> The Washburn Ichabods will face Newman for the first time as conference foes on Saturday when the Jets come to town for a 3 p.m. tip.
> Washburn (10-7, 5-3 MIAA) topped Central Oklahoma on Thursday in Lee Arena in a 65-51 win last time out.
> The Jets are 8-11 overall and 2-8 in conference play.
> The Jets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 75-71 win over Emporia State on Wednesday night.
> 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 14.4 ppg as well as assists (6.0) and minutes (34.9) and he is second in rebounds (5.5).
> Geiman has 119 3-pointers in his Washburn career … he is 12th on the all-time 3-point chart.
> Geiman's 339 career assists are third all-time at Washburn  … next on the list is Shannon Kruger in second who had 341 playing from 1998 to 2002.
>  Jalen Lewis is scoring 13.1 ppg while Drew Maschoff is scoring 11.4 ppg and Jonny Clausing is scoring 10.4 ppg.
>  Clausing, who is averaging 11.0 ppg in MIAA play, leads the team in rebounds at 7.5 rpg (fourth in the MIAA) … he also leads the team in blocks at 2.1 per game which leads the MIAA and is also 19th in the latest national rankings and his total blocks is 16th overall nationwide.
> Keven Biggs is scoring 6.8 ppg off the bench after starting the first 12 games of the season.
> Jace Williams is scoring 5.8 ppg while shooting 74 percent from the field since joining the team after the conclusion of football season playing 10 games this season.
> Rathen Carter is scoring 5.1 ppg with 2.3 rpg and started his first game at Washburn against Fort Hays State scoring eight points hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
> Tyler Nelson is scoinrg 4.5 ppg and Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 4.1 ppg.
> The Ichabods are currently ninth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .457 (439 of 969) and they rank 10th in field goal defense at .440 (410 of 931).
> The Ichabods are currently eighth in the MIAA in scoring average at 74.5 ppg and they rank eighth in scoring defense at 69.7 ppg.
> The Ichabods are 13th in free throw percentage in the MIAA shooting .658 (192 of 292).
> During the last five minutes of games however the Ichabods are shooting 76 percent from the free throw line as a team  hitting 71 of 93 attempts … Jalen Lewis is 26 of 29 in the last five minutes of games this season and 36 of 41 for his Washburn career.
> Tyler Geiman is tied for first in the MIAA in assists (6.0 apg) and is third in the MIAA in minutes per game at 34.9 and is 12th in scoring while ranking 19th in rebounds.
> The Ichabods have been outscored in conference games in the first half 287 to 277 … in the second half they have outscored their opponents 300 to 288.
> Washburn has been outrebounded by 19 in the last two games and by 28 combined in the last four.
  > The Ichabods are within four games of becoming the 10th team in NCAA Division II history to join the 1,600-win club.
Team             Years   W        L    Pct.
Central Wash.        118    1,752    960    .647
McKendree              111    1,719     951   .644
Central Mo.             114    1,716    988   .636
Northern St.            117    1,693    942   .642
William Jewell       121    1,656   1,219 .577
Drury                         111    1,636     921   .639
Fairmont St.            96     1,616    909   .639
Ky. Wesleyan         112    1,607    836   .660
Fort Hays St.          111    1,604    936   .632
Washburn               114    1,596   1,083 .595
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
>  is 56-25 in his third season as the Ichabods' head coach and 89-55 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 1-0 against Newman.
 
NEWMAN HEAD COACH R.J. ALLEN
> is 42-34 in his third season as the Jets' head coach.
> spent six seasons as an assistant at Newman.
>  is 0-1 against Washburn.
  WASHBURN (10-7, 5-3 MIAA)
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA (7-12, 4-6 MIAA)
JAN. 24, 2020
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods held Central Oklahoma to a season-low 51 points and allowed seven field goals in the second half as Washburn picked up a 65-51 win on Thursday night in Lee Arena. 
Washburn (10-7, 5-3 MIAA) led for nearly the entire game after jumping out to a 7-0 lead hitting its first three shots from the field while UCO came back and tied it at 7-7, Washburn pushed out to a 14-9 lead before six straight points from the Bronchos (7-12, 4-6 MIAA) put them in front of the Ichabods at 15-14. However, the 16 second lead was short-lived as Keven Biggs hit a three on Washburn's next possession and Jace Williams scored on a layup stretching the lead out to four. UCO cut the lead to one at 19-18 with 5:22 to play in the first half but did not get any closer the rest of the game as Washburn took a 28-23 lead into the break.
