•    The Washburn Ichabods will begin the postseason on Friday at 6 p.m. in the first round of the MIAA Championship Tournament presented by Southern Bank in historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City where they will face the Rogers State Hillcats for the third time this season.
•    The Ichabods are the No. 4 seed and the Hillcats are the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
•    The Ichabods swept the regular season series with Rogers State winning 93-71 on Dec. 9 in Topeka and 80-74 in overtime in Claremore.
•    Washburn (18-10, 14-8 MIAA) fell in its regular season finale to Emporia State 80-76 in Topeka.
•    The Hillcats (17-11, 14-8 MIAA) won their final game of the 2023-24 regular season at Lincoln 70-62.
•    The Ichabods are 1-0 against the Hillcats all-time in the MIAA Tournament winning 78-59 on March 3, 2021 in Topeka, Kan. in the quarterfinals when the first games of the tournament were played on campus sites because of the COVID pandemic. The Ichabods went on top Missouri Western in the semifinals and Northwest Missouri in the championship game to claim the title.
•    The Ichabods are 43-25 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament.
•    The Ichabods are 2-3 in first round games (since expanding to 12 teams) … 21-7 in the quarterfinals, 14-7 in the semifinals and 6-8 in championship games.
•    In games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 18-15.
•    In quarterfinal games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 10-5. In semifinal games played in Municipal the Ichabods are 6-3 and in championship games in Kansas City the Ichabods are 1-6.
•    The Ichabods received votes in the latest NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll.
•    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 are shooting .750 (388 of 517) from the free throw line this season … that is the best mark by an Ichabod team since the 1966-67 season when they shot .742 percent (525 of 708) … the Ichabod single season record for free throw percentage is .763 set in the 1968-69 season (728 of 954).
•    Second-team all-MIAA selection Andrew Orr who was a third-team all-MIAA pick last season, led the Ichabods in scoring at 13.7 ppg adding 5.6 rebounds, 23 blocks and 53 assists as the Ichabods marched to an 18-10 regular season record. This season Orr is 18th in the MIAA in scoring, 13th in rebounding, ninth in field goal percentage hitting 155 of 285 shots for a 54 percent average, 16th in blocks at 0.8 per game. He has reached double figures in 20 games this season including a 21-point, 10-rebound performance against Rogers State on Feb. 1. He scored a season-high 25 points against Avila on Nov. 25 and against Missouri Western on Feb. 7.
•    Sam Ungashick earned MIAA Honorable Mention all-MIAA honors, was second on the team in scoring averaging 12.7 ppg adding a team-high 39 steals with averaging 1.4 per game. He also averaged 3.8 rebounds per game and shot 40 percent from 3-point range hitting 46 of 114 and 82 percent of his free throws going 55 of 67. He scored a season-high 26 points at Missouri Western on Dec. 16 and has reached double figures in 17 games. Ungashick also led the Ichabods in minutes played at 30.5 per game. Ungashick enters the MIAA postseason ranked 23rd in the MIAA in scoring, 24th in field goal percentage, 20th in 3-pointers per game at 1.6, 14th in assists, and ninth in steals.
•    Jack Bachelor is scoring 11.6 ppg this season and leads the team with 108 assists and was named the MIAA Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 8 … Bachelor has scored 324 points this season, which is seventh on the Ichabod freshman season scoring chart and his 42 3-pointers are sixth … he averaged 15.0 ppg in two contests against Rogers State.
•    Brady Christiansen is averaging 8.2 ppg with a team-high 6.7 rpg … he is fifth in the MIAA in rebound average and is fourth in the MIAA in offensive rebounds averaging 2.5 per game … he has also moved into the top 50 all-time at Washburn in rebounds with 377 in his sophomore season … he is ninth on the sophomore class rebound chart.
•    Brayden Shorter is averaging 7.6 ppg and 2.6 rpg … he has reached double figures in the last four games … he averaged 11.5 ppg in the two contests against the Hillcats this season.
•    Michael Keegan is scoring 7.5 ppg with 5.5 rpg averaging 11.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg with 2.5 apg in the last two contests …he scored nine points in the first meeting with Rogers State.
•    Jarmell Johnson is averaging 7.4 ppg and 3.1 rpg … he scored 15 points in the first meeting with Rogers State going 6 of 9 from the field and he scored eight points in the second meeting against the Hillcats.
•    Jake Schadegg is averaging 4.9 ppg and 1.4 apg and scored eight points in the first meeting against the Hillcats.
•    Emmanuel Byrd is scoring 3.8 ppg with 3.1 rpg … he scored four points with nine rebounds in the first meeting with the Hillcats.
•    Zaid Dajani is scoring 1.7 ppg and Kevin Eman is averaging 1.2 ppg.
•    Washburn is fourth the MIAA in 3-pointers made per game at 7.7 per contest and Rogers State is 13th at 6.0 per game … the Ichabods are also ranked second in 3-point field goal percentage at .371 and ranked 13th in opponent 3-point field goal percent at .389.
