• The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods will play their final MIAA game of the 2025 calendar year when they host Central Missouri on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena.
• Washburn moved to 10-0 (2-0 MIAA) after topping Fort Hays State 73-66 on Dec. 6 in Topeka.
• The Mules enter the game 9-2 overall and 2-0 in league play and they are also receiving votes in the latest NABC Top 25 coaches poll.
• Washburn leads the all-time series 61-53 and Saturday's meeting will be the 115th between the two schools.
• The Ichabods have won the last three in the series and nine of the last 10.
• The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA putting up 93.3 ppg and the Mules are averaging 81.3 ppg.
• Defensively, the Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked scoring defense allowing 59.6 ppg and the Mules are ranked seventh allowing 71.8 ppg.
• 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 +33.7 ppg and fourth in field goal percentage at 52.7 percent - also leading the MIAA …Washburn is also sixth in assists per game (19.8), seventh in assist/turnover ration (1.75) and 11th in effective field goal percentage (.586) and third in rebound margin (+14.3) … Washburn is also second in scoring defense (59.6 ppg), fourth in fastbreak points (22.4 ppg), sixth in defensive field goal percentage (.361) and sixth in turnover margin (+8.0)
• Washburn has not been outrebounded in a game.
• Jack Bachelor is 14th in the nation in 3-pointers made with 27 and Dillon Claussen is third in the nation in field goal percentage at 72.3 leading the MIAA … Jeremiah Jones is third the nation in total steals with 30 and is ranked 10th in steals per game at 3.00 per contest.
• Jack Bachelor is sixth in the nation in total assists with 52 and sixth in assist to turnover ration at 4.33 to 1.
• The Ichabods' 10-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in the nation with Daemen … the longest streak belongs to Nova Southeastern who has won its last 29 games.
  • The game against the Tigers marked the first time this season an opponent had outshot the Ichabods from the field … the Tigers shot .500 from the field (23 of 46) while the Ichabods were held to 38 percent shooting hitting 22 of 58 attempts.
• The Ichabods won their third in a row over the Tigers.
• Dillon Claussen recorded a career-high four steals … Bryson Smith tied a Washburn high with 22 points and his four steals were a career high while going 9 of 10 from the free throw line.
• The Ichabods have won 21 home games in a row – the second-longest streak in the nation and the sixth-longest streak in Washburn program history. Nova Southeastern has won its last 91 games in a row at home. WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 177-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 210-109 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 12-2 against Central Missouri.
   
CENTRAL MISSOURI HEAD COACH ADAM BOHAC ...
• is 37-32 as the head coach at Central Missouri in his third season and 349-178 in his 18th 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 2-3 against the Ichabods going 1-3 at UCM last season and winning a singular meeting as Southern Nazarene's head coach.
  • The Mules are 9-2 (2-0 MIAA) after defeating Nebraska-Kearney 99-69 on Dec. 6 in their last game out … the Mules also defeated Fort Hays State 64-50 in their MIAA opener.
• Freshman Lazerek Houston leads the team in scoring at 19.5 ppg and he is fifth in the nation overall … Houston is also second in field goal attempts, third in field goals made and fourth in assists averaging 5.2 per contest.
•  Jevon Hill lead the nation in total 3-pointers with 39 overall and he is 14th in 3-pointers per game at 3.55 while averaging 15.1 ppg … Kyran Tilley is also scoring double figures at 13.5 ppg.
• The Mules are receiving votes in the latest NABC Top 25 poll.
• The Mules are scoring 81.3 ppg while allowing 71.8 and they are even in rebound margin recording 35.3 rebounds per game and allowing 35.3 rebounds per game.
  • Saturday's meeting will be the 115th between these two teams with Washburn leading the series 61-53.
• Washburn is 37-19 against the Mules in Topeka.
• The Mules' have not won in Topeka since a 63-55 win over Washburn on Jan. 27, 2018 - a losing streak of seven games.
• The Ichabods have won 19  of the last 27 meetings including 12 of the last 14 and nine of the last 10.
• 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.
  (Feb. 8, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods used a 16-1 run over a four-plus minute stretch of the second half turning a 12-point lead into a 23-point win over Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon with an 83-60 win in Lee Arena. 
