1-1                1-1
--- vs former members
MS&T              —             1-1              —               —               1-0                1-1
UMSL              —             1-0              —               —               —                1-0
SEMO              —              —              —               —               —                 —
TSU                 —             2-0             1-0               —               —                3-0
UNO                —              —              —              0-1              0-1                0-1
Totals            2-2           18-6          11-7            5-6           14-10          36-21
 
 MIAA Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, March 6 - Opening Round
No. 8 Emporia State vs No. 9 Northeastern State - Noon
No. 7 Lindenwood vs No. 10 Southwest Baptist - 2:15 p.m.
 
Thursday, March 7 - Quarterfinals Day One
No. 1 Northwest Missouri vs No. 8/9 Winner - Noon
No. 2 Washburn vs No. 7/10 Winner- 2:15 p.m.
 
Friday, March 8 - Quarterfinals Day Two
No. 4 Fort Hays State vs No. 5 Lincoln - Noon
No. 3 Missouri Southern vs No. 6 - 2:15 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 9 - Semifinals
Semifinal One (Men's Game 7) - Noon
Semifinal Two (Men's Game 8) - 2:15 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 10 - Championship
Men's Championship Game - 1 p.m.
 
 NCAA Regional Rankings - as of  March 6
          School                                      DII Record          In-Region Record    
1       Northwest Missouri State            26-0                           25-0                
2       Northern State                               24-6                           23-6                
3       Washbur• 20-6                              19-6                              
4       St. Cloud State                              21-8                           19-8                
5       Missouri Southern State              20-6                           20-6                
6       Southern Nazarene                        25-5                           24-5                
7        Wayne State (Nebraska)               18-9                           18-9                
8       Minnesota State Mankato           17-11                         16-10              
9       Southeastern Oklahoma State    18-6                           18-6                
10     Sioux Falls                                     18-11                         18-11
                                                                                              
 Ichabod basketball history
• The Ichabods are 1,584-1,074-2 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 604-279 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 28 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 446-89  (.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
• The NCAA Postseason Tournament bids will be announced March 10th in an evening selection show. The NCAA Centra Regional Tournament will start Marcy 16 and run through March 19 at the highest-ranked team in the region.