• The Washburn Ichabods wrap up a mini two-game road swing on Saturday at Pittsburg State with tip scheduled for 3 p.m. from John Lance Arena.
• The Ichabods (9-6, 6-3 MIAA) have won their last three games and five of their last six after topping Missouri Southern on Thursday night 87-72 in Joplin.
• The Gorillas (4-11, 3-6 MIAA) are coming off a 74-59 loss with Emporia State.
• The Ichabods lead the series with Pittsburg State 107-78 and have won the last five meetings including winning 8 of the last 10 contests and the last two in Pittsburg.
• Saturday's game will be on the only regular season game between the Ichabods and the Gorillas. Pittsburg  State and Lincoln are the two schools in the MIAA schedule they will only place once.
• 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.
• The longest winning streak by the Ichabods is 13 from Jan. 15, 1983 to March 4, 1988.
• The 2021-22 season marks the 117th season of Ichabod basketball.
• Washburn was picked second both the MIAA Coaches and Media preseason polls. • Jalen Lewis leads the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg hitting 36 of 90 3-pointers (.400).
• Michael Keegan is scoring 10.7 ppg with 6.1 rebounds per game, 1.3 blocks per game and 1.7 steals per game … he is averaging 7.9 rpg in MIAA play … he leads the MIAA in blocked shots, ranks ninth in the MIAA in rebounds, fifth in steals and 21st in minutes played.
• Tyler Geiman is averaging 10.6 ppg with 6.8 rpg and 6.4 apg in eight games this season … Geiman went over the 600 assist plateau against Missouri Western and the 600 rebound mark in his career … Geiman is also ranked second in the NCAA D2 ranks in active assists with 608 and 12th in assist average at 4.9.
• Tyler Nelson is scoring 9.7 ppg with 1.7 rpg and 2.0 apg in three games playing an average of 23.3 minutes a game.
• Jeremy Harrell is fifth on the team in scoring at 9.2 ppg in 17.1  minutes per game averaging 9.7 ppg in MIAA play.
• Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 8.4 ppg with 2.5 rpg.
• Jonny Clausing is scoring 7.3 ppg in three games this season playing 16.3 mpg.
• Levi Braun scoring 6.3 ppg and 6.9 ppg in MIAA play and has hit 17 of 36 3-point field goals in conference play.
• Tyler Geiman became the 26th member of Washburn's 1,000-point club and his career point total stands at 1,477 points in 123 career games, which is ninth all-time on the Ichabod chart … next on the chart is Dan Buie who scored 1,484 in two seasons from 1995-97 … Geiman's 213 career 3-pointers is third all-time at Washburn and his 584 career 3-point attempts is tied for first with Shannon Kruger's 584.
• Jalen Lewis is currently 14th on the Ichabod all-time scoring chart with 1,238 career points in 103 career games … Lewis also became only the sixth Ichabod to go over the 200 made 3-pointers mark now sitting with 233 which ranks second behind all-time leader Shannon Kruger who hit 242 in 122 games.
• Jeremy Harrell tied a career-high with seven rebounds at Missouri Southern.
• Tyler Geiman tied a career-high with 16 rebounds at Missouri Southern.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
•is 91-44 in his fifth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 124-74 overall in his eighth year as a head coach.
• has led the Ichabods to three NCAA postseason appearances in four full 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 5-1 against Pittsburg State.
 
PITTSBURG STATE HEAD COACH KIM ANDERSON
• is in his fifth season leading the Gorillas going 60-69.
• 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.
• has a 361-231 (.611) record in 20 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.
• 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).
• selected the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2010, and the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 2014.
•  is 16-17 against the Ichabods. • Pittsburg State (4-11, 3-6 MIAA) last lost two in a row coming off a 74-59 loss to Emporia State last time out.
• I• iah James leads the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg and Cameron Huefner is scoring 9.1 ppg with 5.3 rpg.
• Pitt State is averaging 65.0 ppg while allowing 69.9 ppg.
• The Gorillas are 3-3 in home games this season. (Jan. 13, 2022) JOPLIN, Mo. – A balanced scoring attack with seven different players scoring at least eight points pushed Washburn to an 87-72 win over Missouri Southern Thursday night on the road as the Ichabods picked up their third-straight win securing their fifth win in the last six games.
The Ichabods (8-6, 6-3 MIAA) led 44-38 at the half in a first 20 minutes that saw 12 lead changes and 23 points come from the Washburn bench. The Lions (8-5, 5-2 MIAA) led 22-17 before a mini 7-0 Washburn run at the midway point of the half put Washburn up by two. The Lions came back and took the lead at 34-30 with 4:45 to play, but the Ichabods finished the half on a 14-4 run capped by Washburn 3-pointer by Michael Keegan ending the scoring with the six-point advantage.
