•The Washburn Ichabods will face the MIAA regular season co-champion Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Saturday night in Municipal Auditorium at 6 p.m. with a berth in the tournament championship game on the line.
•The Ichabods are the defending MIAA Tournament Champion winning the 2021 title at Northwest Missouri last season in a 69-68 win on March 6 as games were moved to campus sites due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
•The Ichabods (20-9, 16-6 MIAA) are coming off an 88-81 win over Emporia State on Friday night winning the third and final meeting against the Hornets this season.
•Central Oklahoma, ranked No. 17 in the country and the No. 1 seed in the championship tournament, beat ninth-seeded Northeastern State 77-66 on Thursday in the quarterfinals. UCO won the MIAA regular season title for the first time since joining the league 10 years ago. The Bronchos have made nine of 10 postseason tournaments and Saturday will mark the fifth time Central has played in the semifinals.
•Washburn and UCO played twice this season with each team winning on its homecourt. UCO won 97-87 in overtime in Edmond on Dec. 9 and the Ichabods won 96-86 in Topeka on Jan. 29.
•The Ichabods trail the all-time series with the Bronchos 18-17 after splitting the two regular season games this year.
•Washburn is 0-1 against UCO in the MIAA Tournament falling in the quarterfinals on March 7, 2013 in a 99-88 loss in Kansas City.
•The Ichabods improved to 42-23 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament with the win over Emporia State.
•The Ichabods are now 21-7 in the tournament quarterfinals.
•In MIAA Tournament games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are now 17-13.
•In quarterfinal games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are now 10-5. In semifinal games played in Municipal the Ichabods are 5-3.
•The Ichabods recorded the program's 30th 20-win season and the fourth under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard and with a win over Central Oklahoma in the MIAA Tournament semifinals, the Ichabods will be making their fourth tournament title game appearance in five years under Brett Ballard.
•Ballard moved to 7-2 all-time against Emporia State with the win on Friday night.
•The Ichabods have won their last four MIAA Tournament games and Ballard moved to 8-3 in MIAA Tournament games.
•Central Oklahoma leads the MIAA in scoring at 82.7 ppg while the Ichabods are ranked fifth in scoring defense allowing 69.4 ppg.
•The Ichabods are ranked second in the league in opponents field goal percentage at 42 percent while the Bronchos are second in field goal percentage at 50 percent.
•A win over the Bronchos moves the Ichabods into their second-straight MIAA Tournament Championship game on Sunday, March 6 at Saturday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. facing the winner of the Fort Hays State / Northwest Missouri game.
•The 2021-22 season marks the 117th season of Ichabod basketball. •Tyler Geiman went over the 4,000-minutes played mark last time out against Lincoln and has now played more minutes than any Ichabod in program history (4,231) … Geiman will pass Keith Downing for the most appearance in Washburn history with his 138th against Central Oklahoma … Geiman has led the Ichabods in assists in 99 career games …Geiman made his 100th start as an Ichabod against the Bronchos … he leads the Ichabods in scoring average at 15.7 ppg with 6.1 rpg and 6.6 apg … in the last 12 games he is scoring 18.3 ppg with 6.7 rpg and 7.0 apg … Geiman is ranked second in the NCAA D2 ranks in active assists with 704 and 11th in assist average at 5.1 … overall Geiman is fifth in all NCAA divisions of active career assists.
•Jalen Lewis is scoring 13.2 ppg hitting 59 of 153 3-pointers (.386) … he became the 27th member of the Ichabod 1,000-point club and is currently 10th on the Ichabod all-time scoring chart with 1,406 career points in 117 career games … he has 256 career 3-pointers which passed Shannon Kruger for the most in school history against Rogers State … he also attempted his 1,000th field goal attempt as an Ichabod at Lincoln, which is 10th all-time at Washburn.
•Jeremy Harrell missed the last game against Missouri Western and only played five minutes against Northwest Missouri and eight against Missouri Southern and seven against Emporia State in the regular season finale and 11 in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals … he recorded his second double double at Washburn against Lincoln with 11 points and 10 rebounds and he is averaging 8.4 ppg with 4.4 rpg.