•    The Ichabods are third in the MIAA in scoring averaging 76.6 ppg and ranked eighth in scoring defense allowing 70.8 ppg … the Hillcats are fourth in scoring offense at 75.7 ppg and 12th in scoring defense at 76.6 ppg.
•    Washburn is +6.2 in rebounding margin this season which is second in the MIAA while leading the MIAA in total rebounds at 37.3 per game … Emporia State is 11th in rebound margin in the MIAA at -1.6 per game.
•    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 136-74 in his seventh season as the Ichabods' head coach and 169-104 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 7-3 against Rogers State.
 
ROGERS STATE HEAD COACH JUSTIN BARKLEY ...
•    is 267-144 in his 14th season at Rogers State.
•    served as the Hillcats' assistant coach from 2008-2010, became the third head coach in the brief history of the program when he took over in 2010.
•    helped guide the Hillcats to a 52-13 record as an assistant where they claimed the school's first Sooner Athletic Conference regular season championship, reached the NAIA National Tournament, and achieved a No. 1 national ranking in 2008-09.
•    scored six points in 32 minutes with six rebounds and six assists against the Ichabods as a player at Northeastern State (his alma mater) in the NCAA South Central Regional Semifinal game when his RiverHawks topped the Ichabods 64-59 on March 15, 2003 in Stephenville, Texas - NSU would go on to win the NCAA National Championship that season.
•    is 3-7 against the Ichabods.
  •    The Hillcats are 17-11 this season going 14-8 in the MIAA.
•    Rogers State is went 10-3 in home games, 6-5 in away games and 1-3 in neutral site games.
•    Rodney Battle was named Third Team All-MIAA. The Columbus, Ga. native finished the regular season putting up 381 points with 69 rebounds, 43 assists, 16 steals and two blocks. The senior currently leads the team averaging 14.1 points per game and ranks second in the MIAA and ninth in Division II with a 90.7 free throw percentage. His season best game came in the 83-76 win over Emporia State on Homecoming when he led all scorers putting up 24 points with three rebounds and an assist.
•    Isaac Johnson and Kofi Hamilton were both named All-MIAA Honorable Mention. Johnson, a product of Minneapolis, Minn., led RSU with 394 points as well as 125 rebounds, 46 assists, 42 steals and eight blocks. A Dutch Quarter, St. Martin, native, Hamilton posted 214 points with a team-high 153 rebounds as well as 30 steals, 27 assists and 15 blocks.
  •    Friday's meeting with the Hillcats will be the 11th between the two schools with the Ichabods leading the series 7-3.
•    The Hillcats won the first meeting on Feb. 15, 2020 in Claremore, Okla. 80-62.
•    In games played in Claremore, the Ichabods are 2-3 while going 5-0 in games played in Topeka.
•    The Ichabods won the only meeting in the MIAA Tournament in an 78-59 win on March 3, 2021 in Topeka in the quarterfinals in the tournament played during the COVID pandemic.
  (Feb. 1, 2024) CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabods allowed Rogers State to score the final six points of regulation tying the score at 69 sending the game overtime and Washburn scored the final five in the extra period leading to an 80-74 win over the Hillcats on Thursday in Claremore.
With 8:52 to go in regulation, the Ichabods (14-6, 10-4 MIAA) trailed 59-49, but came back with nine straight points with five coming from Brayden Shorter and four from Sam Ungashick as the Ichabods cut the lead to one at 59-58.
Rogers State (11-9, 8-6 MIAA) rallied to take a 63-60 lead with 4:51 to go before the Ichabods went on the aforementioned 9-0 run to lead 69-63 with 1:14 left. A four-point play by Isaac Johnson with 33 seconds and a fade away jumper by Rodney Battle with nine seconds to play knotted the score at 69 sending the game to overtime.
In the extra five minutes, the Ichabods scored the first six points taking a 75-69 lead with 3:14 left after a pair of free throws by Ungashick. Rogers State scored the next five points to trim the lead to one at 75-74 before the Ichabods closed with five-straight points from the free throw line to take the six-point win.
The Ichabods trailed by as many as 10 in the opening stanza midway through the frame at 21-11 before Washburn outscored the Hillcats 17-8 the rest of the way. Washburn chipped away to cut the lead to one at 29-28 with 1:03 to play aided by a 5-0 individual run by Jack Bachelor, the Rogers State hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to go in the half pushed the lead to four at the break. Washburn committed eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes leading to 11 points for the Hillcats.
Andrew Orr led the Ichabods with 21 points adding 10 rebounds with eight on the defensive end. It was his first double double of the season and the fourth of his Ichabod career. Ungashick had 18 points with seven rebounds. Two freshmen, Jack Bachelor and Bradyen Shorter, combined for 25 points off the bench with Shorter scoring 10 in the second half.
Battle and Johnson had 14 to lead the Hillcats.
