•    The Washburn Ichabods return to Missouri for their second-straight contest as they will face Missouri Western at the St. Joseph Civic Arena on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
•    Washburn (5-4, 1-2 MIAA) fell 68-65 last time out at Northwest Missouri on Dec. 13.
•    The Griffons (8-2, 3-2 MIAA) topped Emporia State 76-54 last time out on Thursday night.
•    Saturday's meeting will be the 105th between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 60-44.
•    Washburn will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak to the Griffons on Saturday.
•    The Ichabods are playing their first game in the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
•    The game will be played in the St. Joseph Civic Arena instead of on campus because of Missouri Western's graduation ceremonies.
•    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 the Ichabods in scoring averaging 16.3 ppg while averaging 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game … he has reached double figures in each of the last eight games while averaging 18.3 ppg in MIAA contests.
•    Andrew Orr is scoring 13.9 ppg this season going 29 of 30 from the free throw line  which ranks second in the nation in percentage at 96.7 … he is shooting 58 percent from the field hitting 48 of 83 attempts … in five career games against Missouri Western, Orr is averaging 11.6 ppg but last season averaged 18.3 ppg including a career-high 26 on Feb. 1, 2023 … his career high in rebounds of 11 also came against Missouri Western in the MIAA Tournament last season.
•    Jack Bachelor is scoring 9.7 ppg off the bench adding 2.1 rpg and 3.0 apg this season … in MIAA games he is averaging 10.3 ppg.
•    Brady Christiansen is averaging 8.4 ppg with a team-high 7.8 rpg … he's reached double-figure rebounds in three of the last five games averaging 8.0 rpg.
•    Jarmell Johnson is averaging 8.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg … his is 9 of 17 from 3-point range this season.
•    Jake Schadegg is averaging 6.8 ppg shooting 13 of 25 from 3-point range this season.
•    Michael Keegan is scoring 5.8 ppg with 4.3 rpg and 1.1 bkpg and recorded his 400th career rebound last time out.
•    Emmanuel Byrd is scoring 5.2 ppg adding 4.7 rpg.
•    Brayden Shorter is averaging 4.4 ppg with 1.8 rpg.
•    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 28.1 per game.
•    The Ichabods are third nation in 3-point shooting at 43.5 percent hitting 81 of 186 attempts.
•    The Ichabods are second in the MIAA in scoring averaging 81.4 ppg and ranked eighth in scoring defense allowing 71.8 ppg.
•    Washburn's 49.6 field goal percentage is first in the MIAA and 15th in the nation and its 41.1 defensive field goal percentage is ranked third in the MIAA.
•    Washburn is +9.1 in rebounding margin this season leading the MIAA while also leading the MIAA in total rebounds at 39.1 per game.
•    In the last five minutes of games this season, the Ichabods have attempted 26 free throws compared to 41 by their opponents.
•    This season overall, Ichabod opponents have shot 52 more free throws than the Washburn has … Washburn is 120 of 162 at the charity stripe this season while opponents are 154 of 214. •    Against Northwest Missouri, it was the first time the Ichabod bench had been outscored in a game this season  (27 to 18) … overall the Ichabods lead the MIAA in bench points per game at 29.0 per contest ranking 53rd in the nation.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
•    is 123-68 in his seventh season as the Ichabods' head coach and 156-98 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 10-6 against Missouri Western.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH WILL MARTIN...
•    is 50-46 in his fourth 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 4-5 against the Ichabods.
  •    The Griffons are 8-2 and 3-2 in MIAA play after defeating Emporia State 76-54 on Thursday at the Civic Arena.
•    JaRon Thames leads the team in scoring at 17.1 ppg. He scored 25 against Emporia State last time out. Julius Dixon is scoring 14.0 ppg while Zion Swader and Taye Fields are both scoring 11.4 ppg. Fields is averaging a team-high 9.3 rebounds per game after recording 12 against the Hornets.
•    Missouri Western has attempted 11 more free throws than its opponents this season.
•    The Griffons are averaging 76.1 ppg while allowing 71.8 ppg.
  •    Saturday's meeting will be the 105th between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 60-44.
•    The Griffons have won the last two meetings in the series.
•    The Ichabods are 52-36 against MWSU in MIAA games and 34-15 in games played in Topeka overall.
•    The Ichabods are 23-26 in games played in St. Joseph against the Griffons.
•    In the MIAA Tournament the Ichabods are 4-8 against the Griffons.
•    The Ichabods lead 6-5 in overtime games including the 95-94 win on Jan. 9, 2019.
  (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.   
  (Dec. 13, 2023) MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods battled back from a 11-point second half deficit and had a potential 3-pointer rim out at the buzzer that would have tied the game in a 68-65 loss at Northwest Missouri on Wednesday in Maryville.
With the Ichabods trailing 51-40 with 14:38 to go in the game, Washburn came back with a 9-1 run to cut the lead to three at 52-49 with 8:44 to play. Northwest went up 60-52 with 6:42 to play, but a 3-pointer by Jack Bachelor and then back-to-back 3-pointers by Sam Ungashick pulled Washburn within one at 62-61 with 3:49 to go. A Northwest layup pushed the lead back to three with 3:26 remaining, but two more free throws by Ungashick cut the lead back to one again. Northwest hit another layup by Isaiah Jack with 1:24 to go, but Washburn came back and hit two more free throws, this time by Brady Christiansen to pull for the third time back within one.
With 14 seconds to play, the Ichabods went to the line, but missed both attempts, but an offensive rebound and two additional misses before Northwest pulled down a rebound. The Bearcats went to the line hitting both setting up the final play which saw the miss at the buzzer.
The Ichabods led early at 16-5 as Washburn turned a 5-5 game into an 11-point lead with 13:22 to play in the game as Sam Ungashick hit a pair of 3-pointers. In the opening half, Washburn was whistled for 17 fouls, 15 called after the Ichabods were leading 16-5 at the 13:21 mark of the frame. The Bearcats from that point on outscored the Ichabods 37-14 including a 15 of 21 showing from the free throw line compared to 4 of 5 by the Ichabods as the teams were called for a combined 25 fouls with the 17 coming against the visitors. Every Ichabod who checked in the game in the first half was called for a foul with seven different players being called for two.
The fouls in the second half switched as the Bearcats were called for 15 fouls compared to eight in the final 20 minutes.
Ungashick led the Ichabods (5-4, 1-2 MIAA) with 24 points adding five steals going 5 of 10 from deep hitting 9 of 9 from the free throw line. Bachelor scored 12 off the bench hitting 3 of 5 3-point attempts and Christiansen had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Wes Dreamer had 21 to lead the Bearcats (7-3, 4-1 MIAA).
Washburn finished 19 of 53 from the line being held to 26 percent in the second half from the field going 8 of 31 overall. Washburn was 19 of 25 from the free throw line. Northwest was 19 of 42 overall as the Ichabods held the Bearcats to 8 of 22 shooting in the second half. Northwest was 23 of 30 from the free throw line overall.        •    The Ichabods are 1,673-1,127-2 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 679-319 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 will wrap up the 2023 calendar hosting Northeastern State on Dec. 19 with a 4 pm afternoon contest.