The Ichabods scored the first six points of the second half going up 12 forcing a Missouri Southern time out and would continue to push the lead up to as many as 20 in the second half rolling to the win.
Jeremy Harrell led the Ichabods with 13 points adding seven rebounds while Tyler Geiman had his 12th double double of his career with 12 points tying a career-high with 16 rebounds dishing out seven assists. With his 16 rebounds, Geiman becomes the first Ichabod to record at least 600 rebounds and 600 assists in an Ichabod career. Jalen Lewis and Jonny Clausing also had 12 points each.
Missouri Southern was led by Christian Bundy with a game-high 18 points.
The Ichabods shot 49 percent from the field hitting 33 of 68 shots and finished 14 of 16 from the free throw line making their final 14 of the game. Missouri Southern was held to 28 of 66 shooting for a 42 percent clip including 5 of 16 from 3-point range in the second half. The Ichabods also held a 43 to 35 advantage on the glass outscoring the Lions 50 to 34 in the paint as the bench finished with 35 of Washburn's 87 points.
The Ichabods committed a season-low four turnovers while forcing 13 for the Lions.
  • Saturday's meeting will be the 186th between these two schools in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1920.
• Washburn leads the all-time series 107-78.
• The Ichabods have won the last 20 of the last 24 meetings including 13 of the last 16 and the last five overall.
• The Ichabods are 33-3 in Lee Arena against PSU and 36-16 against the Gorillas in MIAA play. The home team is 35-12 in the last 47 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.
• In Topeka, Washburn leads 71-24 all-time.
• The longest winning streak by the Ichabods is 13 from Jan. 15, 1983 to March 4, 1988.
• The longest winning streak by the Gorillas is six games from Dec. 12, 1936 to Feb. 13, 1943. (Jan. 16, 2021) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 8 Washburn men's basketball team used a strong offensive performance in the second half to defeat the Pittsburg State Gorillas, 84-62, on Saturday afternoon.
FIRST HALF
Washburn opened scoring with a 4-0 run in the first three minutes of the game. Pittsburg got on the board shortly after, starting a back-and-forth battle for the lead throughout most of the first half. Down six points to the Gorillas, the Ichabods fought back with a 8-0 run in the last 4:29 of the half to reclaim the lead over the Gorillas. A made three-pointer by Rathen Carter gave Washburn the lead back with 1:23 on the clock, ending the first half up 33-31.
SECOND HALF
After a couple made free throws from the Gorillas to tie the game at 33-33 early in the second half, the Ichabods quickly responded as Jalen Lewis made a shot from behind the arc to give Washburn a 36-33 lead with 17:22 on the clock. The Ichabods retained their lead for the remainder of the game, leading by no less than 11 points for the last five minutes of the game. Washburn went on a 25-11 run in the last 10 minutes of the game to solidify its 84-62 win over Pittsburg State.
HIGHLIGHTS
Tyler Geiman led the Ichabods with 19 points, while also recording three rebounds and team-high five assists. Tyler Nelson had 16 points with five rebounds, while making all four of his free-throw attempts. Levi Braun tallied 15 points all coming from the 3-point range, shooting 5-of-8 from deep. Carter and Connor Deffebaugh contributed nine points each. Carter also led the team with six rebounds, three of which were offensive.
Bobby Arthur-Williams, Jr. led the Gorillas with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Pippins scored the second-most points for Pittsburg State with 15.
The Ichabods scored 16 points off Gorillas turnovers while Pittsburg State scored two points off Washburn turnovers. Washburn's offense outscored Pittsburg State 51-33 in the second half. The Ichabods made nine of 10 attempts from the charity stripe in the second half. The Ichabods also made 16-of-27 field goals in the second half, 10 of them from behind the arc.
  • The Ichabods are 1630-1103-2 all-time in the 117th 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 648-300 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 29 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 15 NCAA Tournament bids going to three Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
  •  The Ichabods are 471-98 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
•  The 2021-22 season marks the 38th season of play in Lee Arena.
•  The Ichabods are 37-1 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.
  • Washburn will host Northwest Missouri on Monday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Arena in a game originally scheduled for Jan. 6, but was postponed for COVID protocols by the Bearcats. Washburn will continue the homestand facing Emporia State on Jan. 22, Newman on Jan. 26 and Central Oklahoma on Jan. 29.