•Since moving into the starting lineup five games ago, Jonny Clausing is averaging 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game playing an average of 31.5 minutes per game …he is 29 of 48 shooting 61 percent from the field … for the season he is averaging 10.4 ppg with 4.8 rpg.
•Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 9.2 ppg with 2.4 rpg and 1.7 apg.
•Michael Keegan is scoring 9.3 ppg with 5.7 rebounds per game, 0.9 blocks per game … in two games against Central Oklahoma he has averaged 11.5 points with nine rebounds per game setting a career-high with 13 rebounds in the first meeting.
•Tyler Nelson is scoring 6.2 ppg with 2.1 rpg and 2.4 apg in 17 games playing an average of 22.0 minutes a game and hit the game-winner against Northwest Missouri sending the Ichabods to a 60-59 win with his 3-pointer.
•Tyler Geiman became the 26th member of Washburn's 1,000-point club and his career point total stands at 1,737 points in 137 career games, which is fourth all-time on the Ichabod chart … only Javion Blake (1,829), Tom Meier (2,082) and Gary Carrier (2,626) have scored more points as an Ichabod … Geiman's 241 career 3-pointers is third all-time at Washburn (needing one more to tie Shannon Kruger for second) and his 644 career 3-point attempts is first on the Ichabod charts … since defensive rebounds were tracked in the Washburn record books starting in the 1994-95 season, Geiman is second in defensive rebounds with 616 trailing only Brady Skeens who had 713 … overall Geiman is seventh all-time at Washburn in rebounds with 688.
  Senior Tyler Geiman has left his name all over the Ichabod career record book. Below is where he ranks in each category
3-point field goals attempted: 1st (644)
Minutes: 1st (4231)
Games played: t-1st (137)
Defensive rebounds: 2nd (616)
Assists: 2nd (703)
Assists average: 2nd (5.1)
Field goals attempted: 3rd (1372)
3-point field goals made: 3rd (241)
Points: 4th (1737)
Steals: 4th (147)
Games started: 4th (109)
Field goals made: 5th (622)
Defense rebound avg: 6th (4.5)
Minutes average: 6th (30.9)
Rebounds: 7th (688)
Free throws made: 15th (252)
 
Jalen Lewis is another Ichabod who has placed his name in the Washburn record book. Below are Lewis' career rankings.
3-point field goals made: 1st (256)
3-point field goals attempted: 2nd (611)
Free throw percentage: 2nd (.846)
Minutes: 5th (3329)
3-point FG percentage: 8th (.419)
Points: 10th (1406)
Field goals attempted: 10th (1063)
Minutes average: 11th (28.5)
Field goals made: 12th (473)
Games started: t-13th (84)
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
•is 102-47 in his fifth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 135-77 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 4-5 against Central Oklahoma.
 
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH BOB HOFFMAN
•is 47-34 in his third season as the Bronchos' head coach.
•comes to UCO from Mercer, where he led the Bears of Macon, Ga. to 209 wins in his 11-year stint there.
•Hoffman won 209 games at Mercer from 2008-19, including 119 conference games. He led the Bears to its first ever NCAA Tournament win in 2014 – a major upset of Duke in the opening round of March Madness. And he also became the first coach in NCAA history to win a tournament game in all four Division I postseason tournaments in a four-year span.
•is 2-2 against Washburn.

ABOUT CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
•UCO is 24-5 this season and was the co-champion of the regular season in the MIAA after topping Northeastern State 77-66 in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals on March 3.
•Isaiah Wade is UCO's leading scorer this season, averaging 18.9 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding at 8.4 boards per game. The senior forward posted a 23-point, 9-rebound performance in Thursday's quarterfinals win. Wade is shooting 59 percent this season. That's the best mark in the MIAA – and by more than four percentage points. He also shoots 43.5 percent from behind the 3-point line and has made 100 free-throws in 28 games this season.
•Callen Haydon is Central's second leading scorer at 15 points per game and also leads the team in assists at 6.3 per game. The junior point guard posted a 21-point, 10-assist performance in Thursday's quarterfinals win over Northeastern State. He also had three rebounds and three steals. Haydon averages 2.9 boards and 1.7 steals per game this season.
