> The Washburn Ichabods will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak at Fort Hays State on Saturday in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
> Washburn (8-7, 3-3 MIAA) was topped last time out by Nebraska-Kearney 79-51 on Thursday night in Kearney.
> The Tigers are 7-8 overall and 1-6 in MIAA action.
> The Tigers' lone MIAA win was a 56-46 win over Emporia State last time out on Jan. 15.
> The Ichabods were tabbed third in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Preseason Media Polls for the second year in a row which were released on Oct. 9 at the MIAA Basketball Media Day in Kansas City.
  > Tyler Geiman leads the Ichabods in scoring at 14.5 ppg as well as assists (6.1) and minutes (35.0) and he is second in rebounds (5.7).
> Geiman has 112 3-pointers in his Washburn career … he is 13th on the all-time 3-point chart.
> Geiman's 329 career assist chart is third all-time at Washburn  … he passed Javion Blake for third with 322 career assists … next on the list is Shannon Kruger who had 341 playing from 1998 to 2002.
>  Jalen Lewis is scoring 13.3 ppg while Drew Maschoff is scoring 11.6 ppg and Jonny Clausing is scoring 10.8 ppg.
>  Clausing, who is averaging 12.2 ppg in MIAA play, leads the team in rebounds at 8.1 rpg (fourth in the MIAA) … he also leads the team in blocks at 2.2 per game which leads the MIAA and is also 11th in the latest national rankings.
> Keven Biggs is scoring 6.9 ppg off the bench after starting the first 12 games of the season.
> Rathen Carter leads the team in scoring off the bench at 4.8 ppg.
> Connor Deffebaugh made his first start at Washburn against Missouri Western scoring four points with three rebounds playing 15 minutes.
> The Ichabods are currently 10th in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .444 (409 of 922) and they rank eighth in field goal defense at .434 (381 of 878).
> The Ichabods are currently eighth in the MIAA in scoring average at 75.2 ppg and they rank 10th in scoring defense at 70.1 ppg.
> Tyler Geiman is first in the MIAA in assists (6.4 apg) and leads the MIAA in minutes per game at 36.1 and is 10th in scoring.
> The Ichabods have been outscored in conference games in the first half 238 to 215 … in the second half they have outscored their opponents 219 to 217.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
>  is 54-25 in his third season as the Ichabods' head coach and 87-54 overall in his fifth year as a head coach.
>  has led the Ichabods to two NCAA postseason appearances in both seasons at Washburn.
>  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 Fort Hays State.
 
FORT HAYS STATE HEAD COACH MARK JOHNSON
>  is the all-time coaching wins leader in FHSU history with a career record of 366-180 in 19 seasons, ranking among the top 20 active NCAA Division II men's basketball coaches in winning percentage (.681).
>  has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in his time at FHSU.
>  became the all-time wins leader in Fort Hays State history on January 11, 2014 in a victory at home over Lincoln University, recording his 258th win.
>  he reached his 300th career win on February 13, 2016 in a victory at Missouri Southern.
>  has coached four All-Americans, 50 all-conference selections, a conference player of the year, a conference freshman of the year, and three conference defensive players of the year in his time at FHSU.
>  is 14-15 against Washburn.
  WASHBURN (8-7, 3-3 MIAA)
NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (11-5, 5-2 MIAA)
JAN. 16, 2020
KEARNEY, Neb. -- Nebraska-Kearney put the end to a four-game losing streak to Washburn in a 79-51 victory over the Ichabods on Thursday night in Kearney.
The Ichabods (8-7, 3-3 MIAA) trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half with 6:18 to play using a 14-5 run the rest of the half hitting 6 of 11 shots while holding the Lopers to 1 of 9 from the field to climb back under single digits. Washburn had nine turnovers in the opening half while the Lopers (11-5, 5-2 MIAA) committed only four. Washburn was also 6 of 13 from the free throw line in the opening half.
In the second half, Washburn was outscored 40 to 19 as the Lopers shot 65 percent from the field in the frame while the Ichabods were 9 of 29 and 0 of 6 from 3-point range.
The 51 points was a season low for the Ichabods as were the two 3-pointers and eight assists.
