•    The 2023-24 Washburn Ichabods will officially open the 119th season of men's basketball with a pair of games at the Central Region Challenge in Kansas City starting Nov. 11 facing Sioux Falls and then Minnesota State Moorhead the following day in a battle against two Northern Sun squads.
•    The Ichabods were picked sixth in the MIAA coaches poll tallying 106 total points  and in the media poll, Washburn was seventh.
•    Washburn was 14-15 last season and return three starters in Andrew Orr, a third-team all-MIAA pick, who averaged 13.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg. Also back are Michael Keegan (8.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Levi Braun (8.6, 2.0 rpg) from last year's starting five.
•    The Ichabods have eight other returners back from last year including Jarmell Johnson (7.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), Brady Christiansen (4.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Jordan Vincent (4.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg), Zaid Dajani, Jake Schadegg, Emmanuel Byrd, Zach Davidson and Kevin Eman.
•    Washburn has five newcomers adding to the squad in 2023 including Sam Ungashick, Bradley Lightbourne, Jack Bachelor, Brayden Shorter and Tyson Ruud.
•    Overall, the Ichabods return 67 percent of their scoring, 80 percent of their rebounds, 67 percent of their field goals, 60 percent of their 3-pointers with 50 percent of their assists and 62 percent of their steals from a year ago.
•    The Ichabods are 82-35-1 all-time in season openers an 4-2 in season openers under head coach Brett Ballard.
•    The Ichabods have recorded 30, 20-win seasons and four under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his six seasons receiving four NCAA postseasons berths.
•    The 2023-24 season marks the 119th season of Ichabod basketball. •    Andrew Orr, the Ichabods' leading scorer from last season, earned third-team all-MIAA honors after leading the Ichabods with a 13.9 ppg average while pulling downs 5.9 rebounds per game … in MIAA play he averaged 14.3 ppg … he started 27 of 28 games and finished second in the MIAA in field goal percentage shooting 58.4 percent from the field.
•    Michael Keegan started 28 of 29 games scoring 231 points last season averaging 8.0 ppg adding 5.6 rpg tying for the team lead with 26 steals while leading the team with 21 blocks … scored a career-high 21 points at Newman adding a career-high four steals against the Jets in the first meeting of the season.
•    Levi Braun started 25 games last season playing in 29 overall averaging a career-best 8.6 ppg adding 2.0 rpg … scored 21 points against Henderson State and Ottawa tying a career-high. At Washburn he sits as Washburn's all-time leader in 3-point percentage at .455 hitting 147 of 323 attempts from deep and ranked 13th in 3-pointers made in school history and 15th in 3-point attempts
•    Jarmell Johnson averaged 7.9 ppg playing in 25 games last season raising his scoring average to 8.6 in MIAA contest … averaged 3.5 rebounds per game and had 21 steals as well … scored a season-high 16 points twice coming against Pittsburg State and Newman
•    Brady Christiansen led the Ichabods with a total of 190 rebounds as a freshman averaging 6.6 per game making three starts appearing in all 29 games … he averaged 4.9 ppg adding six blocks … recorded 19 rebounds against William Jewell for a freshman single-game record.
•    Jordan Vincent appeared in 18 games last season making one start and averaged 4.0 ppg with 24 assists hitting 21 of 28 free throw attempts
•    Zaid Dajani appeared in 17 games as a freshman last season scoring 44 points hitting 4 of 7 3-point attempts missing the final 11 games of the season with an injury
•    Jake Schadegg appeared in eight games last season with seven coming in MIAA play scoring 10 points hitting a pair of 3-pointers adding four rebounds and two steals
•    Emmanuel Byrd appeared in nine games as a freshman recording career-highs in points and rebounds against Northwest Missouri with six and eight respectively.
•    Zach Davidson played in eight games scoring two points averaging 2.9 minutes per game adding three rebounds last season.
•    Kevin Eman appeared in three games last season averaging 2.0 minutes per game … recorded a rebound against Pittsburg State and had two assists during the season.

ICHABOD NEWCOMERS ...
•    Jack Bachelor, as a senior he was named the Centennial League basketball Player of the Year, was a first-team all-Shawnee County selection and received all-Class 6A honors and all-state from multiple organizations. Bachelor averaged 17.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
•    Bradley Lightbourne earned KJCCC first-team all-league honors last season after leading KCKCC with 18.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc playing nearly 33 minutes a game starting 24 of 26 games finishing 11th in the nation in scoring and was a two-time KJCCC player of the week.
•    Tyson Ruud was a first-team all-league as a senior after scoring 20.8 ppg adding 7.4 rpg and a 1.8 apg en route to first-team all-state honors for class 5A leading team to state tournament … also the state champion in the high jump clearing 7-feet.
•    Brayden Shorter was named all-state class 6 for the second time by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and was a nominee for Mr. Show Me Basketball earned co-league player of the year honors and was a first-team all-league, first-tea all-district and was named Springfield's player of the year after averaging 17.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.8 spg and 1.9 apg shooting 51 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range.
•    Sam Ungashick, a transfer from Benedictine, where he was named the Heat of America Athletic Conference's Freshman of the Year and was an honorable mention all-conference selection after scoring 12.4 ppg shooting 43 percent from 3-point range starting 28 of 29 games for the Ravens scoring a season-high 30 points against Graceland.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
•    is 118-64 in his seventh season as the Ichabods' head coach and 151-94 overall in his ninth year as a head coach.
•    has led the Ichabods to four NCAA postseason appearances in six 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.
•    he has never faced Sioux Falls or Minnesota State Moorhead.
 
