• The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods will open the 19-game MIAA slate hosting Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday in Lee Arena at 7:30 p.m.
• Washburn is 8-0 after topping the 100-point mark for the second game in a row in a 115-30 win over Ottawa on Nov. 29 in Lee Arena setting several school records in the process.
• The Lopers enter the game with a 4-3 overall mark and have won their last three games in a row including a 62-59 win over Wayne State (Neb.) last time out on Saturday in Kearney.
• The Ichabods are 22-13 all-time in MIAA openers winning last season's conference opener over the Lopers 87-52 in Kearney.
• The Ichabods are coming off one of the best seasons in program history with an NCAA Final Four appearance, an NCAA Central Regional Championship and an MIAA regular season title with a 30-4 overall record after going 17-2 in MIAA play.
• The Ichabods have recorded 31, 20-win seasons in program history and five under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his eight seasons receiving four NCAA postseason berths coaching the 2024-25 squad to only the program's second 30-win season in school history.
• The 2025-26 season marks the 121st season of Ichabod basketball.
•  The Washburn Ichabods were picked atop the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media polls released Oct. 6 by the league office. In the MIAA Coaches Poll, Washburn received 13 of 14 first-place votes, tallying 169 points, finishing ahead of Rogers State which had one first-place vote and 141 total points. In the MIAA media poll, the Ichabods received 23 of 25 first-place votes from the media for 346 total points. Fort Hays State had one first-place vote and 297 points, and Rogers State had a first-place vote and 286 total points.
  • The Ichabods lead the nation in scoring margin in the NCAA D2 ranks at +35.4 ppg and third in field goal percentage at 55.1 percent - that also leads the MIAA …Washburn is also ninth in assists per game (21.3), 10th in assist/turnover ration (1.84) and seventh in effective field goal percentage (.619) and sixth in rebound margin (+15.3) … Washburn is also seventh in scoring defense (59.3 ppg), sixth in fastbreak points (23.4 ppg), eighth in defensive field goal percentage (35.7) and seventh in turnover margin (+7.6)
• Washburn has not been outrebounded in a game this season.
• Washburn went over the 100-point mark for the 84th time in program history improving to 79-5 all-time in the 115-30 win over Ottawa last time out.
• Jack Bachelor is 11th in the nation in 3-pointers made with 22 and Dillon Claussen is also eighth in the nation in field goal percentage at 71.4 leading the MIAA … Jeremiah Jones is eighth the nation in total steals with 21 and is ranked 16th in steals per game at 3.00 per contest.
• Jack Bachelor and Dillon Claussen have scored in double figures in all eight games this season and after going scoreless in the season opener.
• The Ichabods have five Nebraska natives on their roster this season in Brady Christiansen (Lincoln), Dillon Claussen (Omaha), Marcus Glock (Wahoo), Kade Cook (Gretna), Tayvin Zephier-Murphy (Omaha).
• Tyson Ruud has scored a career-high 13 points in three of the last four games and Marcus Glock scored a Washburn-high 13 points against Ottawa last time out … Jeremiah Jones recorded a Washburn-high 18 points against the Braves last time out.
• Washburn has a 18-game home court winning streak which is the fourth-longest in the D2 ranks behind Nova Southeastern (89),  Miles (21) and Alabama-Huntsville (20).
  • In the win over Ottawa, the Ichabods recorded at least 20 steals (22) for the first time since the 2009 season against Peru State.
• The 85-point winning margin is the largest in program history topping the 77 point difference against Manhattan Christian on Nov. 30, 2017 in a 128-51 win.
• The 30 points allowed by the Ichabods is the fewest by an opponent in the shot clock era since Peru State scored 41 against Washburn on Nov. 16, 2009 in a 71-41 win.
• The 115 points by the Ichabods were the eighth-highest total in the shot clock era.
• The Ichabods swiped a school-record 22 steals in the game topping the previous high of 21 against Peru State on Nov. 16, 2009.
• The 46 field goals made by the Ichabods were the most since hitting 51 against Manhattan Christian on Nov. 30, 2017.
• The 79 field goal attempts were the most by an Ichabod team since recording 80 against Friends last time out.
• Washburn outscored the Braves 53-1 in points off turnovers, 64-10 in points in the paint, 21-0 in second chance points, 41-3 in fastbreak points and 49-20 in bench points.
• The Ichabods have now won 19 home games in a row – the fourth-longest streak in the nation and the sixth-longest streak in Washburn program history.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 175-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 208-109 overall in his 11th year as a head coach.
• has led the Ichabods to five NCAA postseason appearances in eight seasons at Washburn as well as the 2021 MIAA Tournament Championship and the 2025 MIAA Regular season title.
• 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 10-1 against Nebraska-Kearney.
   
NEBRASKA-KEARNEY HEAD COACH MARTY LEVINSON ...
• is 16-19 in his second season at UNK.
• the Grand Island native is a Bellevue West High School and UNK graduate, played high school, college, and professional basketball in the state, and held coaching positions at Grand Island Central Catholic, UNK, Central C.C.-Columbus, and assisted with Everything to Gain (ETG), one of the top AAU programs in Nebraska.
• having worked at the collegiate level for the past 17 years, Levinson has been a successful head coach at Central C.C. (2012-14), Southern Arkansas University Tech (2018-23) and Trinity Valley, Texas (2023-24). He was the first-ever coach in SAU Tech history, building the program up from the ground floor.
• has amassed a career record of 191-94 (.670 winning pct.) at the junior college level having been named District Coach of the Year five times and Region C.O.Y on four occasions. Finally, he saw five of his teams qualify for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament, finishing as high as third.
• is 0-2 against the Ichabods.
  • The Lopers are 4-3 this season and have won their last three contests after a 62-59 win over Wayne State last time out on Nov. 29.
