•    Winners of three in a row and seven of their last eight, the Washburn Ichabods will start a four-game road trip in Hays, America as they will face Fort Hays State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
•    The Ichabods will not be in action at home until Feb. 7 against Missouri Western.
•    Washburn (12-5, 8-3 MIAA) beat Pittsburg State last time out in Topeka in an 81-74 win rallying from a 10-point deficit midway through the first half.
•    Fort Hays State (13-4, 8-3 MIAA) sits in a tie for third with the Ichabods in the MIAA standings after defeating Nebraska-Kearney 57-49 on Jan. 20 in Kearney.
•    The Ichabods received votes in the latest NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll.
•    Washburn leads the all-time series 99-71 and Wednesday's meeting will be the 171st between the two schools.
•    The Ichabods have won 16 of the last 21 in the series having their six-game winning streak snapped in the last meeting.
•    The Ichabods are first in the MIAA in scoring averaging 79.9 ppg and Fort Hays State has the No. 1 scoring defense allowing just 58.2 ppg not allowing anyone to score over 77 points this season (77-75 loss to Newman in overtime).
•    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 14.4 ppg averaging 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game … he leads the team with team with 25 steals and has reached double-figure scoring in 12 of 16 games.
•    Andrew Orr is scoring 13.3 ppg this season going 48 of 54 from the free throw line  which ranks 30th in the nation in percentage at 88.9 … he is shooting 56 percent from the field hitting 89 of 158 attempts … he is seventh in the MIAA in field goal percentage.
•    Jack Bachelor is scoring 12.6 ppg this season and leads the team with 58 assists and was named the MIAA Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 8 … he has hit at least one 3-pointer in all but three games.
•    Brady Christiansen is averaging 8.2 ppg with a team-high 6.6 rpg … he is 10 of 21 from the field in the last four games.
•    Jarmell Johnson is averaging 7.8 ppg and 3.4 rpg he tied a season-high with seven rebounds against Pittsburg State last time out adding three steals scoring eight points.
•    Michael Keegan is scoring 7.4 ppg with 5.9 rpg and averaging 8.0 ppg with 6.3 rpg in MIAA play …  he is shooting 50 percent from the field hitting 48 of 96 shots.
•    Jake Schadegg is averaging 5.9 ppg and 1.8 apg … he is 11 of 15 from the free throw line this season.
•    Brayden Shorter is averaging 5.1 scoring and 2.1 rpg … he's averaged 13.5 ppg in his last two games and recorded a career-high eight rebounds against Pittsburg State last time out going 10 of 21 from the field in the last two games including 6 of 14 from 3-point range.
•    Emmanuel Byrd is scoring 4.6 ppg with 3.7 rpg hitting 6 of 9 shots form the field in the last three games.
•    Zaid Dajani is scoring 1.9 ppg and Kevin Eman is averaging 1.0 ppg.
•    The Ichabods are 10th in the nation in and first in the MIAA 3-point shooting 37.9 percent hitting 138 of 348 attempts … Washburn is second the MIAA in 3-pointers made per game at 8.1 per contest.
•    The Ichabods are first in the MIAA in scoring averaging 79.9 ppg and ranked ninth in scoring defense allowing 71.3 ppg.
•    Washburn is +7.1 in rebounding margin this season which leads the MIAA and ranked 16th nationally … the Ichabods also leading the MIAA in total rebounds at 38.8 per game.
•    This season overall, the Ichabods have shot four less free throws than their opponents this season … Washburn is 253 of 340 at the charity stripe this season while opponents are 247 of 344.
•    The Ichabods have outscored their opponents by 35 points in the first half (630 to 595) and by 112 points (729 to 617) 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 130-69 in his seventh season as the Ichabods' head coach and 163-99 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 Fort Hays State.
 
FORT HAYS STATE HEAD COACH MARK JOHNSON ...
•    is the all-time coaching wins leader in FHSU history with a career record of 440-216 in his 23rd season at FHSU, ranking among the top 30 active NCAA Division II men's basketball coaches in winning percentage (.671).
•    has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in his time at FHSU.
•    became the all-time wins leader in Fort Hays State history on January 11, 2014 in a victory at home over Lincoln University, recording his 258th win.
•    he reached his 300th career win on February 13, 2016 in a victory at Missouri Southern.
•    has coached four All-Americans, 54 all-conference selections, a conference player of the year, a conference freshman of the year, and three conference defensive players of the year in his time at FHSU.
•    is 15-18 against Washburn.
  •    The Tigers are 13-4 this season and 8-3 in the MIAA coming off a 57-49 win at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.
•    Kaleb Hammeke leads the team in scoring at 15.2 ppg hitting 23  of 76 3-pointers with a team-high 68 assists - double the next person in the Tiger lineup … he is also pulling down 5.1 rebounds per game as well … in conference play Hammeke is scoring 16.0 ppg.