SIOUX FALLS HEAD COACH CHRIS JOHNSON ...
•    Chris Johnson, who was named the 2019-20 NSIC Coach of the Year, has had a significant impact on the USF Men's Basketball program.
•    in his 16th season as Head Coach for the Cougars, he has established an overall record of 262-184, while his career record stands at 278-199.
•    led the Cougars to an NAIA Sweet 16 appearance, two GPAC post season tournament championships, nine NSIC tournament appearances, six 20-win seasons, and one NSIC South Division title. With Johnson at the helm, the Cougars have had 11 winning seasons.
•    is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
 
MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD HEAD COACH TIM BERGSTRASER
•    is in his second season as the head men's basketball coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He was named to the post in May 2022.
•    MSUM went 25-7 in 2022-23, including a 17-5 mark in NSIC competition.
•    The Dragons secured their second consecutive NSIC Tournament championship with a resounding win over Minnesota Duluth in the tournament title game. MSUM would go on to compete at the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Maryville, Mo. 
•    is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
  •    The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball team was picked to finish 8th in the NSIC Preseason Poll. Minnesota Duluth was picked to finish first by the league coaches in the NSIC Preseason Men's Basketball Poll.
•    The USF Men's Basketball team finished last year at 19-11 and 13-9 in conference play.
•    Jack Thompson was named USF's Athlete to Watch this season. He is a senior from Eagan, MN and has averaged 11 points, 3.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds.
  •    MSU Moorhead men's basketball has been selected fourth in the NSIC's initial preseason coaches' poll. Junior guard Jacob Beeninga has been tabbed as MSUM's player to watch ahead of the 2023-24 season.
•    The Dragons went 25-7 in 2022-23 including a 17-5 ledger in NSIC competitions. MSUM's season concluded at the NCAA Central Region Tournament after the Dragons took home the NSIC Tournament championship for the second consecutive season. The Dragons defeated Minnesota Duluth 79-69 in the NSIC Tournament Championship game.
•    Beeninga begins his junior campaign following a stellar 2022-23 which saw him average 17.5 points per game in 32 contests played. The Maple Grove, Minn., native shot 40.3 percent from the floor on the year and was named to the All-NSIC First Team for his efforts. Beeninga was also named the NSIC Tournament's Most Valuable Player. The junior netted 94 three-pointers in 2022-23, which is the fourth-highest total in program history.
  •    The Ichabods and the Cougars have met only one time and like the upcoming meeting it was played on a neutral court.
•    The Ichabods lead the series 1-0 and the teams have not played in 43 years.
•    Washburn won the only match up 85-72 in Emporia.
  •    Sunday's meeting will be the first between the two schools.
  (March 1, 2023) KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn men's basketball ended its season on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the MIAA Conference Tournament with a 69-63 loss to Missouri Western State University. The Ichabods finish the season 14-15.
Washburn (14-15, 11-11) trailed for much of the opening half, with the Griffons (14-15, 9-12) jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead. Two free throws at the 14:18 mark made it a 12-5 game in favor of the No. 9 seed Missouri Western. 
The Ichabods did not let the lead get larger than that, hanging around until the end of the half when they were able to make a run. Washburn trailed by four with under two minutes left in the half but finished on an 6-2 run to take a 30-28 lead into the break. 
Michael Keegan got the first two points of the second half on a layup, giving the Ichabods a four-point advantage, the largest they would possess in the game. 
Just like early in the game Washburn had trouble with turnovers and the Griffons were able to go on a 13-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Julius Dixon with 14:28 left to go in the game. The Ichabods kept the game within 5-7 points for the next few minutes, cutting the deficit to four points after two free throws by Andrew Orr at the 10:13 mark. 
In less than two minutes Missouri Western went on a 7-1 run, pushing the lead to double figures for the first time in the game with 8:45 left to play. Washburn went on a 6-0 run to bring it right back to four points heading into the final six minutes. 
With 1:33 left the Ichabods trailed by eight points but a quick 5-0 burst by Jaden Monday put them right back in it, down by three with 58 seconds left. Washburn forced a turnover on the other end and Connor Deffebaugh knocked down two free throws to bring the Ichabods within one. The Griffons were able to break Washburn's press with a dunk and after an empty possession for Washburn on offense Missouri Western held on to win by six. 
Orr led the Ichabods 19 points and finished with a double-double adding a team-high 11 rebounds. Nelson scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting and paced the team with three assists. Keegan added nine points on 2-3 shooting with three boards. As a team Washburn shot 37.3% from the floor and could not find the mark from behind the line, shooting 22.2% from deep (4-18). 
Dixon had 20 points for the Griffons to lead all scorers. JaRon Thames added 15 points along with seven steals, Taye Fields also had 15 points along with 16 rebounds. 
Missouri Western came away with 15 steals in the game compared to just three for Washburn. The Ichabods also lost the turnover battle 18 to 14. 
Washburn got to the line more and converted at a higher clip going 21-26 compared to 13-24 shooting for the Griffons. From the floor overall Missouri Western shot 43.9% compared to 37.3% for the No. 8 seed Ichabods.        •    The Ichabods are 1,658-1123-2 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 674-316 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 487-102 (.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.
  •    The Ichabods will play another game in the greater Kansas City area when they will take on William Jewell in Liberty, Mo. on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Washburn's home opener will be on Nov. 18 when they will take on Rockhurst at 2 p.m. in Lee Arena.