•    The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods return to the road to face Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Missouri on Saturday.
•    The Ichabods moved to 18-0 and 9-0 in the MIAA after rallying from a three-point halftime deficit at Northwest Missouri to win 80-69 on Jan. 22.
•    The Griffons are 13-6 this season going 5-4 in MIAA play coming off an 81-62 win over Central Missouri on Jan. 22 in St. Joseph winning their second-straight contest.
•    The Ichabods won the first meeting this season with the Griffons 92-74 in Topeka.
•    Playing as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the NCAA ranks, the Ichabods are 7-2.
•    The top-10 rankings places the Ichabods in the top five for eight-straight weeks for the first time in program history.
•    The Ichabods are off to their best start to begin the season at 17-0 since starting the 2003-04 season 16-0 en route to the MIAA regular season championship.
•    The Ichabod record for the most wins to start the season is 19 coming in the 1992-93 season.
•    The Ichabods are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division II ranks joining No. 2 Daemen (14-0).
•    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 earlier this season … he now has 1,143 career points sitting in 17th all-time … next on the chart is Jemi Johnson in 16th with 1,215 career points from 1992-95 … Orr will be playing in his 100th career game on Saturday.
•    Michael Keegan has 922 career points in 114 career games as an Ichabod and he has moved into a tie for fifth all-time at Washburn in career blocks with 94 tying Bobby Chipman who had 94 from 2009-13 … he is also fifth all-time  in steals with 144.
•    Jack Bachelor is 10th in the nation and leading the MIAA in assist to turnover radio at 3.23, 13th in total assists at 97 and 18th in assists per game with 5.4 …in the last seven games his has had 42 assists and six turnovers - a 7 to 1 ratio.
•    The Ichabods are fifth in the nation in rebound margin at +9.9, seventh in the nation in field goal percentage at 51.7 percent, 12th in scoring defense allowing 65.1 ppg and third in scoring margin at +22.0 … in nine MIAA games, the Ichabods are +22.0. in scoring margin leading the MIAA … the next closest team is Fort Hays State at +6.9 ppg.
•    Jacob Hanna is 28th in the nation in free throws made with 91 and 28th in attempts with 120.
•    Andrew Orr is 19th in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.9.
•    Michael Keegan is sixth in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 51 and he is ranked ninth in steals per game at 2.83 per game.
•    Brayden Shorter is fifth in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.67 and he's ranked fifth in total 3-pointers made at 66.
•    The Ichabods have 1,694 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 155-75 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 188-108 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 13-6 against Missouri Western.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH WILL MARTIN ...
•    is 72-63 in his fifth season as the Griffons head coach after serving two seasons as an assistant coach.
•    Martin, a Franklin, Tennessee native, also had three stops at NCAA Division I institutions before his arrival to St. Joseph.
•    Most recently, Martin served assistant men's basketball coach and the director of athletic admissions at Martin Methodist College (NAIA).
•    As a graduate student, Martin served as a graduate assistant and video coordinator for men's basketball at the University of Tulsa from 2013-2015.
•    As an undergraduate, Martin served as a men's basketball manager at the University of Kentucky under head coach John Calipari. During Martin's tenure with the Wildcats, the team reached the Elite 8 on three occasions, the Final Four on two occasions and Martin served as the head manager of the 2012 National Championship team.
•    He 4-8 against the Ichabods.
  •    The Griffons are 13-6 this season and 5-4 in the MIAA after topping Central Missouri 81-62 for the second time in 11 days in St. Joseph on jan. 22.
•    Zane Nelson leads three Griffons in scoring averaging 16.4 ppg adding 82 assists … Zion Swader is averaging 11.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg and Julius Dixon is scoring 10.9 ppg hitting a team-high 34 3-pointers adding 6.5 rebounds per game.
•    The Griffons are 22nd in the nation in scoring defense allowing 66.1 ppg while scoring 70.2 ppg.
   •    Wednesday's meeting will be the 108th between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 63-44.
•    Washburn has won the last three in the series and eight of the last 11.
•    The Ichabods are 55-36 against MWSU in MIAA games and 36-15 in games played in Topeka overall.
•    The Ichabods are 24-26 in games played in St. Joseph against the Griffons.
•     In the MIAA Tournament the Ichabods are 4-8 against the Griffons.
•     The Ichabods lead 6-5 in overtime games including the 95-94 win on Jan. 9, 2019.
  (Jan. 22, 2025) MARYVILLE, Mo. – The No. 1 ranked Washburn Ichabods rallied from a 3-point halftime deficit closing the game with an 8-0 run over the final 3:59 of the contest for an 80-69 win over Northwest Missouri on Wednesday in Bearcat Arena improving to 18-0 on the season and 9-0 in the MIAA.
The Ichabods trailed at the half for only the second time this season and not since a 36-32 deficit against Texas Permian Basin in San Antonio on Dec. 18 in a game they rallied to win by 14 after trailing by as many as nine in the game. Washburn shot 43 percent in the opening frame trailing until taking an 18-17 lead over the Bearcats. A 10-1 run by the Ichabods pushed Washburn's lead to 28-20, but the two teams traded leads seven times in the opening half and Northwest took a 40-37 lead into the break on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Emorie Knox.
Starting the second half the Bearcats stretched their lead to seven at 44-37 with 18:51 to go. Washburn chipped away at the lead and pulled within one at 46-45 after a 3-pointer by Jack Bachelor with 16:04 left.
Washburn tied the score at 52 with 13:46 to go on a jumper by Claussen and would take a 54-52 lead on a Shorter dunk, but the lead was short-lived as the Bearcats came back with a 3-pointer of their own taking a 55-54 lead on their next possession, but Washburn came right back with a jumper by Bachelor as the Ichabods regained the lead at 56-55 with 11:58 to play.
After both team struggled from the field for the next 120 seconds, Northwest tied the score with 9:56 to play with a free throw at 56 all.
Northwest (4-14, 2-7 MIAA) took its final lead of the game at 61-60 with 8:17 to play, but a 3-pointer by Shorter put the Ichabods back in front followed by two free throws by Bachelor stretched the lead to four with 7:22 to go. The Bearcats cut the lead back to two at 65-63 before Brady Christiansen hit a 3-pointer and Claussen scored his career-high-tying 14th and 15th points of the night as Washburn took a 70-63 lead with 5:47 remaining.
Luke Moustakas, who led the Bearcats with a game-high 21 points, hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night pulling the Bearcats back within three with 3:59 to play, but the Ichabods scored the final eight points of the game as the Washburn defense held Northwest to 0 of 4 from the field forcing two turnovers holding on for the 11-point win.
Shorter recorded his first collegiate double double with 18 points with a career-high 10 rebounds adding four assists and two steals. Bachelor scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half adding six assists. Claussen finished with 15 adding five boards and two assists. Jacob Hanna has 12 points and three assists and Andrew Orr had 10 points and two blocks.
In a game that had nine lead changes and eight ties, Washburn shot 48 percent from the field for the game hitting 54 percent in the second half up from 43 in the opening half. Northwest cooled off from 46 percent in the first half to 35 in the second half to shoot 41 percent for the game.
Washburn also held a 40 to 30 advantage on the glass turning 14 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points while outscoring the Bearcats 36 to 24 in the paint and 22 to 6 in bench points. •    The Ichabods are 1,694-1,133-2 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 701-325 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 507-104 (.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 begin another three-game stretch in Lee Arena with Fort Hays State (Jan. 30), Nebraska-Kearney (Feb. 1) and Central Missouri (Feb. 8).