• The Washburn Ichabods are back at home on Saturday looking to snap a two-game losing streak as they will play host to Pittsburg State at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena.
• Washburn (12-9, 7-5 MIAA) is coming off a 91-87 loss to No. 19-ranked Missouri Southern last time out.
• The Gorillas are 9-12 this season and 5-7 in the MIAA and have won two straight with victories over Northeastern State and at Emporia State on Thursday night in a 77-74 win.
• The Ichabods topped Pittsburg State on the road on Dec. 5 earlier this season in a 66-59 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 15.2 ppg as well as assists (5.8) and minutes (35.3) and he is second in rebounds (6.0).
• Geiman has 129 3-pointers in his Washburn career … he is 11th on the all-time 3-point chart.
• Geiman's 359 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 11.5 ppg and Jonny Clausing is scoring 10.4 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 6.3 ppg with 2.3 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 74 percent from the field since joining the team after the conclusion of football season playing 15 games this season.
• Tyler Nelson is scoring 4.7 ppg and Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 3.5 ppg.
• The Ichabods are currently ninth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .453 and they rank eighth in field goal defense at .433.
• The Ichabods are currently eighth in the MIAA in scoring average at 74.5 ppg and they rank seventh in scoring defense at 69.1 ppg.
• The Ichabods are 13th in free throw percentage in the MIAA shooting 68 percent.
• During the last five minutes of games however the Ichabods are shooting 80 percent from the free throw line as a team hitting 97 of 122 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 13th in rebounds, eighth in field goal percentage, 15th in free throw percentage, 19th in steals and fifth in 3-pointers made per game.
  • 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 58-27 in his third season as the Ichabods' head coach and 91-57 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.
 
PITTSBURG STATE HEAD COACH KIM ANDERSON
•   is in his third season leading the Gorillas going 43-38. He has compiled a pair of 17-13 records in his first two seasons at Pitt State.
•   Anderson (Missouri, '79) became the Gorillas' 15th all-time head coach on Apr. 10, 2017, after coaching the previous three seasons at his alma mater – the University of Missouri.
•   He has a 344-200 (.642) record in 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship as head coach at the University of Central Missouri as well as two more Division II Final Four appearances (2007, 2009) while compiling a 274-95 (.743) record at the school.
•   Anderson led UCM to seven trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament and seven 20-win seasons.  In his final season with the Mules he guided the squad to a 30-5 overall record and the D2 national title.
•   His Mules teams captured six MIAA regular season titles (2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) and four MIAA Tournament titles (2005, 2007, 2009, 2013).
•   He was selected the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2010, and the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 2014.
•   Is 16-15 against the Ichabods.
  MISSOURI SOUTHERN 91 (17-4, 10-2 MIAA)
WASHBURN 87 (12-9, 7-5 MIAA)
FEB. 6, 2019
TOPEKA, KAN. – The Washburn Ichabods dropped a high-scoring affair in a 91-87 loss to No. 19-ranked Missouri Southern on Thursday night in Lee Arena. 
The Ichabods led 47-34 at the break after shooting 52 percent from the field while the Lions hit 52 percent of their shots as well in the opening stanza, but the Ichabods hit seven 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to take the 13-point lead into the break. Drew Maschoff led the Ichabods in the half scoring 17 points hitting 6 of 7 shots and 3 of 4 from distance. After the Ichabods went up 15 to start the second half on a jumper by Tyler Geiman, the Lions would go on a 23-2 run including an 18-0 spurt taking a 59-53 lead as the Ichabods were 0 of 7 during the dry spell. Washburn cut into the lead to two at 87-85 with 25 seconds to play and 98-87 with nine seconds left but the Lions hit all four of their free throws to keep the lead and pick up the win improving to 17-4 overall and 10-2 in the MIAA. Washburn drops to 12-9 and 7-5 in league play.
Maschoff finished with 20 points as did Geiman to lead the Ichabods. Johnny Clausing had 18, one off his career high adding seven rebounds. Geiman finished with seven assists. Jalen Lewis scored 17 points.
Missouri Southern was led by Cam Martin's 40 points.
The Ichabods shot 47 percent from the field while the Lions hit 59 percent of their shots in the second half finishing at 55 percent for the game. The Lions were 23 of 26 at the free throw line while the Ichabods were 19 of 28 overall. Washburn held a 32 to 30 advantage on the glass turning 15 offensive rebounds into 14 points.
  • The Gorillas are 9-12 this season and 5-7 in the MIAA but have won their last two games.
•  A.J. Walker is scoring 17.4 ppg to lead the teams and Jah-Kobe Womack leads the team in scoring at 13.1 ppg.
•  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 184th between these two schools in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1920.
•   The two games on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 of 1920 were both played in Topeka inside an empty Thomas Gymnasium because of a flu outbreak in Topeka.
•   Washburn leads the all-time series 105-78.
•   The Ichabods have won the last 18 of the last 22 meetings including 11 of the last 14 and the last two overall.
•   The Ichabods are 31-3 in Lee Arena against PSU and 34-16 against the Gorillas in MIAA play. The home team is 33-12 in the last 45 regular season meetings, dating back to 1996-97.
•   The series goes back to 1919-20 and it has been played at least once a year since 1941-42.
•   Since the 1956-57 season, the Ichabods are 28-31 in Pittsburg while going 12-12 in Pittsburg since becoming a member of the MIAA. 
•   In Topeka, Washburn leads 69-22 all-time.
  WASHBURN 66 (4-3)
PITTSBURG STATE 59 (4-3)
DEC. 5, 2019
PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods used a 23-8 run over the final 9:27 of the game holding Pittsburg State to 3 of 11 shooting rallying for a 66-59 win in their MIAA opener at Pittsburg State on Thursday night.
To start the game the Ichabods were cold from the field not hitting their first field goal until 5:06 into the game. Washburn came back and cut the lead to 19-17 with 8:22 using an 11-2 run hitting all three pointers during the stretch but the Gorillas came back with a 13-5 run over their own pushing the lead back to 12. Pitt State led by 12 occasions last in the first half before a layup by Connor Deffebaugh before the first half horn sounded sent the Ichabods to the locker room with a 40-32 deficit.
After missing their first five shots from 3-point range, the Ichabods hit the final four of the half and was 13 of 28 overall while the Gorillas were 14 of 29 overall from the field.
In the second half, the Ichabods chipped away at the Gorilla lead to trim margin to three at 50-47 with 8:30 to play in the game and a 3-pointer by Geiman knotted the score at 50 with 7:42 to play.
Drew Maschoff hit a 3-pointer with 5:43 to go giving the Ichabods their first lead of the game at 55-54, but the lead was short-lived for 26 seconds as the Gorillas came back with a bucket of their own at 56-55.
Buckets by Connor and two field goals by Jonny Clausing pushed the Ichabod lead to five at 61-56 with 3:11 to play as the Ichabods held the Gorillas to three points the final 2:46 of the game in the seven-point win.
Geiman led the Ichabods with 13 points adding six assists and Maschoff had 11 points. Clausing and Tyler Nelson each had 10 while Clausing added four blocks.
Antonio Givens II led the Gorillas with 16 points.
Washburn held the Gorillas to 7 of 24 shooting in the second half outscoring Pitt State by 15 as PSU was 1 of their final 9 attempts from the field. Washburn was 14 of 31 in the second half and finished 27 of 59 overall for the game.
  •  The Ichabods are 1598-1084-2 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 617-285 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 453-93 (.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 are back on the road for a two-step through Oklahoma starting with Northeastern State on Feb. 13 and then at Rogers State on Feb. 15. 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.