•    The Washburn Ichabods are back in action on Wednesday facing Northwest Missouri in road contest inside Bearcat Arena at 7:30 p.m.
•    Washburn (5-3, 1-1 MIAA) evened its MIAA record with a 93-71 win over Rogers State last time out on Dec. 9 hitting 17 3-pointers in the win, one shy of the school record.
•    The Bearcats are 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA topping Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 9 on the road 83-53 rebounding from a 57-49 loss at Fort Hays State on Dec. 7.
•    Washburn leads the all-time series 63-55 and will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the Bearcats.
•    The Bearcats are 2-0 in home games this season playing five neutral site contests this season.
•    The Ichabods have recorded 30, 20-win seasons and four under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his six seasons receiving four NCAA postseason berths.
•    The 2023-24 season marks the 119th season of Ichabod basketball. •    Sam Ungashick leads this Ichabods in scoring averaging 15.4 ppg while averaging 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game … he has reached double figures in each of the last seven games … he has hit at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
•    Andrew Orr is scoring 14.6 ppg this season going 27 of 28 from the free throw line  which ranks second in the nation in percentage at 96.4 … he is shooting 60 percent from the field hitting 45 of 75 attempts … he's 19 of 28 in the last three games from the field.
•    Jack Bachelor is scoring 9.4 ppg off the bench adding 2.3 rpg and 3.1 apg this season … he is coming off a career-high 17 points against Rogers State last time out.
•    Brady Christiansen is averaging 8.8 ppg with a team-high 7.4 rpg … he's averaging 7.3 rpg in the last four contests.
•    Jarmell Johnson is averaging 8.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg … he has reached double figures in each of the last four games averaging 14.3 ppg on 22 of 37 shooting from the field.
•    Jake Schadegg is averaging 7.6 ppg shooting 13 of 25 from 3-point range this season.
•    Michael Keegan is scoring 5.9 ppg with 4.6 rpg and 1.2 bkpg hitting his last four 3-point attempts.
•    Emmanuel Byrd is scoring 5.6 ppg adding 5.0 rpg … he had a career-high nine rebounds against Rogers State last time out.
•    Brayden Shorter is averaging 4.8 ppg with 1.8 rpg …he tied a career-high with 11 points against Rogers State last time out.
•    Zaid Dajani is scoring 2.1 ppg … Kevin Eman is averaging 1.3 ppg and Levi Braun is scoring 1.5 ppg in two appearances.
•    The Ichabods ranked eighth in the nation in defensive rebounds per game leading the MIAA with 30.3 per game.
•    The Ichabods lead the nation in 3-point shooting at 45.1 percent hitting 73 of 162 attempts.
•    The Ichabods lead the MIAA in scoring averaging 83.5 ppg and ranked eighth in scoring defense allowing 72.2 ppg.
•    Washburn's 51.1 field goal percentage is first in the MIAA and 15th in the nation and its 40.7 defensive field goal percentage is ranked third.
•    Washburn is +9.6 in rebounding margin this season leading the MIAA while also leading the MIAA in total rebounds at 39.8 per game.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
•    is 123-67 in his seventh season as the Ichabods' head coach and 156-97 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 is 3-15 against Northwest Missouri.
 
NORTHWEST MISSOURI HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM...
•    is 371-89 in his 15th season as the Bearcats' head coach.
•    is a 2003 graduate of Northwest Missouri.
•    named the 20th head coach in Bearcat history.
•    played for Northwest going 51-12 in two seasons including a 29-3 mark during a run to the NCAA Elite Eight during the 2001-02 season.
•    is the first five-time NABC Division II National Coach of the Year and a seven-time MIAA Coach of the Year.
•    led Northwest to the 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 NCAA National Championship.
•    is 22-10  against the Ichabods.
  •    The Bearcats are 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA and will be playing only their third home game of the season on Wednesday.
•    Bennett Stirtz leads the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg and Wes Dreamer is scoring 16.7 ppg with a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game.
•    Northwest is +6.0 in rebound margin this season and has yet to have a player foul out this year.
•    The Bearcats are scoring 71.3 ppg while allowing 62.1 ppg.
  •    Wednesday's meeting will be the 119th between the two schools and Washburn holds a 63-55 lead in the series.