With Washburn leading 35-32 with 14:01 to play in the game, Tyler Geiman connected on back-to-back 3-pointers as Washburn went up 41-32 as the Ichabods would go on to lead by as many as 19 in the second half rolling to the 14-point win picking up their second win in a row over the Bronchos and the fourth in a row in Topeka.
Jalen Lewis led the Ichabods with 14 points hitting three 3-pointers and Tyler Geiman finished with 13 points hitting three from deep as well. Williams scored nine points while Jonny Clausing, Drew Maschoff and Keven Biggs each head eight. Maschoff added a career-high seven assists in the game.
Cam Givens led the Bronchos with 17 points.
Washburn was 25 of 47 for the game (53 percent) hitting 14 of 23 in the second half at a 61 percent clip. UCO finished 17 of 50 and was 3 of 21 from 3-point range. Washburn was 9 of 24 overall from deep.
The Bronchos held a 32 to 23 advantage on the glass turning 13 offensive rebounds into nine second chance points. Washburn forced 20 turnovers in the game leading to 18 Ichabod points in the win and outran the Bronchos 16 to 0 in fast break points.
  > Newman is 8-11 overall and 2-8 in their first season in the MIAA.
> They are 2-7 away from Fugate Gym with an 1-4 record in true road games.
> Marshawn Blackmon is averaging 16.5 points and 9.7 rebounds to lead the MIAA in rebounding and rank sixth in scoring.
  >  Saturday's meeting with the Jets is the 29th all-time.
>  The Ichabods lead the all-time series 21-7.
>  The Ichabods have won the last 18 of the last 20 meetings with the Jets.
>  The Ichabods snapped a two-game losing streak in games played in Wichita with an 84-58 win over the Jets on Nov. 28, 2017 in their last meeting.
>  Overall Washburn is 3-5 in games played in Wichita against the Jets.
>  Washburn is 16-1 against Newman in Topeka with the lone loss coming on Feb. 12, 1980 in a 68-56 defeat. 
  WASHBURN 84 (4-3)
NEWMAN 58 (2-5)
NOVEMBER 28, 2017
WICHITA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods used a stifling defense in the first half holding the Newman Jets to 19 points and six field goals cruising to an 82-58 win.
Washburn jumped out to an 18 point first half lead ripping off a 12-0 run building a 24-6 lead with 7:52 to play in the half. Washburn would go on to lead 44-19 at the break after holding the Jets to 6 of 32 shooting from the field while the Ichabods were 16 of 28 and 10 of 13 from the free throw line as all nine different Ichabods who played in the first half scored.
With the Ichabods holding a 27-point lead at 56-31 with 14:06 to play, the Jets used an 11-2 run to trim the lead back to 18 with 11:36 to play. Newman cut the lead to 15, but back to back 3-pointers by Tyas Martin and Randall Smith pushed the margin back to 21.
Brady Skeens led the Ichabods with 18 on 8 of 10 shooting adding eight rebounds with two blocks and two steals. Martin scored 15 on 6 of 8 shooting with Javion Blake scoring 13 dishing out five assists hitting three 3-pointers. Smith scored 11 adding three assists. Will McKee added a career-high seven rebounds.
Washburn (4-3) held the Jets (2-5) without a field goal for the final 5:16 of the game limiting the Jets to 18 of 63 shooting from the field for a 29 percent average. Washburn finished 54 percent hitting 31 of 57 in the game after hitting 16 of 28 in the first half. The Ichabods were also 16 of 21 from the free throw line and held a 46 to 32 advantage on the glass.
The Ichabods forced 18 Jet turnovers leading to 18 points for the Ichabods while Washburn coughed the ball up 22 times adding 15 assists leading from start to finish in the game.
  >  The Ichabods are 1596-1082-2 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 615-283 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 452-92 (.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 will be back in action on Jan. 29 at Lincoln before facing Central Missouri on Feb. 1. Washburn will return to action on Feb. 8 when they will face Missouri Southern followed by Pittsburg State on Feb. 8.