OPENING TIP
• The No. 3-ranked Washburn Ichabod will return to action on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18 wrapping up non-conference play with the River City Classic facing a pair of Texas squads with St. Edward's on the opening night and Texas Permian Basin on night two.
• Both games are set for a 7 p.m. start time and can be viewed online through the Ichabod portal on the MIAA Network.
• The Ichabods are 9-0 and 2-0 in the MIAA after finishing off a 2-0 opening conference weekend with wins at Nebraska-Kearney (Dec. 5, 87-52) and at Fort Hays State (Dec. 7, 71-57).
• The Ichabods were ranked No. 3 in the NABC top 25 coaches poll and third in the latest D2CIDA poll released on Dec. 10.
• The ranking is the highest by an Ichabod team since earning a No. 2 ranking on Dec. 18, 2012.
• The last time the Ichabods were in the top 10 for four consecutive weeks was from Nov. 27, 2012 to Jan. 8, 2013 when the Ichabods were ranked second for four-straight weeks and were tabbed No. 8 in week five.
• The St. Edward's Hilltopers are 8-3 this season and 2-2 in the Lone Star Conference coming off a 96-58 win over Western New Mexico on Dec. 7.
• The Falcons from Texas Permian Basin are 6-2 and 3-1 in the LSC after topping Oklahoma Christian on Dec. 12 80-77. Prior to facing the Ichabods, the Falcons will host Cameron on Dec. 14 and Central Missouri on Dec. 17 in San Antonio.
• The Ichabods are off to their best to begin the season at 9-0 since starting the 2003-04 season 16-0 en route to the MIAA regular season championship.
• The Ichabods finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-11 record advancing to the MIAA Tournament semifinals.
• The Ichabods have recorded 30, 20-win seasons and four under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his seven seasons receiving  four NCAA postseason berths.
• The 2024-25 season marks the 120th season of Ichabod basketball.
 
BLUES CLUES
• Andrew Orr became the 28th member of the Ichabod 1,000 point club with a free throw at Fort Hays State last time out … he has 1,009 career points … above him on the score chart are Leonard Conkleton and Dave Hull with 1,011 points and Shannon Kruger with 1,014 points.
• Michael Keegan has 854 career points in 105 career games as an Ichabod and he has moved into sixth all-time at Washburn in career blocks with 84 … he also moved into the top 10 on the all-time steal chart with 119.
• The Ichabods are sixth in the nation in rebound margin at +11.6 and ninth scoring defense at 62.2 ppg and fifth in scoring margin at +22.0.
• Jacob Hanna is 23rd in the nation in free throws made with 45 and 25th in attempts with 61.
• Andrew Orr is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage at 64.0.
• Michael Keegan is 17th in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 26 and he is ranked 13th in steals per game at 2.89 per game.
• Brayden Shorter is 20th in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.33 and he's ranked 21st in total 3-pointers made at 30.
• Jacob Hanna is closing in on 1,000 points in his collegiate career between Washburn and Illinois-Springfield - between both schools he has scored 866 career points.
• The Ichabods have 1,685 all-time program wins in. The Ichabods would be the seventh NCAA D2 program to reach the 1,700 win mark.

COACHES
WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 146-75 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 179-105 overall in his 10th year as a head coach.
• has led the Ichabods to four NCAA postseason appearances in seven 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 coached against St. Edward's or Texas Permian Basin.
 
ST. EDWARD'S HEAD COACH ANDRE COOK...
• has led the Hilltopper program since 2009-10 going 270-179 in his 16th season.
• has never coached against Washburn.
 
TEXAS PERMIAN BASIN HEAD COACH KYLE TOLIN ...
• is in his fourth season as the Falcons' head coach going 52-44 overall and 160-133 in his 11th season.
• he spent seven seasons at Arkansas Monticello going 108-89 before moving to Permian  Basin.
• has never coached against Washburn.
 
ABOUT ST. EDWARDS
• The Hilltoppers are 8-3 overall and 2-2 in the Lone Star Conference entering the game with the Ichabods.
• St. Edward's have won its last two games after a 96-58 win over Western New Mexico in a 96-58 win last time out on Dec. 7.
• Gavino Ramos leads the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg. Four other Hilltoppers are averaging double figures with Lewis Rowe scoring 12.8 ppg and Mason Courtney and Blake Nielsen scoring 11.3 ppg.
• The Hilltoppers are averaging 83.7 ppg and allowing 69.7 ppg.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH ST. EDWARDS
• The meeting on Dec. 17 will be the first between the Ichabods and the Hilltoppers.
 
