Washburn basketball tickets are now sold ONLINE ONLY! You can no longer buy tickets at a ticket window. You can purchase online tickets up until the game sells out or the game ends. •After having its game postponed on Jan. 6 against Northwest Missouri, the Washburn Ichabods will make their 2022 debut in Lee Arena at 3 p.m. on Jan. 8 hosting Missouri Western in the 100th meeting between the two teams.
•The Ichabods (7-6, 4-3 MIAA) topped Central Missouri 67-65 with a tip-in rebound by Connor Deffebaugh with 1.9 seconds remaining to secure the win.
•The Griffons (8-7, 4-3 MIAA) lost on Thursday at Emporia State in a 74-64 game. The Griffons enter the game having lost their last three games falling 101-63 at Northwest Missouri on Dec. 18 and to Pittsburg State 72-64 on Jan. 1 in St. Joseph. The Griffons did mix in a 78-50 exhibition win over Friends on Dec. 29.
•The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Griffons 57-42 and have won the last two games including a 101-72 win over the Griffons last season in the MIAA Tournament semifinals and a 72-46 win over the Griffons in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals.
•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 14.2 ppg hitting 28 of 72 3-pointers.
•Tyler Geiman is averaging 11.0 ppg with 5.3 rpg and 6.0 apg in six games this season … Geiman needs six assists to hit the 600-plateau and he needs 14 more rebounds to reach 600 rebounds in his career.
•Tyler Nelson returned to the line up against Central Missouri and scored 11 points with four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.
•Michael Keegan is scoring 10.6 ppg with team-highs of 6.4 rebounds per game, 1.3 blocks per game and 1.5 steals per game … he is averaging 8.3 rpg in MIAA play … he leads the MIAA in blocked shots, ranked seventh in the MIAA in rebounds, 10th in steals and 14th in minutes played.
•Jeremy Harrell is fifth on the team in scoring at 9.4 ppg in 17.5 minutes per game averaging 10.1 ppg in MIAA play.
•Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 8.9 ppg with 2.3 rpg and has raised his scoring to 9.4 ppg in conference play.
•Levi Braun scoring 7.1 ppg and 8.4 ppg in MIAA play and has hit 16 of 34 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 1,458 points in 121 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 212 career 3-pointers is tied for third all-time at Washburn with Javion Blake and Todd Alexander.
•Jalen Lewis is currently 16th on the Ichabod all-time scoring chart with 1,201 career points in 101 career games … Lewis also became only the sixth Ichabod to go over the 200 made 3-pointers mark now sitting with 225 which ranks second behind all-time leader Shannon Kruger who hit 242 in 122 games.
•Kevaugn Ellis tied a career high with five rebounds against Central Missouri last time out.
•Against the Mules, Tyler Geiman recorded his third double double against UCM and his 11th overall as an Ichabod.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
•is 89-44 in his fifth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 122-74 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 6-4 against Missouri Western.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH WILL MARTIN
•is 22-19 in his second season as the Griffons head coach after serving two seasons as an assistant coach.
•Martin, a Franklin, Tennessee native, also had three stops at NCAA Division I institutions before his arrival to St. Joseph.
•Most recently, Martin served assistant men's basketball coach and the director of athletic admissions at Martin Methodist College (NAIA).
•As a graduate student, Martin served as a graduate assistant and video coordinator for men's basketball at the University of Tulsa from 2013-2015.
•As an undergraduate, Martin served as a men's basketball manager at the University of Kentucky under head coach John Calipari. During Martin's tenure with the Wildcats, the team reached the Elite 8 on three occasions, the Final Four on two occasions and Martin served as the head manager of the 2012 National Championship team.
•Martin received his bachelors from the University of Kentucky in 2012 and obtained his Master's in Education from the University of Tulsa in 2015.
•is 2-2 against the Ichabods.
  •Missouri Western is 8-7, 4-3 in the MIAA after falling 76-64 with Emporia State on Jan. 6.
•They are second in the MIAA in offensive rebounds and blocked shots.
•JaQuaylon Mays is third in the MIAA in scoring and assists while Will Eames is second in rebounding. (Dec. 31, 2021) WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Connor Deffebaugh's offensive rebound and follow up lay up sent the Washburn Ichabods to a 67-65 on New Year's Eve at the UCM Multi on Friday afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo.
