• The Washburn Ichabods will wrap up their longest home stretch of the season hosting Northeastern State at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena looking to push its winning streak to five games.
• The Ichabods are 9-9 and 6-6 in the MIAA after disposing of Rogers State on Thursday in a 78-67 win.
• The RiverHawks (10-8, 7-7 MIAA) fell 69-60 at Emporia State on Wednesday night.
• The RiverHawks won the first meeting with the Ichabods 81-78 in overtime on Nov. 28 in Tahlequah.
• Washburn will be looking to snap a three-game slide to the RiverHawks falling in both match-ups last season and the first one this season as the all-time series is tied 10-10.
• Washburn is 6-3 against the RiverHawks in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are coming off the program's 30th 20-win season and the fourth under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his five seasons reaching their fourth NCAA postseason in five years under head coach Brett Ballard in 2022-23.
• The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team was tabbed fourth in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and MIAA Preseason Media polls announced Oct. 11 by the conference at the annual Basketball Media Day held at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City
• The 2022-23 season marks the 118th season of Ichabod basketball. • Andrew Orr leads the Ichabods in scoring at 13.2 ppg while averaging 13.8 ppg in MIAA contests. He has reached double figures in 12 of 18 games this season. He is third on the team in rebounds at 5.8 per game. He recorded his first Washburn double double against Emporia State with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Orr is 12th in the MIAA in scoring average and third in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 59 percent going 16 of 20 from the field in his last two games.
• Tyler Nelson is averaging 11.2 ppg overall scoring 12.0 ppg in MIAA contests. He tied a career-high with 25 points against Nebraska-Kearney and has reached double digits in his last five games averaging 15.4 ppg.
• Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 10.2 ppg adding 3.4 assists per game missing the last seven games with an injury and is 10th in the MIAA in assists per game at 3.4.
• Levi Braun is scoring 10.2 ppg and has hit 44 of 99 3-pointers (44 percent). Of his 60 field goals this season, 44 have been from 3-point range.
• Michael Keegan is scoring 8.5 ppg with 5.6 rpg with 17 steals and 17 blocks. In MIAA games he is scoring 9.5 ppg with 5.2 rpg … he is seventh in the MIAA in blocks per game and has averaged 13.0 ppg in the last two going 13 of 14 from the free throw line.
• Jarmell Johnson is scoring 6.7 ppg with 3.1 rpg. Johnson scoring 7.0 ppg with 3.6 rpg in MIAA games.
• Brady Christiansen is scoring 5.8 adding 8.1 rpg which leads the team. He is ranked third in the MIAA in rebounds. In MIAA games is he averaging 6.6 ppg with 8.2 rpg. This season, Christiansen has 145 rebounds, which is seventh on the Ichabod all-time freshman chart. His 8.1 rpg average would be second on the chart if the season ended today.
• Jaden Monday is scoring 5.6 ppg and has gone 18 of 53 from 3-point range this season.
• Jordan Vincent is scoring 4.8 ppg with 1.2 rpg and 2.1 apg. He has gone 18 of 23 from the free throw line this season.
• Zaid Dajani is scoring 2.6 ppg in 16 appearances.
  • 99-11 … Washburn's record under head coach Brett Ballard when leading with 5:00 to go in the game.
• 8-1 … Washburn's record under head coach Brett Ballard this season when leading with 5:00 to go in the game.
• 58.4 … The average number of points per game the Ichabods have allowed in the nine wins.
• 77.0 … The average number of points per game the Ichabods have allowed in the nine losses.
• 50 … The shooting percentage of Ichabod opponents in the nine losses (240 of 480).
• 37 … The shooting percentage of Ichabod opponents in the nine wins (181 of 483).
• 4 … The number of Ichabods averaging double figures in the nine wins.
• 2 … The number of Ichabods averaging double figures in the nine losses.
• 27 … The shooting percentage of Ichabod opponents from 3-point range in the nine wins (53 of 195).
• 39 … The shooting percentage of Ichabod opponents from 3-point range in the nine losses (74 of 191).
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
• is 113-58 in his sixth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 146-88 overall in his eighth year as a head coach.
• has led the Ichabods to four NCAA postseason appearances in five 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 and Tulsa basketball programs after working under head coach Danny Manning 2012-17 seasons.
• he helped Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 season following the 2016-17 season.