ABOUT TEXAS PERMIAN BASIN
• The Falcons are 6-2 this season and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference entering a Dec. 14 league contest against Cameron.
• The Falcons will play Central Missouri on Dec. 17 before playing the Ichabods the following day.
• Alex Matthews leads the team scoring 16.1 ppg pacing four Ichabods in double figures with Freddie Word scoring 15.0 ppg, Dario Domingos at 13.9 ppg and D.J. Armstrong at 12.3.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH TEXAS PERMIAN BASIN
• The meeting on Dec. 18 will be the first between the Ichabods and the Falcons.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
(Dec. 7, 2024) HAYS, Kan. -- Andrew Orr hit the 1,000-point mark for his career as the No. 3-ranked Washburn Ichabods improved to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play with a 71-57 win over Fort Hays State on Saturday afternoon.
Jack Bachelor scored four of the Ichabods' first five points with a pair of layups in the first few minutes of the contest. The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, but Jacob Hanna's layup gave Washburn a 15-14 lead that it would not relinquish with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half.
Hanna's basket sparked an 11-0 run for the visitors, which included two 3-pointers by Brayden Shorter. After the Tigers (4-3, 1-1 MIAA) answered with a three-pointer of their own, Shorter knocked down his third triple of the half to put the Ichabods up 27-17 with seven and half minutes to play in the half. A minute later, Shorter took the ball away from Fort Hays State and found Michael Keegan pushing down the court, who finished with a dunk to give Washburn a 31-19 lead and forced a Tigers timeout.
Sitting at 999 points for his career, Orr stepped to the free throw line with five minutes to play in the half. Orr knocked down the first attempt to become the 28th Ichabod to join the 1,000-point club. The senior hit the second free throw to give the Ichabods a 15-point lead, its largest advantage of the evening. The Washburn offense cooled off at the end of the half, but the visitors still held a 37-29 lead entering the locker room. Shorter led all scorers with 16 points in the half.
The Tigers opened the second half of play with a three-pointer, cutting the Ichabod lead to five. Washburn did not let the hosts get any closer, with Orr and Shorter each finding the basket to put the Ichabods up 41-32 a minute and a half into the half. After the Tigers hit two free throws to cut the lead to seven, Washburn outscored Fort Hays State 13-5 over the next few minutes to extend the lead to 15.
Following a six-point swing in favor of the Tigers, Shorter cleaned up a missed shot with a rebound and put-back to give Washburn another double-digit lead. After giving up a three-pointer, the Ichabods responded with a six-point swing of their own, giving the visitors a 62-48 lead with just over six minutes to play. The Tigers were unable to cut the Ichabod lead below 10 points for the remainder of the contest, giving Washburn a 71-57 victory and the Ichabods' ninth-straight win to open the season. 
Shorter led all scorers with 26 points to lead the Ichabods (9-0, 2-0 MIAA), while Orr added 10 points to conclude his milestone evening. Bachelor and Keegan each scored 11 points, while Bachelor chipped in six rebounds and six assists. 
Kyle Grill led the host Tigers with 16 points.
Washburn shot 27 of 57 from the field for a 47 percent mark, while Fort Hays State ended the evening shooting 20 of 50 for a 40 percent clip. The Ichabods hit 6 of 23 shots from beyond the arc and 11 of 14 from the free throw line.
The Ichabods held a 34-29 advantage on the boards, while outscoring the Tigers 20-0 in fast break points.
 
ICHABOD BASKETBALL HISTORY
• The Ichabods are 1,685-1,133-2 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 695-325 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.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Ichabods are 502-104 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2024-25 season marks the 40th season of play in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 39-1 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.
 
UP NEXT
• The Ichabods will wrap up the 2024 calendar year at Central Missouri on Dec. 21 before returning after the holiday break facing another road contest at Emporia State on Jan. 4 before finally returning home for games against Missouri Western on Jan. 8 and Northwest Missouri on Jan. 11.