•The No. 25 (NABC)/No. 19 (D2SIDA) Washburn Ichabods will wrap up the regular season with Emporia State on Feb. 27 in Lee Arena as two seniors, Will McKee and Jace Williams will be honored before the game starts.
•Saturday's game with Emporia State will be the Ichabods' fifth in the last 10 days dating back to the Missouri Western game on Feb. 18.
•The Ichabods (15-6, 15-6 MIAA) fell at Missouri Southern 89-80 on Thursday night in Joplin.
•The Hornets (11-10, 11-10 MIAA) have won their last three games with wins over Missouri Western (82-71), Northeastern State (97-72) and at Pittsburg State (78-57) on Feb. 25.
•The Ichabods won the first meeting lost the first meeting of the season with Emporia State 91-74 in Emporia.
•The Ichabods lead the all-time series with Emporia state 109-104 in the most-played series of the Ichabods.
•The meeting on Saturday will be the 214th meeting between the two schools.
•The Ichabods are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings and have gone 43-59 all-time in games played in Emporia and 62-44 in games played in Topeka.
•The Ichabods lead the MIAA in scoring at 82.4 ppg and the Hornets are ranked No. 2 in scoring defense allowing 70.0 ppg.
•The Ichabods are ranked fifth in the MIAA in scoring defense allowing 73.7 ppg while the Hornets are 11th in scoring offense at 72.2 ppg.
•The Ichabods are ranked second in the league in opponents field goal percentage at 44 percent while the Hornets are first in the league in opponent shooting percentage at 43 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 (6.3 apg - 1st in the MIAA and is 3rd in the NCAA), rebounds (6.5 rpg - 10th in the MIAA), steals (1.7 spg - 6th in the MIAA) and minutes (36.3 mpg - 2nd in the MIAA) … he also ranks 10th in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.534).
•Jalen Lewis is averaging 12.4 ppg hitting 50 of 103 3-point attempts this season (49 percent) … he is tied for fifth in the MIAA in 3-pointers per game at 2.4.
•Jonny Clausing returned to action at Central Missouri after missing the previous seven games with an injury …he is scoring 9.7 ppg with 4.0 rpg and 1.0 bkpg … he also leads the MIAA in field goal percentage at 61 percent.
•Tyler Nelson is scoring 11.4 ppg averaging coming off back to back career-high nights scoring 24 points against Northeastern State and then 25 against Missouri Southern.
•Levi Braun is averaging 7.7 ppg this season … 49 of his 52 field goals this season have been from 3 and he has attempted nine shots inside the 3-point line … Braun's 49 3-pointers is fourth on the Ichabod freshman chart and his 100 attempts are fifth … the Ichabod freshman 3-point record is 58 set by Jalen Lewis during the 2018-19 season.
•Jace Williams is averaging 5.7 ppg with 4.4 rpg recording 20 blocks tallying his first career double double at Washburn with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Rogers State.
•Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 5.6 ppg with 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
•Rathen Carter is scoring 5.1 ppg with 2.8 rpg.
•Will McKee is scoring 3.5 ppg with 4.2 rpg.
•Tyler Geiman became the 26th member of Washburn's 1,000-point club at Missouri Western … his career total is 1,282 in 109 career games, which is 11th all-time on the Ichabod chart … against Northeastern State he passed both Kyle Wiggins … Greg "Buzz" Wilson is 10th with 1,323 career points.
•Jalen Lewis is currently 35th on the Ichabod all-time scoring chart with 915 career points.
•Tyler Geiman became the first Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points, 500 assists, 500 rebounds and 100 steals going over that mark against Missouri Western … he became 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 and now the first Ichabod to reach at least 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career … if that's not enough he recorded the first triple double in Washburn history with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against Northeastern State on Feb. 23.
•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 77-37 in his fourth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 110-67 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 3-2 against Emporia State.
 
EMPORIA STATE HEAD COACH CRAIG DOTY
•is 35-44 in his third season at Emporia State.
•is in his eighth season as a head coach at the D2, NAIA, and NJCAA level he is 197-93 with three national championships.
•In two seasons at Graceland, Doty went 49-22 and won the 2018 NAIA Division I National Championship in Municipal Auditorium.
•Prior to Graceland, Doty spent four years as the head coach at Rock Valley College winning two national championships and appearing in three straight NJCAA Division III title games to finish with a 113-28 record.