• 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 6-3 against Northeastern State.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE HEAD COACH JA HAVENS
• is 31-39 in his third season as the RiverHawks' head coach and 163-113 in his 10th season overall as a head coach.
• played at Northeastern State for two seasons (1996-98) under NSU Hall of Fame head coaches Ken Hayes and Larry Gipson.
• Havens previously coached at East Central University (Ada, Okla.) where he was head coach for seven seasons, carrying a record of 131-74, and was the fastest coach in ECU history to win 100 contests
• He 3-3 against the Ichabods (0-1 at East Central).
  • The RiverHawks will head to Washburn, coming off a 69-60 setback Wednesday at Emporia State. Northeastern State led the game into the midway mark of the second half but went scoreless for nearly three minutes, allowing seven unanswered ESU points. Emporia State never trailed the rest of the way closing the game on a 20-9 run.   The RiverHawks shot 4-for-14 in the final eight minutes of the contest.
• Christian Cook is third in the MIAA in scoring with 17.2 points per game and has landed 875 points in 67 games. Dillon Bailey has scored at least ten points in ten of the last 11 games and is 11th in the MIAA, averaging 14.2 points per game.  Rashad Perkins has averaged 16.6 points over the previous three games and has led the team in scoring five times this season. The RiverHawks are fourth nationally, shooting 41.1 percent from the arc this season.
  (Nov. 28, 2022)  TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabods closed the second half of a 5-2 run tying the score at 72, but were whistled for a season-high 32 fouls falling in their MIAA opener at Northeastern State 81-78 in overtime on Monday night in Tahlequah, Okla.
In the extra period, NSU drew first blood scoring on a layup by Obi Agu with 3:40 to play taking a 74-72 lead. NSU hit a jumper with 2:45 to go taking a 76-72 lead before Andrew Orr scored off an offensive rebound with 2:12 left scoring his 20th point of the night.
NSU hit a two of three free throws after a foul on a 3-point attempt by Damon Bailey as the RiverHawks pushed the lead to 78-74. Orr hit a pair of free throws as Washburn pulled with two at 78-76 with 1:24 to go.
NSU came up empty on their next trip and Orr scored again with 37 seconds to go tying the score at 78. NSU drew a foul with two seconds on the shot clock and nine on the game clock but Christian Cook was fouled on a 3-point attempt going on to hit all three taking an 81-78 lead. Washburn's potential game-tying 3-pointer was off the target and the Ichabods fell to the RiverHawks for the third game in a row.
The Ichabods trailed at the break 31-28 after jumping out to a lead of 7-0 as Michael Keegan scored five of Washburn's first seven points. Washburn led 28-27 with 2:24 to go in the half but the RiverHawks scored the last five points of the frame from the free throw line taking the three-point lead into the locker room.
Washburn shot 12 of 28 in the first half from the field, but went 0 of 6 from 3-point range while the RiverHawks were 10 of 19 and 2 of 7 from deep. NSU was also 9 of 16 in the first 20 minutes going out to the one-possession lead.
To start the second half on a 14-4 run to take a 42-35 lead with Andrew Orr scoring six straight points for Washburn. The teams traded baskets and after a jumper by Levi Braun putting Washburn up 46-43, NSU ripped off an 8-0 run taking a 50-46 lead with 10:43 to play on a pair of back-to-back dunks.
After Washburn trimmed the RiverHawk lead back to one at 50-49, NSU pushed out to a 57-53 lead with 7:59 to go. NSU would then go on to lead by seven with 5:48 to play before a Jayden Hibbitt 3-pointer pulled Washburn back within four at 65-51 with 5:21 to play.
After a pair of free throws by Brady Christiansen and another jumper by Hibbitt, the Ichabods were down one at 66-65 with 3:48 to play. The teams traded baskets and after an Ichabod foul, NSU went back up 70-67 with 2:04 remaining.
Orr scored on a layup with 1:40 to go and was fouled and after hitting the free throw tied the score at 70. NSU came back with a bucket of its own to regain the lead with 1:31 to go at 72-70. On Washburn's next possession, their jumper came up short and then NSU was fouled with 39 seconds to go but missed free throws to hold on to its two-point lead. Washburn's Christiansen was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws tying the score at 72 with 20 seconds to play. The RiverHawk layup was missed sending the game to overtime.