• Ja'Bryant Hill leads the team in scoring at 19.3 ppg while Anthony Swift is scoring 14.0 ppg with a 7.2 rpg followed by Kendrick Gilbert at 11.1 ppg and Wade Williams at 10.3 ppg … Taylor Harrell is scoring 7.6 ppg with a team-best 7.4 rpg.
• Hill is fifth in the MIAA in scoring while Harrell is third in rebounding and Swift is fourth overall … Hill is also third in assists at 5.1 per game and second in minutes per game at 33.9.
• The Lopers are averaged 75.6 ppg and allowing 78.4 ppg.
  • Thursday's meeting will be the 52nd in the series with the Ichabods leading 26-25.
• The Ichabods won the last meeting in the series in Topeka in a 97-64 win on Feb. 1, 2025.
• All-time in games in Kearney, the Ichabods are 9-17 and Washburn leads 16-7 in games played in Topeka.
• The Ichabods have won nine of the last 10 overall meetings and the last six in a row.
• The two teams have only played twice in the MIAA Tournament with the teams splitting a pair of games.
• The series started in 1951 with the Ichabods winning 94-64 on Dec. 14 in Kearney.
  (Feb. 1, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods used a 21-0 during the second half turning a 13-point into a 34-point lead holding Nebraska-Kearney scoreless for more than six minutes rolling to a 97-64 win on Saturday.
Washburn led or was tied for 49 seconds in the game as the Lopers (7-12, 5-6 MIAA) led after scoring the game's first points. The teams traded baskets and the Lopers tied up the score at 10 with 15:25 to go. From that point, the Ichabods outscored Nebraska-Kearney 37-21 the rest of the way, taking a 16-point lead into the break at 37-21.
In the second half the Lopers twice cut the Ichabod lead to 11 with the final time at 54-43 but they would not get any closer as the Ichabods outscored the UNK 50-33 in the second half holding the Lopers to 8 of 22 shooting leading to the 33 point win winning their sixth in a row over the Lopers overall and the fifth in a row over UNK in Topeka.
Andrew Orr and Jacob Hanna each scored 20 leading the Ichabods. Jack Bachelor added 18 and Brayden Shorter scored 11. Hanna had eight boards and six assists and three steals as well.
Allen Taylor scored 20 to lead the Lopers.
Washburn finished 32 of 67 from the field for a 48 percent clip and UNK was 20 of 51 for a 39 percent average. The Ichabods hit eight 3-pointers in the game as did the Lopers. Washburn finished 25 of 33 from the free throw line.
The Ichabods dominated the glass outrebounding the Lopers 45 to 28, turning 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. Washburn held the Lopers to five offensive rebounds in the contest. The Ichabods outscored UNK in the paint 46 to 24 and 26 to 4 in fastbreak points.
  (Nov. 29, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods left no doubt in a record-setting performance on Saturday afternoon inside Lee Arena, unleashing a dominant two-half performance that turned into a 115–30 victory over Ottawa pushing the Ichabods to 8–0 on the season. Washburn shot 58 percent from the field, forced 33 turnovers, and outscored the Braves 64–10 in the paint while posting multiple scoring runs that buried the game early.
Washburn asserted control immediately after a brief 3–2 Ottawa lead—the visitors' only advantage of the day—and exploded on a 19-0 run in the first half powered by steals, transition layups, and second-chance scoring. By halftime the Ichabods had turned 23 Ottawa turnovers into 30 points, storming into the break up 60–17 behind 52 percent shooting and an 8-for-17 mark from three.
The second half was even more overwhelming. Washburn opened the period with a 26-0 run that ballooned the margin to 86 points, the team's largest lead of the day, before finishing the game shooting 66 percent in the final 20 minutes. Washburn's pressure continued to suffocate the Braves, generating 14 more steals and 30 points off turnovers in the second half alone.
Dillon Claussen delivered another standout performance, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds, five steals, and two blocks while going 7 of 11 from the field. Jeremiah Jones added 18 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting effort and pulled down seven rebounds. Bryson Smith filled the stat sheet with nine points, five assists, two steals, and five rebounds, while Jack Bachelor poured in 14 points and six assists as the Ichabods drilled 13 three-pointers on the afternoon.
Tyson Ruud came off the bench to score 13 points and grab seven rebounds, and Marcus Glock hit four threes to finish with 13. Sam Ungashick provided eight points, six assists, and five steals as Washburn's bench accounted for 49 points.
Defensively, the Ichabods held Ottawa to just 10-for-44 shooting (22.7 percent), including 5-for-23 from three, and limited the Braves to two second-chance points and two points in the paint in the second half. Washburn won the rebounding battle 47–24 and finished with 22 steals—its most in a game this season.
  • The Ichabods are 1,716-1,137-2 all-time in the 121st year in the program's history.
• Washburn is the seventh-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
• Washburn is 717-328 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 31 20-win seasons and they have two 30-win seasons after going 35-4 during the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season and after the 2024-25 season's 30-4 record.
• Washburn has won 22 conference championships including 11 MIAA titles.
• Washburn has received 16 NCAA Tournament bids going to four Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
  • The Ichabods are 518-104 (.831) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2025-26 season marks the 41st season of play in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 40-1 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 MIAA  play on Saturday hosting Fort Hays State on Dec. 6 the return to action on Dec. 13 facing Central Missouri in Lee Arena before traveling to San Antonio, Texas for the annual Holiday Classic facing No. 5 ranked Lubbock Christian on Dec. 16 and wrapping up the 2025 calendar year with No. 15 ranked West Texas A&M the following day. Washburn then returns to MIAA play hosting Emporia State on Jan. 3 opening the 2026 calendar.