•    Elijah Nnanabu is scoring 11.1 ppg with 4.6 rpg.
•    The Tigers are 12th in the MIAA in scoring defense at 67.8 ppg and lead the league in scoring defense at 58.2 ppg - which leads the nation … the Tigers are also ranked fourth in the nation in defensive field goal percentage as teams are shooting 48.9 percent from the field against FHSU.
  •    Washburn leads the all-time series 99-71 and Wednesday's meeting will be the 171st between the two schools.
•    The Ichabods have won 16 of the last 21 in the series having their six-game winning streak snapped in the last meeting.
•    In Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 23-8 all-time against Fort Hays State going 10-12 in road games since joining the MIAA.
•    Fort Hays State is 5-2 against WU in overtime games.
•    The Ichabods are 3-0 against Fort Hays State in the MIAA Tournament including a 77-53 semifinal win in the 2018 event in Kansas City.
  (Jan. 18, 2023) TOPEKA, Kan. –Washburn scored the first 10 points of the game jumping out to a 13-2 lead and never looked back as the Ichabods led from start to finish in a 74-64 win over Fort Hays State on Wednesday night in Lee Arena. 
Levi Braun scored eight of Washburn's first 10 points during the opening outburst hitting a pair of three points en route to a game-high 20 points. Washburn (7-9, 4-6 MIAA) held the Tigers (12-6, 7-5 MIAA) without a point until the 14:45 mark of the first half and would go on to build a lead of as many as 20 before the halftime break.
Coming out of the intermission, the Tigers cut into the Ichabod lead trimming the margin back to five using a 14-6 run at 43-38. After a Washburn timeout, the Ichabods responded with a 13-4 run of their own pushing the lead back to 14.
The Tigers pulled within seven at 68-61 with 2:30 to go, but the Ichabods scored the next six points of the game to go up 13 before Fort Hays State scored three to cut the final margin to 10.
Braun scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half to pace three other Ichabods in double figures with Tyler Nelson scoring 16 while Brady Christiansen and Jarmell Johnson each scored 11 off the bench. Michael Keegan had six points but also added a game-high seven rebounds with three assists and three blocks.
Eligah Nnanabu had 16 to lead the Tigers.
Washburn outrebounded the Tigers 32 to 26 in the game and finished 24 of 52 form the field for a 46 percent average hitting 6 of 18 3-pointers and 20 of 28 free throws. The Tigers were held to 8 of 25 shooting in the first half heating up to 16 of 28 in the second to finish 24 of 53 for a 45 percent clip.
Washburn outscored the Tigers 15 to 3 in fastbreak points and had a 24 to 18 advantage in bench points.        TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods rallied from a 10-point deficit midway through the first half shooting 63 percent from the field in final stanza holding off Pittsburg State 81-74 on Saturday afternoon inside Lee Arena.
The Ichabods (12-5, 8-3 MIAA) trailed 26-16 with 8:42 to play in the game before the Ichabods used a 21-10 run to close the frame taking entering the break on a layup by Sam Ungashick with a 37-36 lead.
After shooting 41 percent in the first half the field, the Ichabods shot a smoking 63 percent in the second half hitting 17 of 27 overall going 4 of 7 from deep to finish at 51 percent in the game.
Pittsburg State (9-7, 5-5 MIAA) held its last lead of the game at 39-37 on a 3-pointer by Jordan Frison and after the teams traded baskets, a 3-pointer by Michael Keegan gave the Ichabods the lead for good with 16:45 to play. Brayden Shorted's jumper in the paint with 11:15 to go pushed the Ichabods to a game-high 14-point lead.
The Gorillas trimmed the lead to a few as five at 70-65 with 4:18 to play, but a 3-pointer by Brady Christiansen and a jumper by Ungashick stretch the margin to 10 at the 2:47 mark and Pitt State would get no closer than six with 25 seconds to go.
Jack Bachelor led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points adding five assists. Andrew Orr, Ungashick and Shorter each had 13 with Shorter pulling down a career-high eight rebounds. Jarmell Johnson had eight points with seven boards and three steals.
Braydon Redd and Jeramy Shaw each had 18 points and Deshaun English II had nine points and 19 rebounds.
The Ichabods trailed on the glass at 36-35 to the Gorillas, but outscored the Gorillas 44 to 34 in the paint and 31 to 25 off the bench winning remaining perfect at home winning their tenth in a row in Lee Arena. •    The Ichabods are 1,680-1,128-2 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 685-320 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 496-102 (.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 continue the four-game road trip with game No. 2 at Nebraska-Kearney (Jan. 27) followed by 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.