• The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods return to MIAA play on Saturday wrapping up the 2024 calendar year facing Central Missouri at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Warrensburg.
• The Ichabods are 11-0 and 2-0 in the MIAA after going 2-0 at the River City Classic in San Antonio, Texas topping St. Edward's 87-67 and Texas Permian Basin 76-62.
• The Mules are 6-5 and 1-1 in the MIAA after splitting two games in San Antonio after falling to Texas Permian Basin 83-60 before rebounding in their final game topping No. 9-ranked North Georgia 53-52.
• The Ichabods were ranked No. 2 in the latest NABC top 25 coaches poll and third in the latest D2CIDA poll released on Dec. 17.
• 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 Ichabods are off to their best to begin the season at 11-0 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.
  • Andrew Orr became the 28th member of the Ichabod 1,000 point club with a free throw at Fort Hays State … he now has 1,035 career points moving into 21st all time …next on the chart is Travis Robbins who scored 1,050 points in two seasons.
• Michael Keegan has 866 career points in 107 career games as an Ichabod and he has moved into sixth all-time at Washburn in career blocks with 86 … he also moved into the top 10 on the all-time steal chart with 121.
• The Ichabods are eighth in the nation in rebound margin at +10.4 and 10th in scoring defense at 62.6 ppg and fourth in scoring margin at +21.1.
• Jacob Hanna is 19th in the nation in free throws made with 62 and 17th in attempts with 81.
• Andrew Orr is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage at 64.0.
• Michael Keegan is 16th in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 28 and he is ranked 13th in steals per game at 2.89 per game.
• Brayden Shorter is fifth th in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.82 and he's ranked third in total 3-pointers made at 42.
• Jacob Hanna is closing in on 1,000 points in his collegiate career between Washburn and Illinois-Springfield - between both schools he has scored 897 career points.
• The Ichabods have 1,687 all-time program wins in. The Ichabods would be the seventh NCAA D2 program to reach the 1,700 win mark. WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 148-75 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 181-108 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.
• is 10-2 against Central Missouri.
 
CENTRAL MISSOURI HEAD COACH ADAM BOHAC ...
• is 19-20 as the head coach at Central Missouri in his second season and 330-165 in his 16th season overall.
• he was named the 25th head coach in the 118-year history of Central Missouri Mules basketball in March of 2023 after 15 seasons as head coach of the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm where he had an overall record of 312-146 including 221-98 in GAC play.
• his teams have made nine post season appearances including four of the previous six seasons being in the NCAA Tournament. In 2022-23, the Storm reached the Sweet Sixteen and in 2019-20 were a two-seed in the tournament.
• he is 2-1 against the Ichabods the splitting two meetings at UCM last season and winning a meeting as Southern Nazarene's head coach.
  • The Mules are 6-5 and 1-1 in the MIAA after splitting two games in San Antonio after falling to Texas Permian Basin 83-60 before rebounding in their final game topping No. 9-ranked North Georgia 53-52.
• DeAirius Barker leads the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg and Tim Jordan, Jr. is also averaging double figures at 10.0 ppg. Four total players are averaging at least 8.0 ppg.
  • Saturday's meeting will be the 113th between these two teams with Washburn leading the series 59-53.
• Washburn is 36-19 against the Mules in Topeka.
• Washburn lost its last trip to Warrensburg falling 82-71 on Jan. 10, 2024.
• The Mules' have not won in Topeka since a 63-55 win over Washburn on Jan. 27, 2018 - a losing streak of six games.
• The Ichabods have won 17 of the last 25 meetings including 10 of the last 12.
• The Ichabods are 5-1 all-time against Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament.
• The last time the teams met in the conference tournament was during the 2010 season when the Ichabods as the No. 8 seed topped the No. 1-seeded Mules 79-60.
  (Dec. 18, 2024) SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods trailed for the first time this season at the break, but turned up the defense and controlled turnovers picked up a 76-62 win over Texas Permian Basin in its non-conference finale improving to 11-0 on the season. Washburn returns to MIAA play at Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg.
Washburn (11-0, 2-0 MIAA) trailed by as many as nine in the first half, its largest deficit of the season, with 1:45 to go in the half before the Ichabods closed the frame on a 7-2 run to enter the locker room trailing first time this season at the half at 36-32 in an opening 20 minutes that saw the Ichabods turn the ball over eight times leading to eight points for the Falcons. Overall there were nine lead changes in the first half. The Ichabods trailed 18 to 14 on the glass in the first half.
The Ichabods outscored the Falcons 17 to 9 in the first 5:15 of the second half to take a 49-45 lead as Jack Bachelor scored eight of the Ichabods' points starting out. The Falcons (8-3) took their last lead of the game with 12:03 to play on a 3-pointer by Alex Matthews en route to a game-high 26 points, at 51-50 before Andrew Orr gave the Ichabods a 52-51 lead.
Washburn would go on to lead by as many as 14 points in the second half holding the Falcons to 9 of 25 shooting while the Ichabods headed up from 44 percent to 57 percent in the stanza outscoring UTPB by 18 in the second half leading to the 14-point win.
Orr led the Ichabods with 16 points scoring 14 in the second half and Bachelor scored all 14 of his points in the second half. Brayden Shorter went 5 of 6 from deep scoring 15 points while Jacob Hanna finished with 12 and Brady Christiansen had 10. Michael Keegan scored four points adding a game-high nine rebounds and four assists. Hanna had six points and five assists as well.
Matthews was the only Falcon in double figures finishing with 26 going 10 of 17 from the field.
Washburn was 10 of 16 from 3-point range in the game hitting 5 of 7 attempts in the second half. The Ichabods shot 51 percent for the game (29 of 57). The Falcons were 42 percent for the game for the field (23 of 55).
  • The Ichabods are 1,687-1,133-2 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.
  • 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.
  • The Ichabods will return 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.