•Jaden Wells is averaging 14.6 points per game. The second-year freshman sharp shooter is hitting 42.7 percent of his 3-point attempts. He has 85 made threes on the season. Wells is also the nation's best free-throw shooter. He is 77-for-81 at the line this season, posting a DII best 95.1 percent.
•Camryn Givens is Central's fourth leading scorer and fourth double-digit scorer this season. Givens averages 13.6 points per game this season. He also pulls down 5.2 rebounds per game. He posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday. Givens is a 52.9 percent shooter, hitting 136 of 257 shots this season. He also shoots 42.5 percent from 3-point range and 77.1 percent from the free-throw line. He has scored 992 points in his career at UCO. He would become the 43rd member of the 1,000-point club at Central with eight more points.
  • The Ichabods are 42-23 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament.
•  The Ichabods are 2-2 in first round games (since expanding to 12 teams) … 21-7 in the quarterfinals, 13-7 in the semifinals and 6-7 in championship games.
• In games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 17-13.
• In quarterfinal games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 10-5. In semifinal games played in Municipal the Ichabods are 5-3 and in championship games in Kansas City the Ichabods are 1-5.
•As the No. 1 seed, the Ichabods are 21-3, at No. 2 they are 9-4, at No. 3 they are 2-1, at No. 4 they are 3-3, as the No. 5 seed they are 0-1, at No. 6 the Ichabods are 4-5, at No. 7 they are 0-1 and as the No. 8 seed they are 3-3.
• Former head coach Bob Chipman has won more MIAA Tournament games than any other coach. He has won 34 games going 34-19 recording a .653 winning percentage.
• Chipman and NWMSU's Ben McCollum are the only MIAA coaches to win five tournament titles. Tom Smith (MWSU) and Steve Tappmeyer (NWMSU), Ron Shumate (Southeast Missouri) and Kim Anderson (UCM/PSU) each have four titles.
• Overall, here's how the Ichabods have fared against MIAA opponents in the conference tournament by round and in Kansas City.
• First Round games were added for the MIAA Tournament starting in 2013 as the league expanded to 15 teams. The top four teams in the final standings received an automatic bye to Kansas City for the quarterfinals.

Team      1st Rnd  Qrts.      Semis     Finals     In KC     Total
UCM           —               4-0             1-1             —              3-1             5-1
ESU            —               5-1             —               —               4-1             5-1
FHSU          1-0             —               2-0             —              2-0             3-0
LU              —              —              —              —              —              0-0
MSSU         —               1-0             2-1             0-1             1-1             3-2
MWSU        0-1             0-1             3-2             1-2             1-2             4-6
NSU           0-1             —               —               —               —               0-1
NU             —              —              —              —              —              0-0
NWMSU     —               2-1             0-2             3-3             0-4             5-7
PSU            —               1-0             3-0             2-0             3-0             6-0
RSU           —              1-0             —              —              —              1-0            
UCO            —               0-1             —               —              0-1             0-1
UNK           —              1-1             —              —              1-1             1-1
--- vs former members
MS&T         —               1-1              —               —               1-0             1-1
UMSL         —               1-0             —               —               —               1-0
SEMO         —               —               —               —               —               —
SBU            1-0             2-0             1-1             1-0             —               5-1
TSU            —               2-0             1-0              —              —               3-0
UNO           —               —               —               0-1             0-1             0-1
Totals         2-2             21-7           13-7           6-7             17-13         42-23 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods swept all three games from Emporia State this season and moved into the MIAA Tournament semifinals to face Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Saturday night with their 88-81 win over the Hornets in Municipal Auditorium. Washburn improves to 20-9 on the season while the Hornets end their at 20-9.
The game was tied at the break at 35 before the Hornets used an 11-7 run to take a 48-42 lead with 16:38 to play. Washburn responded with a 20-5 over a 5:34 stretch scorching the nets hitting 7 of 9 shots from the field connecting on all 3-point attempts led by Jalen Lewis' eight points during the run building a 62-53 lead. Lewis would go on to score the Ichabods' next nine points as Washburn pushed the lead to 11 at 71-60 as the lead would be as many as 13 with 6:30 to play.