•is 1-2 against Washburn.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
MISSOURI SOUTHERN 89 (13-8, 13-8 MIAA)
#25 WASHBURN 80 (15-6, 15-6 MIAA)
JOPLIN, Mo. – The No. 25 ranked Washburn Ichabods fell to Missouri Southern State, 89-80, on Thursday night at Leggett and Platt Athletic Center.
The Ichabods opened scoring as Tyler Nelson sank a three-pointer 30 seconds into the game to give Washburn an early 3-0 lead. The Lions answered a short 15 seconds later to make the score 3-2. For the rest of the first half, Washburn and Missouri Southern wrestled back-and-forth for possession as the score was tied nine times and the lead changed twice. The Lions had their largest lead (34-27) with 6:58 left in the half. The Ichabods extended their lead to 47-40 with 55 seconds on the clock, but the Lions continued to fight back, ending the first half with Washburn leading Missouri Southern, 47-44.
Washburn held on to its lead for the first few minutes of the second half until Missouri Southern tied the score up at 54 at the 16:50 mark. Another back-and-forth battle ensued in the next six minutes in which the Lions tied the score two more times and the Ichabods regained their lead twice more. Missouri Southern took their first lead (67-64) in the 11th minute. Washburn regained a 74-73 lead with a Connor Deffebaugh dunk with 7:12 left on the clock. Missouri Southern regained the lead with 4:31 on the clock to take a 77-76 lead. This one-point deficit would be the closest the Ichabods got for the rest of the game as the Lions went on a 12-4 run in the last four minutes, leading Washburn to a 89-80 loss to Missouri Southern.
Nelson scored a career-high 25 points with seven rebounds. He was 10-for-18 from the field on the night. Tyler Geiman followed closely behind with 21 points and a team-high six assists and two steals.
Cam Martin led the Lions with 28 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
Washburn scored 14 points off Missouri Southern's turnovers, as the Lions countered with eight points off Ichabods turnovers. Washburn scored 19 points off the bench and Missouri Southern countered with 15 points.
  •The Hornets are 11-10 overall and have won their last three games of the season.
•They are leading the MIAA in field goal percentage defense, and are second in scoring defense and defensive rebounds. Jumah'Ri Turner is fifth in the MIAA in scoring with 18.9 ppg while Mason Thiessen ranks third in blocked shots with 1.1.
  •The meeting on Saturday will be the 214th meeting between the two schools and the Ichabods lead at 109-104. This is the most-played series for Washburn.
•The Ichabods have won 7 of the last 10 meetings.
•The two teams started the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball, and they have met every year since the 1945-46 season.
•This will be the 77th-straight year they have played each other at least once.
•The Ichabods are 27-8 against the Hornets in Lee Arena.
•Washburn is 4-1 against ESU in MIAA Postseason tournament games.
•The Hornets are looking to sweep the regular season series for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
  EMPORIA, Kan. – The No. 7 Washburn Ichabods men's basketball team lost a tough battle to rival Emporia State, 91-74, on Saturday afternoon.
The Ichabods (10-2) opened scoring early as Tyler Nelson sank a shot from behind the arc to give Washburn the 3-0 lead 50 seconds into the game. The Hornets (7-6) quickly responded, going on an 8-0 run in the next 1:40 to take an 8-3 lead. The next 17 minutes of the half entailed a back-and-forth battle of fighting for the lead.
In the last minute and a half of the first half, two made free throws by Levi Braun and a made shot from deep by Tyler Geiman gave Washburn the lead. Emporia answered all five of those points to knot up the score at 43 at halftime.
The Hornets opened the second half with a 10-0 run in the first four minutes to regain a 53-43 lead over the Ichabods. Washburn attempted to chip away throughout the second half, reducing its deficit to one point with a three-pointer by Geiman at the 11:44 mark to make the score 62-61 in favor of Emporia. Aided by two 10-0 runs and a 14-0 run in the second half, Emporia held on to its lead for the remainder of the game to take the 91-74 victory over Washburn.
Four Ichabods hit double digits in points: Geiman (24), Nelson (17), Braun (14) and Connor Deffebaugh (10). Geiman also led the team with eight assists. Braun and Jace Williams each collected four rebounds.
Jumah'Ri Turner led the Hornets with 27 points, while also recording five rebounds and four assists. Dallas Bailey had the most rebounds (seven) and steals (three) for Emporia, while also contributing 17 points.
  • The Ichabods are 1616-1096-2 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 635-293 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 463-95 (.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 start the postseason hosting a to be determined opponent in the MIAA Postseason Tournament Quarterfinals at 6 p.m. on March 3 in Lee Arena. Be sure to check back to wusports.com for updates and when tournament seedings are announced.