• The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods are back at home for three of their final five regular season home games of the year hosting Fort Hays State on Jan. 30 in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods moved to 19-0 and 10-0 after blasting Missouri Western 85-52 on Jan. 25 in St. Joseph for the largest margin of victory in series history in the 33-point win.
• The Tigers are 13-5 this season going 6-3 in MIAA play after falling at Central Oklahoma 75-65 on Jan. 25 snapping a four-game winning streak … the Tigers received votes in this week's NABC Top 25 poll.
• The Ichabods won the first meeting of the season with Tigers in the second MIAA game of the season in a 71-57 win in Hays.
• Playing as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the NCAA ranks, the Ichabods are 8-2 in program history.
• The top-10 rankings places the Ichabods in the top five for nine-straight weeks for the first time in program history.
• The Ichabods are off to their best start to begin the season at 18-0 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 which they have tied this 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 eight 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 1,153 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 played in his 100th career game last time out against Missouri Western.
• Michael Keegan has 934 career points in 115 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 146.
• Jack Bachelor is eighth in the nation and leading the MIAA in assist to turnover radio at 3.45, 12th in total assists at 107 and 15th in assists per game with 5.6 …in the last seven games his has had 52 assists and seven turnovers - a 7.4 to 1 ratio.
• The Ichabods are second in the nation in rebound margin at +10.3, sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 51.7 percent, 13th in scoring defense allowing 64.4 ppg and third in scoring margin at +22.6 … in 10 MIAA games, the Ichabods are +24.6 in scoring margin leading the MIAA … the next closest teams are Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State at +5.4 ppg.
• Jacob Hanna is 34th in the nation in free throws made with 95 leading the MIAA and 25th in attempts with 130 also leading the MIAA.
• Andrew Orr is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.3.
• Michael Keegan is sixth in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 53 and he is ranked ninth in steals per game at 2.79 per game.
• Brayden Shorter is sixth in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.68 and he's ranked fifth in total 3-pointers made at 70 … his 70 3-pointers this season is second on the Ichabod sophomore record chart trailing Todd Alexander who hit 83 during the 1990-91 season.
• The Ichabods are looking for their 31st, 20-win season and fifth under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his eighth season at the helm.
• The Ichabods have 1,695 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 156-75 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 189-108 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.
• he is 8-2 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 464-225 in his 24th 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, 66 all-conference selections, a conference player of the year, two conference freshmen of the year, and four conference defensive players of the year in his time at FHSU.
• is 16-19 against Washburn.
  • The Tigers are 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA after falling at Central Oklahoma 75-65 on Jan. 25 snapping a four-game winning streak.
• FHSU was tabbed No. 2 in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll behind the Ichabods.
• Kaleb Hammeke leads the team in scoring at 15.0 ppg shooting 29 of 74 from the 3-point line and he is 53 of 64 from the free throw line … he ranks 22nd in the nation in minutes per game at 36:02 per contest.
• Kyle Grill is scoring 11.9 ppg with 4.4 rpg and Shaun Riley is scoring 10.4 ppg and leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game.
• The Tigers are averaging 69.3 ppg and allowing 59.6 ppg.
• The Tigers are fourth in the nation in turnovers per game at 9.4 per game and ranked second in scoring defense in the nation allowing the 59.6 ppg while their field goal percentage defense is seventh in the nation at 39.0 percent.
• Offensively the Tigers are ranked 16th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.5 leading the MIAA ranking 11th in the MIAA in 3-pointers per game at 7.1.
• The Tigers are 10-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to the Ichabods in December.
  • Washburn leads the all-time series 100-72 and Thursday's meeting will be the 173rd between the two schools.
• The Ichabods have won 17 of the last 23 in the series.
• In Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 23-8 all-time against Fort Hays State going 11-13 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.
• The series with the Tigers is the third-most played series in Ichabod history trailing Emporia State (223) and Pittsburg State (189).
  (Jan. 25, 2025) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods tied the program record for the most consecutive wins to start a season improving to 19-0 (10-0 MIAA) in an 85-52 win over Missouri Western on Saturday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The Ichabods trailed 5-3 to the Griffons 3:18 into the game but after a Dillon Claussen layup and a 3-pointer by Michael Kegan Washburn found itself up 8-5. The teams traded baskets and then the Ichabods rung up a 22-2 run over the next 7:45 going 8 of 12 from the field and hit 4 of 6 from deep while holding the Griffons to 1 of 7 shooting taking a 32-11 lead with 5:37 to go in the first half as Washburn would go on to lead 41-26 at the break.
Washburn opened the second half hitting their first four shots of the frame including both 3-pointers, but went 1 of 7 from the free throw line as they pushed the lead to 18 at 52-34 with 14:24 to go.
On Washburn's next possession, Brayden Shorter's third 3-pointer of the night jump started a 17-4 run and his fourth 3-pointer of the game finished off the run as the Ichabods led 69-38 with 7:22 to play. Washburn would go on to lead by as many as 35 with 48 seconds to play as Washburn won its fourth-straight game in a row over the Griffons (13-7, 5-5 MIAA).
Shorter led the Ichabods with a game-high 22 points adding five rebounds pacing five Washburn players in double figures. Keegan had 12 points and four rebounds followed by Jacob Hanna and Brady Christiansen's 11 points and Andrew Orr had 10 points and eight boards and two blocks. Jack Bachelor had double digit assists for the second-straight game with 10 adding eight points.
The Ichabods shot 54 percent from the field for the game hitting 30 of 56 overall and 11 of 22 from deep as Washburn held the Griffons to 35 percent shooting on 17 of 48 shooting and 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Western did hit 15 of 17 free throws compared to 14 of 26 for the Ichabods.
Washburn had a massive 40 to 22 advantage on the glass including 12 offensive rebounds and the Ichabods also dominated the transition game outscoring the Griffons 21 to 0 in fast break points. • The Ichabods are 1,695-1,133-2 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 702-325 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 continue their homestand hosting Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Feb. 1 before wrapping up with Central Missouri on Feb. 8.