•    The series dates back to the 1940-41 season and they have played each other every year since WU joined the MIAA in 1989-90.
•    The Ichabods are 21-16 against the Bearcats in Lee Arena.
•    Washburn is 26-25 in Maryville.
•    In the MIAA Tournament, the Ichabods are 4-8 against Northwest after falling in the 2018, 2019 and 2022 MIAA Championship games before winning the 2021 Tournament in Maryville.
•    In the NCAA Tournament, the Ichabods are 2-3 against the Bearcats.
•    The Ichabods won a NCAA Central Regional final contest against the Bearcats in Topeka on March 10, 2001 advancing to the Elite Eight in Bakersfield, California after a 67-61 win.
  (Feb. 14, 2023) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team fell on Tuesday night to the No. 3/No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri Bearcats in a 66-40 loss.
The Ichabods (12-12, 9-9 MIAA) trailed by as many as eight in the first half at 13-5 before going back and forth with the Bearcats (24-2, 17-2 MIAA) trimming the margin to two at 23-21 Northwest with 1:58 to play in the half before the Bearcats scored five straight points to take a 28-21 lead into the break.
Starting the second half, Washburn pulled within five on a layup by Michael Keegan but a 14-2 run over the next 6:10 of the game put the score out of reach as the Ichabods were held to a season-low 40 points in the loss.
Washburn was led by Jarmell Johnson off the bench with 11 points as the only Ichabod to reach double figures. Andrew Orr had eight points adding a career-high four steals.
Wes Dreamer led four Bearcats in double digits with a game-high 17 points.
Washburn struggled from field going 13 of 44 overall and 3 of 13 from deep. The Bearcats were 24 of 47 overall hitting 10 of 21 free throws while outrebounded the Ichabods 32 to 24. 
  (Dec. 9, 2023) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods shot a blistering 65 percent in the second half finishing the game with 17 3-pointers, one shy of the school record, in a 93-71 win over Rogers State on Saturday in Lee Arena.
Washburn trailed early at 14-7 as the Hillcats started 6 of 9 from the field in the opening half, but the Ichabod defense locked down and the offense heated up with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes. During the run the Ichabods went 3 of 6 from deep while holding the Hillcats to 1 of 6 shooting to take a 22-18 lead with 8:36 to play in the first half.
The Hillcats cut the lead to 22-20 with 8:09 remaining in the first half before a 12-2 run by the Ichabods stretched their lead to 12 after the under five-minute timeout, but the Hillcats outscored Washburn 14-7 the rest of the half as Washburn took a 41-36 lead into the break.
The Ichabods (5-3, 1-1 MIAA), after shooting 56 percent in the first half from the field heated up even more going 20 of 31 from the field hitting 10 of 15 from deep stretching their lead to as many as 22 in the half holding the Hillcats to 37 percent shooting in the frame. Leading by nine with 8:47 to go at 67-56, Washburn used an 11-0 run going up by 12 putting the game out of reach as Washburn moved to 6-0 against Rogers State in Lee Arena in the 22-point win.
Jack Bachelor led the Ichabods with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers adding two blocks, three assists and a steal. He led five Ichabods in double-figure scoring followed by Jarmell Johnson with 15 on 6 of 9 shooting and 3 of 4 from deep. Andrew Orr scored eight of his 12 in the second half while Brayden Shorter had 11 hitting 3 of 5 from deep and Sam Ungashick had 10.
Rogers State (3-4, 2-2 MIAA) was led by Rodney Battle with 22 points.
The 17 3-pointers by the Ichabods were one shy of the school record finishing 17 of 28 overall for a 61 percent clip. The Ichabods were 6 of 6 from the line and held a 32-24 advantage on the glass. Six different Ichabods had three assists in the game en route to a season-high 23 total.        •    The Ichabods are 1,673-1,126-2 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 679-318 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 491-102 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
•    The 2023-24 season marks the 38th season of play in Lee Arena.
•    The Ichabods are 38-1 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 is back on the road again on Dec. 16 at Missouri Western before wrapping up the 2023 calendar hosting Northeastern State on Dec. 19 with a 4 pm afternoon contest.