> The Washburn Ichabods will head to Oklahoma for the first of two games in the Sooner State starting Thursday at Northeastern State at the NSU Events Center.
> The Ichabods are within one game of becoming the 10th team in NCAA Division II history to join the 1,600-win club entering Thursday's game with an overall record of 1,599-1084-2.
> Washburn (13-9, 8-5 MIAA) is coming off a 76-75 win over Pittsburg State last time out in Lee Arena on Saturday.
> The RiverHawks are 15-8 overall and 8-6 in the MIAA after beating Rogers State on Feb. 8.
> The Ichabods are a half game ahead of the RiverHawks in the MIAA standings sitting in a tie for fifth with Nebraska-Kearney and Northeastern State is right behind.
> 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 15.1 ppg as well as assists (5.8) and minutes (35.2) and he is second in rebounds (6.0).
> Geiman has 132 3-pointers in his Washburn career … he is 11th on the all-time 3-point chart.
> Geiman's 364 career assists at Washburn and is second all-time on the Ichabod chart … 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 13.4 ppg while Drew Maschoff is scoring 11.4 ppg and Jonny Clausing is scoring 10.5 ppg.
>  Clausing 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.
> Rathen Carter is scoring 6.2 ppg with 2.4 rpg … he scored a career-high 18 points against Central Missouri.
> Keven Biggs is scoring 6.0 ppg off the bench after starting the first 12 games of the season.
> Jace Williams is scoring 4.9 ppg while shooting 69 percent from the field since joining the team after the conclusion of football season playing 15 games this season.
> Tyler Nelson is scoring 4.5 ppg and Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 3.9 ppg coming off a career-high 12 points against Pitt State.
> The Ichabods are currently ninth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .455 and they rank eighth in field goal defense at .436.
> The Ichabods are currently eighth in the MIAA in scoring average at 74.5 ppg and they rank seventh in scoring defense at 69.4 ppg.
> The Ichabods are 13th in free throw percentage in the MIAA shooting 66 percent.
> During the last five minutes of games however the Ichabods are shooting 78 percent from the free throw line as a team hitting 101 of 129 attempts … Jalen Lewis is 40 of 43 (93 percent) in the last five minutes of games this season and 50 of 55 (91 percent) for his Washburn career.
> Tyler Geiman is third in the MIAA in assists (5.8 apg) and is third in the MIAA in minutes per game at 35.3 and is ninth in scoring while ranking 12th in rebounds, ninth in field goal percentage, 16th in free throw percentage, 18th in steals and seventh in 3-pointers made per game.
  > The Ichabods are within one game 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     1,599    1,083   .595
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
>  is 59-27 in his third season as the Ichabods' head coach and 92-57 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 3-1 against Pittsburg State.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE HEAD COACH MARK DOWNEY
>   is 37-43 in his third season at Northeastern State.
>   was introduced as NSU's tenth men's basketball coach on April 11, 2017 and carries a 241-146 overall head coaching record, with four NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances, and has been named Coach of the Year six times.
>   comes to NSU after two seasons at Fort Wayne (NCAA DI) as the program's top assistant on the bench, and helped the Mastodons to appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) and the NIT, while going 44-23.
>   prior to Fort Wayne, Downey spent the 2014-15 season at Bowling Green where they went 20-12, and he helped direct them into the second round of the CIT.
>   spent the 2006-07 through 2009-10 seasons at Arkansas Tech where he recorded a 77-43 record.
>   is 0-3 against the Ichabods.
  WASHBURN 76 (13-9, 8-5 MIAA)
PITTSBURG STATE 75 (9-13, 4-8 MIAA)
FEB. 8, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods snapped a two-game losing streak as Jonny Clausing hit a free throw seven seconds left and Pittsburg State committed a turnover before getting off a shot as the Ichabods rallied from an eight-point deficit with 6:28 to go in a 76-75 win over the Gorillas on Saturday in Lee Arena.
After a 3-pointer by Pittsburg State's Ray Elliott with 6:28 left pushing the Gorillas (9-13, 4-8 MIAA) to eight, the Ichabods' Drew Maschoff hit a 3-pointer followed by a free throw by Clausing, two more free throws by Maschoff with 4:34 to go and then a jumper by Rathen Carter with 4:14 to play tying the score at 71.