During the second half run, Washburn held the Mules to 0-8 shooting while the Ichabods were 6 of 7 from the field with six different players recording a field goal during the spurt. After leading 38-26 at the break over the Mules (11-11, 6-7 MIAA), Washburn came out scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the half building a 20-point lead. After a Mule timeout, UCM recorded a 12-3 run of its own trimming the Washburn margin back to 10 setting up the run by the Ichabods.
Brayden Shorter led the Ichabods with 18 points scoring 11 in the second half and Andrew Orr and Jacob Hanna each had 14 in the win. Dillon Claussen came off the bench scoring 10 points going 3 of 3 from the field and 4 of 4 from the charity stripe  and Jack Bachelor had nine points and nine assists.
Kyran Tilley led the Mules with 16 points.
Washburn was outrebounded for the first time this season (35 to 34) in the game while outshooting the Mules 47 percent to 36 percent from the field. Washburn also forced 16 UCM turnovers leading to 15 points and outscored the Mules 36 to 18 in the paint. Washburn also connected on 20 of 23 free throws compared to 8 of 12 for UCM.
  (Dec. 6, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods stayed perfect on the season with a 73–66 win over Fort Hays State inside Lee Arena on Saturday afternoon, improving to 10–0 overall and 2–0 in conference play thanks to a powerful second-half turnaround that flipped the momentum and the scoreboard.
The Ichabods trailed 34–33 at halftime after a slow offensive start, shooting just 37.1% from the floor and 2-of-12 from three while Fort Hays State knocked down 47.8% of its shots before the break. Washburn outscored the Tigers 40–32 in the final 20 minutes taking control by attacking the paint, dominating the glass and converting turnovers into points.
Bryson Smith finished with a Washburn-high 22 points while going 11-of-12 at the free-throw line. He added five rebounds, one assist and four steals scoring 15 of his 22 points in the second half, including a perfect 9-of-10 showing at the line in crunch time to secure the win. Dillon
Claussen scored 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and knocking down 7-of-8 free throws while grabbing six rebounds and finishing with a team-best +10 plus/minus when he was on the floor. Claussen drew eight fouls and anchored the inside presence that turned the tide.
Brady Christiansen provided major rebounding help with eight boards, five points, two assists and two steals while going 3-of-4 at the stripe. Washburn collect 38 rebounds overall compared to Fort Hays State's 26, including a 16–3 advantage on the offensive glass that led to 16 second-chance points.
Washburn also forced 21 turnovers, turning them into 20 points, while giving up only 13 points off its own miscues. The scoring edge inside was equally important, outscoring the Tigers 34–24 in the paint and grabbing an eight-point edge in fast-break scoring.
Fort Hays State led for more than 16 minutes, including a 34–33 edge at halftime, and used a 10-point burst in the second half to pull within striking distance late. Lucas Hammeke carried the offense with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 8-of-10 at the line, and Kyle Grill added nine points and four steals. But Washburn's defense limited the Tigers to 39.1% shooting after the break, and their three-point shooting cooled to just 3-of-19 overall.
The decisive stretch came early in the second half when Washburn ripped off a 9–0 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 52–41 with 12:00 to play. Claussen, Smith and Christiansen all scored during that push as the Ichabods took control on both ends — at one point forcing six turnovers in a span of five minutes. The Tigers never fully recovered, getting no closer than four the rest of the way as Washburn converted free throws down the stretch to close out its 10th straight victory to open the season.
Washburn's bench added 16 points with key early contributions from Marcus Glock and Sam Ungashick, and the team finished with six steals in each half along with six total blocked shots. Every Ichabod who played collected at least one rebound, and all but one recorded a point or assist, reflecting the balanced response needed to shake off the early shooting struggles.
  • The Ichabods are 1,718-1,137-2 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 719-328 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 520-104 (.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 step out of MIAA play traveling to San Antonio, Texas for the annual River City Holiday Classic facing No. 4 ranked Lubbock Christian on Dec. 16 and wrapping up the 2025 calendar year with No. 8 ranked West Texas A&M the following day. Washburn then returns to MIAA play hosting Emporia State on Jan. 3 opening the 2026 calendar.