•    The Washburn Ichabods will return to action on Saturday hosting Pittsburg State at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena.
•    Following the match up with Pittsburg State, Washburn will be on the road leaving for road games at Fort Hays State, Nebraska-Kearney, Rogers State and Northeastern State … the Ichabods will be back at home on Feb. 7 against Missouri Western.
•    Washburn (11-5, 7-3 MIAA) topped Missouri Southern 70-65 last time out on Wednesday in Lee Arena.
•    Pittsburg State (9-6, 5-4 MIAA) lost at Emporia State 70-61 on Wednesday.
•    The Ichabods received votes in the latest NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll.
•    Saturday's meeting will be the 188th between these two schools in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1920.
•    Washburn leads the all-time series 109-78.
•    The Ichabods have won the last 22 of the last 26 meetings including 15 of the last 18 and the last seven overall.
•    The Ichabods are 33-3 in Lee Arena against PSU.
•    The game is the first between the two schools in Topeka since Jan. 16, 2021 in an 84-62 Ichabod win.
•    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. •    The Ichabods were 15 of 15 from the free throw line against the Lions … the total is the most free throws in a game without a miss since hitting 14 of 14 against Missouri Southern on Jan. 24, 2007.
•    Against the Lions, the Ichabod starters were 0 of 15 from 3-point land with the seven 3-pointers coming from Brayden Shorter (4 of 9) and Jack Bachelor (5 of 12).
•    Sam Ungashick leads the Ichabods in scoring averaging 14.4 ppg averaging 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game … he leads the team with team with 25 steals and has reached double-figure scoring in 11 of 15 games.
•    Andrew Orr is scoring 13.3 ppg this season going 45 of 49 from the free throw line  which ranks fifth in the nation in percentage at 91.8 … he is shooting 57 percent from the field hitting 84 of 148 attempts … he is seventh in the MIAA in field goal percentage.
•    Jack Bachelor is scoring 12.5 ppg this season and leads the team with 53 assists and was named the MIAA Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 8 … he scored 19 points last time out against Missouri Southern and he has hit his last 21 free throws and is averaging 14.4 ppg in MIAA games.
•    Brady Christiansen is averaging 8.2 ppg with a team-high 7.0 rpg … he is averaging 9.8 ppg in the last four games.
•    Jarmell Johnson is averaging 7.7 ppg and 3.1 rpg scoring.
•    Michael Keegan is scoring 7.3 ppg with 6.0 rpg and averaging 8.3 ppg with 6.6 rpg in MIAA play …  he added three steals against Lions.
•    Jake Schadegg is averaging 5.9 ppg and 1.8 apg … he is 11 of 15 from the free throw line this season.
•    Emmanuel Byrd is scoring 4.7 ppg with 3.7 rpg hitting 4 of his last five field goals.
•    Brayden Shorter is averaging 4.6 scoring a career-high 14 ppg against Missouri Southern … he has hit 6 of his last 12 3-point field goals.
•    Zaid Dajani is scoring 1.9 ppg and Kevin Eman is averaging 1.0 ppg.
•    The Ichabods are 16th in the nation in and second in the MIAA 3-point shooting 39.5 percent hitting 131 of 332 attempts … Washburn is third the MIAA in 3-pointers made per game at 8.2 per contest.
•    The Ichabods are first in the MIAA in scoring averaging 79.9 ppg and ranked eighth in scoring defense allowing 71.1 ppg.
•    Washburn is +7.6 in rebounding margin this season which leads the MIAA and ranked 15th nationally … the Ichabods also leading the MIAA in total rebounds at 39.1 per game.
•    This season overall, the Ichabods have shot one more free throw than their opponents this season … Washburn is 241 of 320 at the charity stripe this season while opponents are 230 of 319.
•    The Ichabods have outscored their opponents by 34 points in the first half (593 to 559) and by 106 points (685 to 579) in the second half.
•    The Ichabods will be without Jordan Vincent, Bradley Lightbourne, Tyson Ruud and Zach Davidson who will miss the season after injuries, surgeries or recovering from recent surgeries.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
•    is 129-69 in his seventh season as the Ichabods' head coach and 162-99 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 7-1 against Pittsburg State.
 
PITTSBURG STATE HEAD COACH JEFF BOSCHEE ...
•    is in his second season as the head coach at Pittsburg State where he has gone 17-26 … he served as head coach at MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University prior to moving to Pittsburg … he compiled has a 168-112 record overall.
•    Boschee directed MSSU to four 20-win seasons and three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament between the 2017-18 and the 2019-20 campaigns. He was selected the 2017-18 MIAA Coach of the Year and his 2018-19 squad reached the NCAA Sweet 16 while posting a 25-8 record.
•    is 9-4 against Washburn overall and 0-1 at Pittsburg State.
  •    The Gorillas are 9-6 overall and 5-4 in the MIAA after falling at Emporia State 80-71 last time out … the Gorillas are 1-3 in away games this season.
•    The Gorillas have four players averaging double figures led by Max Alexander at 18.6 ppg. Jeramy Shaw is scoring 18.3 ppg in four stars and seven games played and Deshaun English II is scoring 13.3 ppg followed by Jordan Frison 12.6 ppg. English lead the team in rebounds at 9.5 per game. Alexander is second in the league in scoring and Shaw would be ranked fifth if would meet the minimum in games played.
•    The Gorillas are ranked fifth in the MIAA in scoring offense at 76.9 ppg and 10th in scoring defense at 73.5 ppg.
  •    Saturday's meeting will be the 188th between these two schools in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1920.
•    Washburn leads the all-time series 109-78.
•    The Ichabods have won the last 22 of the last 26 meetings including 15 of the last 18 and the last seven overall.