Pitt State went up by three on its next possession and after a jumper by Maschoff cut the led to one a free throw by the Gorillas put the margin back at two with 2:37 remaining.
A dunk by Clausing with 1:39 to go tied the score at 75 and his free throw with seven seconds helped send the Ichabods to the win. Pittsburg State missed its final four shots from the field as Clausing and Maschoff each scored four points in the final 4:52 to secure the win.
The score was tied at 35 at the half as the Ichabods shot 48 percent from the field hitting 5 of 11 3-pointers. Pittsburg State hit 16 of 28 shots in the second half including 5 of 9 3-pointers to finish at 57 percent in the frame and 50 percent for the game.
The Ichabods (13-9, 8-5 MIAA) had five players in double figures led by Jalen Lewis' 14 points. Tyler Geiman had 13 points with five assists and six rebounds. Connor Deffebaugh scored a career-high 12 points hitting all six of his field goal attempts and Clausing finished with 12 and a team-high seven rebounds. Maschoff scored all 10 of his points in the second half adding six assists.
Pittsburg State's A.J. Walker scored a game-high 22 points with five assists scoring 15 points in the second half.
The Ichabods committed seven turnovers in the game while the Gorillas had nine.
  > The RiverHawks are 15-8 this season and 8-6 in the MIAA winning last time out at Rogers State 89-73.
> NSU is 9-3 at home this season.
>  Caleb Smith leads the team in scoring at 16.6 ppg and Kendrick Thompson is scoring 15.1 ppg coming off a season-high 31 points in the win over Rogers State.
>  The Gorillas are 3-3 in away games and 1-3 in neutral site games going 5-6 in home games.
  >   Saturday's meeting will be the 15th all-time between the two schools and the series is tied 7-7.
>   The Ichabods have won the last five meetings in the series.
>   The Ichabods and RiverHawks played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with Washburn falling 64-59 on March 15, 2003 in Stephenville, Texas.
>   The RiverHawks went on to win the NCAA National Championship in 2003.
>   Washburn is 2-4 in games played in Tahlequah and the Ichabods are 5-2 in games played in Lee Arena.
  WASHBURN 87 (12-11)
NORTHEASTERN STATE 60 (18-5)
Feb. 14, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team jumped out to a 21-5 lead over Northeastern State building a lead as many as 36 midway through the second half and never looked back in an 87-60 Valentine's Day victory.
The Ichabods shot a blistering 73 percent in the first half from the field and connected on 11 of 13 3-point attempts for an 85 percent average while building a 48-22 lead at the end of the first half. Washburn held the RiverHawks (12-11, 6-8 MIAA) shooting in the opening frame. Washburn hit 7 of its first 9 shots from the field and 5 of its first 16 3-point attempts en route to 17 3-pointers on the evening – one shy of the school record set earlier this season against Southwest Baptist in Lee Arena.
In the second half, the RiverHawks would get no closer than 22 with 1:38 to go in the game.
Javion Blake led the Ichabods with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting with two assists in 28 minutes of play. Blake upped his career scoring total to 1,656 passing Harold Brown (1970-74) and Ryan Murphy (1999-2003) to move into fourth place all-time on the Ichabod scoring chart. Next on the list is Will McNeill (2008-13) who scored 1,701 points in 117 games.
Jalen Lewis scored 14 off the bench hitting four 3-pointers in six attempts. Devyn Wilson scored 12 points and Will McKee added 11 points with a game-high nine rebounds. Tyler Geiman scored seven points and dished out nine assists. David Salach scored nine points with six boards, two assists and two blocks.
Caleb Smith led the RiverHawks with 22 points.
Washburn outrebounded the NSU 36 to 30 and turned 14 RiverHawk turnovers into 20 points. Washburn had 23 assists on 32 buckets and finished the game 32 of 57 from the field for a 56 percent clip while NSU was 24 of 57 for a 42 percent average.
  >  The Ichabods are 1599-1084-2 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 618-285 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 454-93 (.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 face Rogers State on Feb. 15 in the first meeting between the two schools. The Ichabods will return home to face Central Missouri on Feb. 20 and wrap up the home slate with Lincoln on senior night on Feb. 22. The Ichabods will finish off the regular season at Northwest Missouri on Feb. 27 and Missouri Western on Feb. 29 before starting the MIAA Championship Tournament on March 4 in Kansas City.