> The Washburn Ichabods are back on the road again for a Saturday showdown with Central Missouri at 3 p.m. in Warrensburg.
> Washburn (12-7, 7-3 MIAA) won its fourth game in a row with a 75-50 win over Lincoln in Jefferson City on Wednesday.
> The Mules are 8-11 overall and 3-7 in conference play after snapping a two-game losing streak with a win over Emporia State on Jan. 29 in a 67-49 win.
> 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 14.8 ppg as well as assists (5.8) and minutes (35.1) and he is tied for second in rebounds (5.4).
> Geiman has 125 3-pointers in his Washburn career … he is 11th on the all-time 3-point chart.
> Geiman's 347 career assists in now second all-time at Washburn … the Ichabod all-time leader is Jordan Canfield (1992-97) who had 756, which is second on the MIAA career chart.
>  Jalen Lewis is scoring 13.6 ppg while Drew Maschoff is scoring 11.1 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 6.4 ppg off the bench after starting the first 12 games of the season.
> Jace Williams is scoring 5.5 ppg while shooting 74 percent from the field since joining the team after the conclusion of football season playing 13 games this season.
> Rathen Carter is scoring 5.7 ppg with 2.3 rpg … he scored a career-high 14 points against Lincoln last time out … since moving into a starting role three games ago, he is averaging 8.0 ppg and 2.0 rpg.
> Tyler Nelson is scoring 4.7 ppg and Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 3.7 ppg.
> The Ichabods are currently ninth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .457 and they rank seventh in field goal defense at .431.
> The Ichabods are currently eighth in the MIAA in scoring average at 74.8 ppg and they rank fifth in scoring defense at 68.5 ppg.
> The Ichabods are 13th in free throw percentage in the MIAA shooting .674.
> During the last five minutes of games however the Ichabods are shooting 79 percent from the free throw line as a team  hitting 81 of 103 attempts … Jalen Lewis is 34 of 37 (92 percent) in the last five minutes of games this season and 44 of 49 (90 percent) for his Washburn career.
> Tyler Geiman is third in the MIAA in assists (6.8 apg) and is second in the MIAA in minutes per game at 35.1 and is ninth in scoring while ranking 19th in rebounds.
  > The Ichabods are within two 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    1,598   1,083 .595
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
>  is 58-25 in his third season as the Ichabods' head coach and 91-55 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 2-1 against Central Missouri.
 
CENTRAL MISSOURI HEAD COACH DOUG KARLESKINT
> is 102-66 in his sixth season as the head coach at Central Missouri and 191-100 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 3-4 against Washburn.  
  WASHBURN (12-7, 7-3 MIAA)
LINCOLN (7-12, 7-3 MIAA)
JAN. 29, 2020
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods won their 12th game in a row in Jefferson City and their fourth overall against holding the Lincoln Blue Tigers to a season low in points in a 75-50 win on Wednesday night.
The Washburn Ichabods (12-7, 7-3 MIAA) led 33-22 at the half in a strange scoring opening 20 minutes as the Ichabods did not hit their first 2-point field goal until a dunk by Rathen Carter with 7:44 to play in the frame. Washburn was 6 of 10 from deep prior to hitting its first shot inside the arc going 0 of 7. Washburn also had scoring droughts of 5:25 and 3:21 during the first half, but defensively the Ichabods held the Blue Tigers to 9 of 22 shooting and 2 of 14 from deep to take the 11-point margin into the break.
Washburn continued the defensive effort against the Blue Tigers holding Lincoln to 3 of 16 shooting over the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Ichabods outscored the Blue Tigers 21 to 8 over the first 11:44 of the second half pushing the lead to 26 with under a minute to go.
Jalen Lewis led the Ichabods with a game-high 19 going 6 of 6 from the free throw line hitting three 3-pointers. Tyler Geiman scored 18 hitting four 3-pointers and Carter finished with 14 points. Jonny Clausing finished with 10 points adding nine rebounds. Drew Maschoff had a career-high 10 rebounds and Geiman had five assists.
Marcel Burton led the Blue Tigers (7-12, 4-6 MIAA) with 10 points.
Washburn finished the game 24 of 57 from the field hitting 12 3-pointers on 26 attempts. The Ichabods were 15 of 22 from the free throw line. The Ichabods held Lincoln to 19 of 56 shooting overall limiting the Blue Tigers to 6 of 25 shooting from deep.
Washburn held a 43 to 36 advantage on the glass and forced the Blue Tigers into 19 turnovers.
  > Central Missouri is 8-11 this season and 3-7 in MIAA games.
> The Mules snapped a two-game losing streak with a 67-49 win over Emporia State on Jan. 29 at home.
> The Mules are 7-5 in home games this season and 0-6 in games away from Warrensburg.
> Gaven Pinkley leads the team in scoring at 13.9 ppg and in rebounds at 5.6 rpg.
> The Mules average 67.4 ppg while allowing 66.5 ppg are they are -4.3 in rebounds a game.
  > Saturday's meeting will be the 103rd between these two teams
> The all-time series is tied 51-51 after the Ichabods have won the last two games sweeping regular season meetings last season.
> 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 10-15.
> The Ichabods have won nine of the last 14 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.
  WASHBURN 74 (16-5)
CENTRAL MISSOURI 74 (11-10)
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.
  >  The Ichabods are 1598-1082-2 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 617-283 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 453-92 (.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 return to Lee Arena on Feb. 6 when they will face Missouri Southern followed by Pittsburg State on Feb. 8.