•The No. 16 (NABC)/No. 13 (D2SIDA) Washburn Ichabods will hit the road for the second-to-last time during the regular season as they will face Central Missouri on Saturday in Warrensburg. Following the game with the Mules, the Ichabods will return home for three contests (Missouri Western - Feb. 18, Northwest Missouri - Feb. 20, and Northeastern State - Feb. 23) and the wrap up the last weekend of action at Missouri Southern before finishing the regular season with Emporia State on Feb. 27.
•The Ichabods (13-3, 13-3 MIAA) topped Lincoln on Tuesday night in Lee Arena 87-72.
•The Mules (6-11, 6-11 MIAA) have dropped three games in a row and have been off since Feb. 6 when they fell at Missouri Southern 86-67.
•The Ichabods won the first meeting this season against the Mules in Topeka 80-60 on Dec. 17.
•The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Mules 53-52 after the Ichabods after Washburn's last win.
•The Ichabods lead the MIAA in scoring at 83.1 ppg and the Mules are ranked ninth in scoring defense at 76.3 ppg.
•The Ichabods are ranked third in the MIAA in scoring defense allowing 71.8 ppg while the Mules are 12th in the league in scoring offense at 69.5 ppg.
•The Ichabods are ranked first in the league in opponents field goal percentage at 42.2 percent while the Mules are 10th in the league in shooting percentage at 44.7 percent.
•The 2020-21 season marks the 116th season of Ichabod basketball.
  •Tyler Geiman leads the team in scoring (20.8 ppg - 3rd in the MIAA), assists (6.1 apg - 1st in the MIAA and is 3rd in the NCAA), rebounds (6.5 rpg - 10th in the MIAA), steals (1.8 spg - 4th in the MIAA) and minutes (36.4 mpg - 2nd in the MIAA) … he also ranks seventh in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.532).
•Jalen Lewis is averaging 11.9 ppg hitting 39 of 77 3-point attempts this season (50.6 percent) … he is seventh in the MIAA in 3-pointers per game at 2.4.
•Jonny Clausing is scoring 10.6 ppg with 4.1 rpg and a team-high 1.3 bkpg missing the last seven games with an injury.
•Levi Braun is averaging 9.6 ppg this season … 48 of his 49 field goals this season have been from 3 and he has attempted only four shots inside the 3-point line … he leads the MIAA in 3-pointers per game at 3.0 and 3-point field goal percentage hitting 48 of 86 attempts (.558) … Braun's 48 3-pointers is fourth on the Ichabod freshman chart and his 81 attempts are fifth … the Ichabod freshman 3-point record is 58 set by Jalen Lewis during the 2018-19 season.
•Tyler Nelson is scoring 9.3 ppg averaging 11.1 points a game in the last seven since moving into a starting role.
•Jace Williams is averaging 6.3 ppg with 4.4 rpg recording 16 blocks coming off his first career double double at Washburn with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Rogers State.
•Rathen Carter is scoring 6.2 ppg with 3.1 rpg after a season-high seven rebounds.
•Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 4.9 ppg with 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
•Will McKee is scoring 3.1 ppg with 4.3 rpg.
•Tyler Geiman became the 26th member of Washburn's 1,000-point club at Missouri Western … his career total is 1,177 in 104 career games, which is 15th all-time on the Ichabod chart … next on the scoring chart is Jemi Johnson who scored 1,215 points sitting 14th.
•Jalen Lewis is currently 40th on the Ichabod all-time scoring chart with 844 points.
•Tyler Geiman needs six assists (494) and 13 rebounds (487) to become the first Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points, 500 assists, 500 rebounds and 100 steals … with 13 more rebounds he will become the 12th Ichabod to reach at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds … he was the seventh Ichabod to reach at least 1,000 points and 100 steals … he was also the 10th Ichabod to reach at least 1,000 points and 200 assists.
•Washburn is 58 of 86 from the free throw line in the last five minutes of games (67 percent) compared to its opponents connecting on 79 of 111 attempts (71 percent).
•The 2020-21 Washburn Ichabod basketball season will be one for the record books as the 22-game schedule will consist of only games against MIAA opponents as regional crossovers and non-conference matchups have been scrapped thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
•is 75-34 in his fourth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 108-64 overall in his seventh 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 4-2 against Central Missouri.