The Ichabods trailed by eight at 63-55 with 2:17 to play and with 2:12 to play, Jeremy Harrell hit two free throws cutting the lead to six. After back-to-back turnovers by the Mules (6-4, 3-3 MIAA), Jalen Lewis connected on a 3-pointer trimming the lead to three at 63-60 with 1:47 remaining.
The Mules came up empty on their next possession and Harrell hit two more free throws as the UCM lead dipped to one at 63-62. A missed shot by the Mules and a jumper by Lewis put the Ichabods up two with 40 seconds to play. The Mules scored tying the score at 65 with 24 seconds left and then missed the free throw attempting a conventional 3-point play.
After Harrell missed a shot in the lane with two seconds to play, Deffebaugh followed it up for the game-winner. The Mules had a three-quarter shot at the buzzer that missed off the back of the rim.
Washburn was led by Harrell who scored 17 points pacing four Ichabods in double figures adding five rebounds. Tyler Geiman had a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds for his 11th double double and second-straight adding four assists.. Lewis finished with 13 points and Tyler Nelsom scored 11 in his season debut. Jonny Clausing scored two points with two boards playing 11 minutes off the bench.
Ja'Cor Nelson scored 23 points to lead all scorers for the Mules and Gaven Pinkley scored 18.
Washburn finished the game 25 of 57 from the field while the Mules were 25 of 61. Washburn was 12 of 22 from the free throw line and the Mules were 9 of 17. From deep the Ichabods were 5 of 26 overall while the Mules were 6 of 25.
Washburn had 20 turnovers in the game that led to 30 points for the Mules.
  •Saturday's meeting will be the 100th between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 57-42 and have won the last two in the series.
•The Ichabods are 49-35 against MWSU in MIAA games and 32-15 in games played in Topeka overall.
•The Ichabods are 22-25 in games played in St. Joseph against the Griffons.
•In the MIAA Tournament the Ichabods are 4-7 against the Griffons.
•The Ichabods lead 6-4 in overtime games including the 95-94 win on Jan. 9, 2019.
•The two teams have only met once in the NCAA Tournament coming in Washburn's 72-46 win on March 13, 2021 in Aberdeen, S.D. in the first round of the regional. (March 13, 2021) ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Washburn Ichabods moved onto the NCAA Central Regional Tournament semifinals after holding Missouri Western to 28 percent shooting in the game en route to a 72-46 win over the Griffons in their second meeting in six days.
The Ichabods trailed only twice in the game – at seven seconds in at 2-0 and for 28 seconds at 21-20. The Ichabods, who topped the Griffons 101-72 in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals in Maryville, Mo., on March 5, held the Griffons to 25 percent shooting in the opening half taking a 27-21 advantage into the locker room at the break despite going 6:22 without a point in the frame.
After the Griffons took the 21-20 lead with 4:13 to play in the first half, the Ichabods used an 11-0 run bridging the halftime break stretching out to a 31-21 advantage with 18:57 to go. Washburn would increase the lead to as many as 26 after a dunk by Jace Williams with 4:59 to play and not look back as the Ichabods picked up their first NCAA Tournament win since March 10, 2012 in a 69-60 win over Northwest Missouri in the regional quarterfinals at Midwestern State (Texas).
Jonny Clausing led the Ichabods with 14 points and 12 rebounds adding four blocks. The tally was his sixth career double double and his third against Missouri Western. The four blocks was also an Ichabod NCAA single game record. Tyler Geiman and Tyler Nelson each had 13 points and Jalen Lewis had nine. With his first points of the game, Lewis became the 27th member of the Washburn 1,000-point club.
Tyrell Carroll led the Griffons with 21 points as the only Western player to reach double figures.
Washburn, who reached the 20-win plateau for the 29th time in program history, improved to 20-6 on the season and shot 28 of 66 from the field for a 42 percent average hitting eight free throws in 13 attempts and finished 8 of 25 from deep.
Missouri Western, who finished the season 14-11, was limited to 2 of 15 from deep after missing its first 14 3-point attempts of the game. They were 12 of 20 from the free throw line.
Washburn outrebounded the Griffons 44 to 36 and outscored Missouri Western in the paint 32 to 26 and turned nine offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points.
  •The Ichabods are 1628-1103-2 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 646-300 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 469-98 (.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 head out on the road for road games at Missouri Southern on Jan. 13 and at Pittsburg State on Jan. 15.