The 32 fouls by the Ichabods were the most by a Washburn squad since being called for 30 at Central Oklahoma on Dec. 9, 2021. Overall three of Washburn's starters fouled out in the game with Orr finishing with four.
Orr led the Ichabods finishing with a career-high 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting going 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Keegan had 17 with seven boards. Hibbitt and Jaden Monday each had nine. Cook had 28 to lead all scorers going 12 of 13 from the free throw line.
Washburn finished 29 of 58 from the field going 3 of 15 from deep and 17 of 24 from the free throw line. NSU was 25 of 43 for a 58 percent clip hitting 5 of 14 from three while attempting 42 free throws connecting on 26 of them - the 42 being the most attempted by an Ichabod opponent by UCO last season.
Washburn falls to 21-12 all-time in MIAA openers since joining the league and to 44-38 in overtime games, 24-22 in overtime away games and 25-26 vs MIAA opponents and 2-1 against NSU in overtime contest.
  • Saturday's meeting will be the 21st all-time between the two schools with the series tied 10-10.
• The Ichabods have won the last eight of the last 11 meetings in the series, but have lost the last three contests.
• The Ichabods and RiverHawks played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with Washburn falling 64-59 on March 15, 2003 in Stephenville, Texas.
• The RiverHawks went on to win the NCAA National Championship in 2003.
• Washburn is 4-6 in games played in Tahlequah and the Ichabods are 6-3 in games played in Lee Arena and 0-1 in neutral site games. (Jan. 26, 2023) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods won their fourth game in a row and their fourth in a row over Rogers State in Lee Arena as the Ichabods defeated the Hillcats 78-67 on Thursday night.
Rogers State scored the first points of the game but a 7-2 run by the Ichabods took the lead back for good as the Ichabods led from start to finish taking a 38-25 lead into the break after hitting 13 of 26 shots and 5 of 12 from deep holding Rogers State (11-9, 7-7 MIAA) to 8 of 31 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
Washburn (9-9, 6-6 MIAA) led by as many as 16 in the opening half.
Starting the second half, the teams traded baskets but using a 6-0 run the Hillcats cut the Washburn advantage to eight at 43-35 with 16:12 to go. Washburn stretched the lead back to 14 at 51-37 on back-to-back buckets by Andrew Orr, who scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the second half.
The Hillcats then used a 14-2 run over the next 4:07 to cut Washburn's lead to 53-51 with 9:39 to play, but on the Ichabods' next possession, Brady Christian connected on the first of his three second half 3-pointers pushing the lead back to five. The Hillcats cut the lead back to two but then Orr scored his 15th and 16th points of the night. The Hillcats scored again, but Orr connected on a hook shot to push the margin back to four at 61-57.
For the third time the Hillcats cut the lead back to two at 61-59 with 6:23 to play, but Orr's final points of the night on a jumper pushed the lead back to four and Christian hit a 3-pointer with 4:07 to play as the lead moved to seven. Rogers State would get the lead to five once more, but would not get any closer than six the final 1:56 of the game as Christian hit his third 3-pointer of the game as the Ichabods were a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line the rest of the way to seal the win.
Orr led four total Ichabods in double digits followed by Michael Keegan's 16 points, Tyler Nelson's 13 and Levi Braun's 11 points. Orr had seven rebounds and Christiansen finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Joe Saracco led the Hillcats with 14 points adding eight rebounds.
Washburn finished 27 of 53 for the game at 50.9 percent shooting while Rogers State improved to 46 percent for the game after going 18 of 26 from the field in the second half.
Washburn outrebounded the Hillcats 38 to 26 in the game with 10 offensive rebounds.   • The Ichabods are 1653-1117-2 all-time in the 118th year in the program's history.
• Washburn is the 10th-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
• Washburn is 669-312 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 16 NCAA Tournament bids going to three Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
  • The Ichabods are 483-101 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2022-23 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 a three-game road trip with contests at Missouri Western on Feb. 1, at Northwest Missouri on Feb. 4 and at Newman on Feb. 8. The Ichabods will next be in action in Lee Arena on Feb. 11 facing Central Oklahoma and Northwest Missouri on Feb. 14 followed by a trip to Jefferson City, Mo. to take on Lincoln on Feb. 16 and then finish with their fourth game in seven days at Central Missouri on Feb. 18.