• The currently No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods will play their final two non-conference games of the season with a pair of top-10 ranked opponents starting with No. 4 Lubbock Christian on Tuesday at 11 a.m. followed by No. 8 West Texas A&M on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the River City Classic in San Antonio, Texas on the campus of St. Mary's.
• Washburn moved to 11-0 (3-0 MIAA) after a come-from-behind, double overtime win over Central Missouri on Dec. 13 in a 78-72 victory.
• Lubbock Christian fell for the first time this season in an 87-83 loss at Cameron last time dropping its record to 9-1 on the season.
• The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Chapps 1-0 after winning the only meeting on Nov. 26, 2016 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• West Texas A&M is 10-0 after defeating UT-Dallas 94-82 last time out on Dec. 13.
• Washburn is 2-1 all-time against the Buffs falling in the last meeting 98-93 in overtime in Las Vegas in Brett Ballard's second season at the helm of the Ichabod program.
• The Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA putting up 91.9 ppg just behind Missouri Southern's 92.6 ppg.
• Defensively, the Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring defense allowing 60.7 ppg behind Fort Hays State's 60.1 ppg.
• The Ichabods are likely to move into the No. 1 ranking in the NABC poll this week after Nova Southeastern fell to Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 13 in an 88-83 loss.
• 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 +31.2 ppg and seventh in field goal percentage at 51.7 percent - also leading the MIAA …Washburn is also eighth in assists per game (19.5), seventh in assist/turnover ration (1.68) and 16th in effective field goal percentage (.574) and first in rebound margin (+13.6) … Washburn is also second in eighth defense (60.7 ppg), fifth in fastbreak points (22.1 ppg), fourth in defensive field goal percentage (.363) and seventh in turnover margin (+7.5)
• Washburn has not been outrebounded in a game.
• Dillon Claussen is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 69.1 leading the MIAA … Jeremiah Jones is first the nation in total steals with 37 and is ranked seventh in steals per game at 3.36 per contest.
• Jack Bachelor is 16th in the nation in total assists with 55 and fourth in assist to turnover ration at 3.93 to 1.
• The Ichabods' 11-game winning streak is second in the nation behind Daemen who has won its last 12.
  • Washburn moved to 46-40 all-time in overtime games and 1-3 against Central Missouri in overtime games.
• Washburn is now 4-5 in double overtime games playing its first double overtime game since an 82-75 win over Missouri Southern in Topeka on Feb. 4, 2006.
• Dillon Claussen tied a career-high with four blocks and his 14 field goal attempts were a career-high as were his two 3-pointers.
• Dillon Claussen played a career-high 40 minutes in the game including all 10 in the two overtime periods.
• Marcus Glock recorded a career-high seven rebounds against the Mules.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 178-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 211-109 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 0-0 against Lubbock Christian and 0-1 against West Texas A&M.
   
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN HEAD COACH TODD DUNCAN...
• is 278-144 in his 15th season as the Chaps head coach.
• has led the team to seven NCAA South Central Regional appearances overall, including each of the last five years and two Lone Star Conference Championships. He has coach 43 All-Conference selections in his Lubbock Christian tenure.
•  last season he led the Chaps to an LSC West Division title and a second-straight appearance in the LSC Tournament Championship game. His son, Ethan, highlighted six All-LSC Performers as the league's Player of the Year and was eventually named an NABC All-American. The Chaps finished 25-9 overall.
• he is 0-1 against the Ichabods.
  
WEST TEXAS HEAD COACH TOM BROWN ...
• is in his 12th season at the helm of the West Texas A&M men's basketball program, has built the Buffs into one of the elite NCAA Division II programs in the nation. He has guided WT to nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021.
• was hired as the 17th head coach in program history on April 16, 2014. In the past 10 seasons, Coach Brown and his staff are 274-62 (.815) and an average of 27 wins a season with appearances in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four (2) and National Title game. During his time in Canyon, Brown is 293-75 (.796) overall and 155-43 (.783) in league action. 
• he is 1-0 against the Ichabods.
  • The Chaps are 9-1 overall and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference after falling last time out 87-83 at Cameron.
• LCU was ranked No. 8 in the latest NABC Coaches Poll on Dec. 9.
• Amondo Miller, Jr. leads five Chaps in double figure scoring at 22.6 ppg hitting 20 of 43 3-point attempts. Kendal Dow is scoring 14.9 ppg while Antonio Pusateri is scoring 13.5 ppg, Alex Anamekwe is scoring 12.2 ppg and Lucas Mercandino is scoring 11.2 ppg.
• As a team the Chaps are averaging 82.4 ppg while allowing 67.5 ppg.
  • The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Chapps 1-0 after winning the only meeting on Nov. 26, 2016 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  (Nov. 26, 2016) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The Washburn Ichabods survived a late comeback and a pair of furious runs by Lubbock Christian in a 65-63 improving to 6-0 on the season. The win was Ichabod head coach Bob Chipman's 794th of his career.
Washburn jumped out to leads to 6-0 and 13-2 before the Chaps rallied cutting the lead to two at 15-13 with 11 minutes to play in the first half.
The Chapps then ripped off a 17-3 run to take a seven point lead over the break and took as lead at 39-31 with 17:56 to play in the game. Washburn came back with a 14-6 run of its own to take a 43-42 lead but LCU took the lead back by one at 46-45 before the Ichabods took the lead for good on a jumper by Brady Skeens at 47-46 jump starting an 11-0 run over the next 4:20 pushing the lead to 10 at 56-46.