 
CENTRAL MISSOURI HEAD COACH DOUG KARLESKINT
•is 109-82 in his seventh season as the head coach at Central Missouri and 198-116 overall in his 11th 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 4-6 against Washburn.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
WASHBURN 87 (13-3, 13-3 MIAA)
LINCOLN 72 (8-8, 8-8 MIAA)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 16 ranked Washburn Ichabods trailed only for 62 seconds and dished out 18 assists on 30 made field goals as the Ichabods topped Lincoln 87-72 wrapping up a three-game homestand for the Ichabods.
After the Blue Tigers (8-8, 8-8 MIAA) scored the first points of the game, and then the Ichabods ripped off a 12-0 run pushing out to a 14-3 lead holding the Blue Tigers to 1 of their first 12 from the field in the opening 10 minutes of the half. With Washburn leading by 11 at 26-15 with 7:08 to go in the first half, the Blue Tigers trimmed the Ichabod lead down to three at 29-26 with 3:59 left before Washburn went to the locker room on a 13-3 run to lead 42-31 at the break.
With Washburn (13-3, 13-3 MIAA) up by 13 with 17:30 to go in the game, the Blue Tigers responded with a 12-0 run cutting the Ichabod lead to one at 48-47 with 15:07 to go the Ichabods pushed back with a 10-0 run of their own and the Blue Tigers would not get closer than 10 the rest of the game as Washburn pushed its lead to as many as 21 rolling to the 15-point win improving to 32-4 all-time against Lincoln and 16-2 in games played in Topeka.
Jalen Lewis led the Ichabods with a game-high 20 points hitting three 3-pointers. Tyler Nelson scored 15 with six assists and six rebounds and Tyler Geiman had 13 points with six assists and seven rebounds. Rathen Carter also had seven rebounds adding eight rebounds.
Mekhi Kimble and Charles Wilson each had 14 to pace Lincoln.
Washburn shot 56 percent from the field including 58 percent in the second half going 30 of 54 overall holding the Blue Tigers to 43 percent shooting. Washburn was 13 of 27 from deep. Both teams had 34 rebounds. The Ichabods had a 26 to 8 advantage in fast break points over Lincoln.
  •The Mules are 6-11 this season and have lost their last three contests.
•The Mules fell at Missouri Southern 86-67 last time out.
•Koray Gilbert leads the team in scoring at 13.2 ppg pacing four Mules in double figure point production with Cameron Hunter (11.8 ppg), Ja'Cor Nelson (11.6 ppg) and Gaven Pinkely (10.6 ppg). Pinkley also leads the team in rebounding at 4.6 rpg.
•The Mules are scoring 69.5 ppg while allowing 76.3 ppg. •Saturday's meeting will be the 106th between these two teams
•The Ichabods lead the series 53-52.
•Washburn is 23-9 against UCM in Lee Arena and 28-22 in all-time MIAA games.
•In road MIAA games played in Warrensburg, the Ichabods are 10-16.
•The Ichabods have won 11 of the last 17 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.
  Dec. 17, 2020 -- TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 10-ranked Washburn Ichabods moved to 6-0 on the season with an 80-60 win over Central Missouri on Thursday night in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods jumped out to a 24-6 lead with 10:06 to play in the first after an 11-0 run. Washburn would go on to lead by as many as 23 in the first half taking a 46-25 lead into the break paced by nine 3-pointers while holding the Mules to 0 of 10 from deep.
Central Missouri (1-5) used a 15 to 3 run over the first 4:25 of the second half trimming the Ichabod lead down to nine at 49-40 with 14:50 to play. Washburn put the game away with a 12 to 4 run over the next 6:25 of the game stretching the lead back to 18 leading to the 20-point win, breaking the all-time series score with the Ichabods leading 53-52 in 105 meetings.
Jalen Lewis led the Ichabods with 16 points going 4 of 8 from 3-point range followed by Tyler Geiman's 13 and Levi Braun's 12. Will McKee had eight rebounds. Geiman added five assists.
Central Missouri was led by Gavin Pinkley's 21 points.
The Ichabods finished 24 of 51 from the field for the game hitting 15 3-pointers in 34 attempts for a 44 percent clip. UCM was 4 of 21 from 3-point range. The 15 3-pointers is tied for fifth all-time at Washburn for a single game.
Washburn had a 41 to 29 advantage on the glass and the Ichabod bench outscored the Mules 31 to 8.
  • The Ichabods are 1614-1093-2 all-time in the 116th 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 633-290 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 462-93 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2020-21 season marks the 37th season of play in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 36-1 all-time in home openers.
• The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.
  •The Ichabods will return home on Feb. 18 hosting Missouri Western and then Northwest Missouri on Feb. 20. Washburn will face Northeastern State on Feb. 23 in a make up game from Feb. 6.