•    The Ichabods are 33-3 in Lee Arena against PSU and 37-16 against the Gorillas in MIAA play. The home team is 35-14 in the last 49 regular season meetings, dating back to 1996-97.
•    The series goes back to 1919-20 and it has been played at least once a year since 1941-42.
•    In Topeka, Washburn leads 71-24 all-time.
•    The longest winning streak by the Ichabods is 13 from Jan. 15, 1983 to March 4, 1988.
•    The longest winning streak by the Gorillas is six games from Dec. 12, 1936 to Feb. 13, 1943.
  (Jan. 14, 2023) PITTSBURG, Kan. – One game after being held to a season-low 50 points in a Thursday night loss to Missouri Southern, the Washburn Ichabods put up 46 points in the first half en route to a 93-63 win over Pittsburg State on Saturday in John Lance Arena. 
The Ichabods (6-9, 3-6 MIAA) took a season-high 21-point lead into the break as they shot a blistering 64 percent in the first 20 minutes hitting 9 of 14 attempts from deep going 16 of 32 overall. Using a 23-5 run midway through the frame, Washburn was 8 of 8 from the field including a 5 of 5 showing from deep as Jarmell Johnson scored nine during the Ichabod spurt.
After the Ichabods forced a turnover on the Gorillas (2-9, 5-12 MIAA) possession, Pitt State would go on a 10-0 run as the Ichabods were scoreless for 4:54 until Jaden Monday connected on a free throw with 14:55 to go halting the run.
After a six-minute drought from the field, Tyler Nelson connected on a 3-pointer with 12:25 to go pushing Washburn back to a 52-39 lead. After a field goal by Michael Keegan, Tyler Nelson recorded a traditional 3-point play with 11:02 to go as the Ichabods went up by 13 at 56-43 and Nelson continued to pace the Ichabod attack with another field goal on the next possession stretching the lead to 15 with 10:37 to go. Washburn pushed the lead to 21 on a 3-pointer by Nelson and all told after the Ichabod lead was cut to 10, Washburn exploded for a 19-2 run with 14 points scored by Nelson and five by Levi Braun.
The Ichabods, who won their seventh in a row over Pitt State and fourth in a row in Pittsburg, were led by Nelson with 23 points with 18 in the second half. Washburn outrebounded the Gorillas 39-30 in the game led by Brady Christiansen's 11 rebounds adding 11 points for his first Washburn double double. Joining Nelson in double figures was Johnson who finished with a career-high 16 off the bench hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers, Monday had 15 with a career-high tying six assists and three steals and Braun had 13 hitting three 3-pointers.
Deshaun English II led the Gorillas with 15 points.
Washburn shot 57 percent in the second half going 17 of 30 after going 1 of 8 during their five-minute scoring drought in the frame to finish at 53 percent for the game going 33 of 62 overall. Washburn hit a season-high 14 3-pointers on 26 attempts for a 54 percent average. The Ichabods were 13 of 18 from the free throw line.
Washburn held the Gorillas to 38 percent shooting on 21 of 55 shooting and 8 of 30 from 3-point range as Pitt State was 1 of 12 in the opening half. The Gorillas were 13 of 16 from the free throw line.
Washburn outscored the Gorillas 32 to 16 in bench points and 30 to 16 in points off of Pitt State turnovers.        TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods moved to 8-0 at home with a 70-65 win over Missouri Southern on Wednesday night in Lee Arena rallying from a seven-point deficit early in the second half for the victory.
With the Ichabods (11-5, 7-3 MIAA) trailing by a game-high seven with 17:40 to play in the game with the Lions in front 38-31, Jack Bachelor ignited a 15-2 run over the next 5:05 scoring nine points during the run pushing the Ichabods up 46-40.
Missouri Southern (6-10, 4-6 MIAA) cut the Washburn lead to three at 53-50 after hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, however the Ichabods used a 5-0 mini run to go up 58-50 with 7:12 left. Washburn them would miss its next five shots as the Lions used an 8-0 of their own to tie the score at 58 at the 3:21 mark.
The teams traded a pair of free throws and a jumper as the score remained deadlocked at 60, but Bachelor hit a pair of free throws and Andrew Orr hit a turnaround jumper putting Washburn up by four with 76 seconds to go.
The Lions cut the lead to two with under a minute to go, but the Ichabods finished the game 6 of 6 from the free throw line (4 of 4 by Brady Christiansen, 2 of 2 by Bachelor) en route to a 15 of 15 Ichabod team performance for the five-point win.
Washburn trailed by one at the break at 30-29 after the Lions hit 7 of 14 3-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes after entering the game averaging 6.9 per contest. For the game the Lions hit 14 of 30 3-pointers overall. The Ichabods led by as many as 12 in the first half before the Lions used a run to take the halftime lead.
Bachelor led the Ichabods with 19 points adding four assists. Brayden Shorter scored eight of his career-high 14 in the first half hitting four 3-pointers in nine attempts. Christiansen scored 10 adding five rebounds. Orr had a team-high boards with seven. The Ichabod bench outscored the Lions subs 41 to 27 in the game.
Winston Dessesow scored 19 off the bench to tie for game-high honors.
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 41 percent hitting 24 of 59 shots while hitting a total of seven 3-pointers in 32 attempts. The Ichabods outrebounded the Lions 36 to 33.      •    The Ichabods are 1,679-1,128-2 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 684-320 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 495-102 (.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 set out on a four-game roadtrip starting at Fort Hays State on Jan. 25 followed by road contests at Nebraska-Kearney (Jan. 27), Rogers State (Feb. 1) and Northeastern State (Feb. 3). Washburn's next home games will be Feb. 7 against Missouri Western and Feb. 10 against Northwest Missouri.