However the Chaps (2-5) didn't go away as they trimmed Washburn's lead to one at 64-63 with five seconds to play. After a foul by LCU, Javion Blake hit 1 of 2 free throws locking up the 65-63 win for Washburn.
Randall Smith led the Ichabods with 14 points adding two assists and three rebounds and Cameron Wiggins and David Salach each had 13. Skeens finished with eight points and 13 rebounds adding three blocks.
Washburn shot 45 percent from the game hitting 6 of 19 3-pointers, but only 5 of 12 free throws.
The Chaps were 38 percent from the field hitting 25 of 66 overall and 7 of 20 3-pointers with 6 of 8 on free throw attempts.
  • The Buffs are 10-0 this season and own three wins over MIAA foes opening the season with an 87-75 win over Missouri Western, a 76-70 win over Pittsburg State and an 81-70 win over Central Oklahoma.
• WTAMU is coming off a 94-92 win over UT-Dallas last time out.
• Fontaine Williams leads the team in scoring at 19.0 ppg hitting 19 of 49 3-point attempts while Brock Mishak is scoring 10.8 ppg, Camden Cowgill is scoring 10.7 ppg and James Parlow, Jr. is scoring 10.6 ppg. Williams is a Wichita native and transferred from Barton County as did Parlow to the Buffs.
• WTAMU is scoring 94.1 ppg this season while allowing 74.8 ppg.
  • The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Buffs 2-1 and have not played since Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard's second season on the Ichabod bench.
• WTAMU won the last meeting 98-93 in overtime in Las Vegas on Dec. 17, 2018.
• Washburn's two wins have both came in the NCAA regional tournament winning 75-73 on March 14, 2003 in Stephenville, Texas and on March 9, 2001 in Topeka in an 86-61 win.
  (Dec. 17, 2018) LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Washburn Ichabods had their six-game winning streak snapped in an overtime loss to No. 13-ranked West Texas A&M falling 98-93.
To end regulation, the Buffs (10-2), tied the score at 86 with 1:40 remaining, but neither team scored the remainder of the way. To open the overtime period, Washburn went up five at 91-86 after a 3-pointer by Will McKee and a jumper by David Salach, but WTAM went on a 5-0 run of its own tying the score at 91 with 1:45 to go.
Tyler Geiman tied the score at 92 after a free throw, but the Ichabods were shutout the rest of the game missing its final four shots while the Buffaloes hit 4 of 6 free throws to seal the win.
The Ichabods were led by Javion Blake who scored 19 points and Will McKee recorded a double double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Jalen Lewis had a career-high with 16 points adding five rebounds. Devyn Wilson scored 10 and Tyler Geiman had 10 points with seven assists and nine rebounds.
For the game, washburn was 32 of 64 from the field shooting 53 percent each half, but cooling off to 2 of 9 in the extra session. The Buffaloes were 31 of 66 from the field and hit only 3 of 6 shots in the overtime period, but hit 6 of 8 free throws compared to 2 of 2 for Washburn. Overall WT was 30 of 43 from the line while the Ichabods were 20 of 27.
There were a total of 50 fouls called in the game with 28 coming against the Ichabods.
Washburn's bench outscored the Buffs' bench 33 to 5. Washburn finished with 14 turnovers committing five in the second half.
  (Dec. 13, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 2-ranked Washburn erased multiple deficits and outlasted Central Missouri in a double-overtime thriller 78-72 on Saturday afternoon at Lee Arena to remain unbeaten as Brady Christian scored eight points in the second overtime to move Washburn to 11-0 overall and 3-0 in MIAA play.
The Ichabods leaned on balanced scoring, timely defense and clutch execution over the final 10 minutes in the two overtime periods, finishing the game with a decisive 15-9 advantage in the second overtime after the teams were deadlocked at 63 following the first extra period.
Washburn trailed by as many as seven points in the first half but closed the opening period strong and carried that momentum into the second half, where the game tightened into a possession-by-possession battle. Washburn shot 42.3 percent in the second half and forced key turnovers late to send the game to overtime tied at 56.
In the first overtime, Washburn matched Central Missouri point for point, shooting 46.2 percent and knocking down four three-pointers. Dillon Claussen sparked the Ichabods with aggressive drives and a go-ahead three-point play late in the period, while Jeremiah Jones delivered momentum-shifting defense recording seven steals in the game leading directly to transition points. Still, the teams finished the extra session even at 7-7, forcing a second overtime.
Washburn took control for good in the second overtime. Claussen opened the period with a free throw and followed with strong finishes at the rim as part of a game-defining 9-0 run that stretched the lead to six. Christiansen and Jack Bachelor combined to go 7-of-10 at the foul line in the second overtime, while Claussen capped the run with a fast-break dunk off a Jones steal to push the margin to 78-69 in the final seconds. Washburn shot 50.0 percent in the second overtime and outscored Central Missouri 15-9 in the decisive frame.
Claussen led all Washburn scorers with 21 points, adding seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks in 40 minutes. Jones finished with 13 points and seven steals. Bachelor chipped in 16 points, while Christiansen added 12 points overall with a team-high eight rebounds. Tyson Ruud provided a spark off the bench with nine points and seven boards.
As a team, Washburn held a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint, turned 23 Central Missouri turnovers into key scoring opportunities and finished with a 19-11 edge in fast-break points. Washburn outscored the Mules 12-0 in the paint in the overtime periods and hit 7 of 10 free throws in overtime. Washburn also forced the Mules into five turnovers in the overtime frames while committing zero in the extra minutes.
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. • The Ichabods are 1,719-1,137-2 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 720-328 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 521-104 (.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 returns to MIAA play hosting Emporia State on Jan. 3 opening the 2026 calendar.