In a game of runs, the Hornets came back with a 12-2 run spurt of their own to trim the lead to three at 75-72 with 3:04 to go. ESU cut the lead to three a total of three more times with the last coming 79-76 with 1:44 to play before Tyler Geiman buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key sending Washburn to an 82-76 lead and Washburn would hit 6 of 8 free throws in the final 41 seconds to move into the MIAA semifinals.
All five Ichabod starters reached double figures and Geiman and Lewis both finished with 20 points. All of Lewis' points came in the second half as he hit 7 of 9 shots and 3 of 4 from deep. Connor Deffebaugh scored 14 points while Michael Keegan scored 12 and Jonny Clausing finished with 11. Clausing added eight rebounds and Geiman had seven assists.
ESU was led by Jumah'Ri Turner who had a game-high 23 points and Tray Buchanan finished with 22.
Washburn finished 30 of 55 from the field hitting 16 of 27 second half shots for a 59 percent average going 54 percent for the game. Washburn hit 19 of 26 free throws and 9 of 17 from deep. Emporia State was 25 of 61 from the field for a 41 percent clip and was 12 of 38 from deep and 19 of 25 from the free throw line.
Washburn had a 40 to 24 advantage in the paint and 17 to 6 in fastbreak points.
  •Saturday's meeting will be the 36th in the series history.
•UCO leads the all-time series 18-17 after splitting the two regular season meeting this year and Washburn has won seven of the last 10 meetings.
•The Ichabods lost the first match up as MIAA schools on Jan. 5, 2013 in a 72-67 loss in Edmond and in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2013 in a 99-88 defeat in Kansas City.
•Washburn's two highest-scoring combined games in school history came against UCO. In 1992 the two teams scored 246 points (132-114, UCO) and in 1998 they scored 218 points (111-107, UCO).
•In the Jan. 13, 2018 meeting, the 49 points was the fewest by the Ichabods in a win in the shot clock era and the 96 combined points were the second fewest scored by Washburn and its opponent in the shot clock era.
•In 36 games, the Ichabods have averaged 77.14 points per game with the Bronchos.
•WU has scored at least 100 points against UCO three times and the Bronchos have done so twice.    (Jan. 29, 2022)  TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods' first half set the tone for their highest scoring total of the season in a 96-86 win over the No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Saturday night in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods came out of the gates leading 14-5, forcing the Bronchos to take a timeout in the first five minutes. Washburn kept a strong lead ending the half with a 48-33 lead. The Ichabods shot almost 60 percent and made seven triples. Jeremy Harrell led the team with 11 points, going 2-for-4 from deep. Jalen Lewis also made two triples while scoring 10.
Washburn built the lead to 16 early in the second half before Central Oklahoma went on a 10-2 run. The Ichabods held off the Bronchos by getting to the free-throw line. The Ichabods went 19-of-20 from the charity stripe in the second half. The Bronchos down 13 with a little under four minutes remaining made the game interesting.
Bronchos' Isaiah Wade scored seven in a 9-2 run to bring Central Oklahoma to within six points. Tyler Nelson then made two free throws, then Lewis stole the ball in the final minute to seal the game.
Despite Central Oklahoma outscoring Washburn in the second half, the Ichabods held on. Lewis led all scorers with 23 points while shooting 7-for-8 from the free thrown line. Jonny Clausing scored a season-high 13 points while shooting 5-for-6 from the field. The Ichabods had five players score in double-digits.
Isaiah Wade led the Bronchos with 28 points.
The Ichabods outscored the Bronchos 21-10 in fast-break points and Washburn's bench had a 29 to 17 advantage avenging an overtime loss to UCO in Edmond earlier this season in a 97-87 loss.
  •The Ichabods are 1640-1106-2 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 658-303 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
•The Ichabods have recorded 30 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 476-99 (.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.
  • With a win over the Bronchos moves the Ichabods into the tournament championship game on Sunday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. facing the winner of the Northwest Missouri / Fort Hays State on Saturday.
• With a loss, the Ichabods will have to wait until Sunday night to see if they will receive an NCAA at-large berth to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.