Washburn outrebounded the Hillcats 43 to 28 including 11 to 2 on the offensive glass outscoring RSU 14 to 1 in second chance points. Washburn finished 29 of 66 from the field for a 44 percent average while the Hillcats were 27 of 63 for 43 percent. Washburn finished 6 of 23 from the 3-point line compared to 7 of 23 for RSU. Each team hit 16 free throws in the game with Washburn going 9 of 10 in the overtime period.     (March 2, 2024) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods fell for only the second time in Lee Arena ending the regular season with an 80-76 loss to Emporia State on Saturday afternoon.
The Ichabods (18-10, 14-8 MIAA) led 46-32 at the break over the Hornets after shooting 49 percent from the field holding ESU (19-11, 12-10) to 32 percent shooting in the opening frame.
In the second half, the Ichabods stretched their lead to as many as 19 with 16:24 to play. The teams traded baskets and with the Ichabods leading 58-41 after a layup by Andrew Orr, the Hornets used a 14-2 run pulling within five at 60-55.
Washburn went back up 10 with 6:07 to go with a layup by Sam Ungashick, but ESU's Owen Long would hit four 3-pointers in a 14-4 run tying the score at 70 with 1:50 to play.
Two free throws by Ungashick put the Ichabods back up by two with 69 seconds to play, but ESU's Long scored the next five points for the Hornets putting ESU up four with 33 seconds left. A driving layup by Ungashick with eight seconds to play pulled the Ichabods within one at 77-67, but the Hornets hit all three of their free throws to seal the comeback win.
Ungashick's 18 points led four Ichabods in double figures with Andrew Orr scoring 17 with Brayden Shorter scoring 12 and Michael Keegan scoring 10. Orr also had five assists and Keegan had nine rebounds.
Long led ESU with 36 points scoring 26 in the second half.
Washburn finished 27 of 59 from the field shooting 46 percent for the game going 6 of 19 from deep and 16 of 18 from the free throw line. ESU  was 24 of 53 overall hitting 12 of 22 3-pointers and 20 of 25 free throws.
Washburn held a 37 to 26 advantage on the glass turning 13 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points. •    The Ichabods are 43-25 all-time in the MIAA Championship Tournament.
•    The Ichabods are 2-3 in first round games (since expanding to 12 teams) … 21-7 in the quarterfinals, 14-7 in the semifinals and 6-8 in championship games.
•    In games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 18-15.
•    In quarterfinal games played in Kansas City, the Ichabods are 10-5. In semifinal games played in Municipal the Ichabods are 6-3 and in championship games in Kansas City the Ichabods are 1-6.
•    As the No. 1 seed, the Ichabods are 21-3, at No. 2 they are 9-4, at No. 3 they are 2-1, at No. 4 they are 4-3, as the No. 5 seed they are 0-1, at No. 6 the Ichabods are 4-5, at No. 7 they are 0-1 and as the No. 8 seed they are 3-3.
•    Former head coach Bob Chipman has won more MIAA Tournament games than any other coach. He has won 34 games going 34-19 recording a .653 winning percentage.
•    NWMSU's Ben McCollum is the only MIAA coaches to win six tournament titles Washburn's Bob Chipman has won five MIAA Tournament titles. Tom Smith (MWSU) and Steve Tappmeyer (NWMSU), Ron Shumate (Southeast Missouri) and Kim Anderson (UCM/PSU) each have four titles.
•    Overall, here's how the Ichabods have fared against MIAA opponents in the conference tournament by round and in Kansas City.
•    First Round games were added for the MIAA Tournament starting in 2013 as the league expanded to 15 teams. The top four teams in the final standings received an automatic bye to Kansas City for the quarterfinals.

Team     1st Rnd  Qrts.     Semis    Finals    In KC     Total
UCM          —              4-0            1-1            —              3-1            5-1
ESU           —              5-1            —              —              4-1            5-1
FHSU        1-0            —              2-0            —              2-0            3-0
LU              —              —              —              —              —              0-0
MSSU        —              1-0            2-1            0-1            1-1            3-2
MWSU      0-2            0-1            3-2            1-2            1-2            4-6
NSU           0-1            —              —              —              —              0-1
NU             —              —              —              —              —              0-0
NWMSU   —              2-1            0-2            3-3            0-5            4-8
PSU           —              1-0            3-0            2-0            3-0            6-0
RSU           —              1-0            —              —              —              1-0           
UCO          —              0-1            1-1            —              1-1             1-1
UNK           —              1-1             —              —              1-1             1-1
--- vs former members
MS&T        —              1-1            —              —              1-0            1-1
UMSL        —              1-0            —              —              —              1-0
SEMO        —              —              —              —              —              —
SBU           1-0            2-0            1-1            1-0            —              5-1
TSU           —              2-0            1-0             —             —              3-0
UNO          —              —              —              0-1            0-1            0-1
Totals        2-3            21-7          14-7          6-8            18-14        43-25
  •    The Ichabods are 1,687-1,132-2 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 691-324 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 499-103 (.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.
  •    Seeding for the MIAA Championship Tournament in Kansas City running from March 6-10 at historic Municipal Auditorium will be announced at the conclusion of all games on Saturday. Check wusports.com for updates on tournament games for the Ichabods.