Jonny Clausing led the Ichabods with 13 points adding seven rebounds all coming in the first half. Jalen Lewis finished with 12 as the only Ichabods to reach double figures.
The Lopers had four in double figures led by Kyle Juhl with 16 points.
Washburn finished 38 percent from the field hitting 21 of 56 overall while the Lopers were 30 of 56 overall for 54 percent. UNK scored 27 points off of 18 Ichabod turnovers.
The Ichabods suffered their largest lost in the 45-game series with the Lopers topping the previous mark of 19 in a 92-73 loss to the Lopers on Jan. 24, 1981 in Kearney. Last season in Topeka, Washburn had the largest victory margin in the series at 31 in a 89-58 win on Jan. 16, 2019.
  > The Tigers are 7-8 overall and 1-6 in the MIAA.
> The Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Emporia State last time out on Wednesday in a 56-46 win.
> Jared Vitztum leads the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), rebounds (7.3 rpg) while hitting 23 of 49 3-point attempts.
> The Tigers are averaging 73.1 ppg while allowing 68.8 ppg.
> FHSU is 4-2 in home games this season while going 3-6 in away and neutral site games.
  >   Washburn leads the all-time series 97-70 and Saturday's meeting will be the 168th between the two schools.
>   The Ichabods have won 13 of the last 17 in the series.
>   In Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 22-7 all-time against Fort Hays State going 8-12 in road games since joining the MIAA.
>   The series is the third-most played for Washburn behind Emporia State (215) and Pittsburg State (182).
>   Fort Hays State is 5-2 against WU in overtime games.
>   The Ichabods are 3-0 against Fort Hays State in the MIAA Tournament including a 77-53 semifinal win in the 2018 event in Kansas City. 
  WASHBURN 80 (13-3, 6-1 MIAA)
FORT HAYS STATE 58 (12-5, 6-2 MIAA)
JANUARY 19, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Ichabods mounted a furious rally coming back from down seven with 5:10 to go outscoring Fort Hays State 20-6 the rest of the game as Washburn topped the Tigers 80-73 in the NCAA Division II Showcase game on a frigid Saturday in Lee Arena. With the win the Ichabods remain perfect in Lee Arena at 9-0 moving to 13-3 on the season and 6-1 in the MIAA.
Will McKee jump started the run with a free throw and then David Salach scored five straight points for the Ichabods as Washburn cut the Tiger lead to one at 67-66 with 3:32 to play. A breakaway layup by Javion Blake off a pass from Tyler Geiman and a two more free throws by McKee pushed the lead to 70-67 with 2:27 to go.
The Tigers hit two free throws with 2:20 to play, but a dunk by Salach and a layup by Blake pushed the lead back to five at 74-69 with 1:41 to go. A 3-pointer by Brady Werth trimmed the lead back to two at 74-72 with 91 seconds remaining, but Washburn finished the game with a 16 to 5 spurt closing out the win with the second half comeback in the only meeting between the two schools in the regular season.
Washburn led by four at the break up 38-34 behind 63 percent shooting while the Tigers, who dropped to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA, shot 50 percent hitting 14 of 28 from the field.
Salach led the Ichabods scoring a game-high and career-high 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field adding five rebounds. Blake scored 19 with six assists and McKee finished with 13 points. Salach also recorded two blocks moving his career total to 100 tying Ewan Auguste for second on the all-time Ichabod chart.
Marcus Cooper scored 21 to lead the Tigers and Werth scored 20.
Washburn wrapped up the game shooting 56 percent from the field going 29 of 52 overall while the Tigers dropped to 38 percent in the second half hitting 44 percent from the field overall at 25 of 57. Washburn was a season-best 18 of 21 from the free throw line and held a 28 to 27 advantage on the glass.
Both teams stayed under 10 turnovers as the Tigers committed nine and the Ichabods had only seven.
  >  The Ichabods are 1594-1082-2 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 613-283 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.
  >  The Ichabods are 451-92 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
>  The 2019-20 season marks the 36th 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.
  >  The Ichabods face Central Oklahoma on Jan. 23 in Lee Arena.