• The No. 4-ranked Washburn Ichabod basketball team returns to Lee Arena hosting Central Oklahoma on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
• The Ichabods are looking to snap a two-game slide entering the contest with a 22-2 record going 13-2 in the MIAA after falling at Northeastern State 88-84 on Feb. 15 in Tahlequah.
• The Bronchos are 14-10 and 8-7 in the MIAA after dropping a 102-92 decision at Rogers State last time out. The game marked the second contest in a row the Bronchos had scored 92 points following a 92-60 win against Missouri Western on Feb. 8.
• Saturday's meeting with Central Oklahoma will be the only one between the two schools this season in the regular season.
• The Ichabods are 12-3 all-time against the Bronchos in games played in Topeka winning the last eight in a row played in Lee Arena. Washburn's last home loss to the Bronchos came on Feb. 20, 2016 in a 71-60 loss.
• The Ichabods have been in the top five for 12-straight weeks for the first time in program history.
• The Ichabods finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-11 record advancing to the MIAA Tournament semifinals.
• The Ichabods have recorded 31, 20-win seasons and five 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.
  Thursday, Feb. 20 vs Central Oklahoma
• Silent Auction – Exclusive Player Worn Warm Up Shirts that will be auctioned off to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Each player will have their own unique shirt featuring their name, number, signature, and the Stormont Vail Logo.
(The silent auction will be in-person only, with bid sheets set up for each individual player's shirt. The auction will start when doors open for the women's game, and close at halftime of the men's game.) We will notify the winners via text/email, and they will be able to pickup their shirts the same night of the games.
• Fundraising goal of $500 to help a local family in need.
• 200 FREE Pink Out T-Shirts – First Come, First Serve!
• Bucket Pass Donations during both games
• Cancer Screening Info Provided By Stormont Vail & American Cancer Society
 
Saturday, Feb. 20 vs Rogers State
• Senior Day - Four Ichabod seniors - Andrew Orr, Michael Keegan, Jake Schadegg and Jacob Hanna will all be honored before the game.
• The SAAC Teddy Bear Toss will be happening during halftime of the men's game. Fans can bring a teddy bear to the game or buy one at the door for $5. All stuffed animals will be donated to the local Toys for Tots.
  • The Ichabods have 1,698 all-time program wins in. The Ichabods would be the seventh NCAA D2 program to reach the 1,700 win mark. The last team to win at least 1,700 games was Fort Hays State earlier this season
• Against Northeastern State last time out, six players scored in double-figures against the Ichabods … it was the first time that had happen to a Washburn team since Missouri Southern had six player reach double figures on Dec. 6, 2014.
• 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 1,231 career points sitting in 15th all-time passing Brady Skeens against Northeastern State last time out … next on the scoring chart in 14th is former Ichabod Eric Carter with 1,241 career points from 1997-2001.
• Michael Keegan has 954 career points in 120 career games as an Ichabod and he has moved past Bobby Chipman into fifth place on the career blocks chart with 97 … he is also third all-time in steals with 153 needing four more to pass Jordan Canfield who had 156 from 1992-97 … Keegan also went over the 200-assist mark against the earlier this season.
• Jack Bachelor is 11th in the nation and leading the MIAA in assist to turnover radio at 3.17, 15th in total assists at 133 and 15th in assists per game with 5.5.
• The Ichabods are fifth in the nation in rebound margin at +9.7, seventh in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent, 16th in scoring defense allowing 66.2 ppg and third in scoring margin at +20.1.
• Jacob Hanna is 39th in the nation in free throws made with 118 and 21st in attempts with 166 leading the MIAA.
• Andrew Orr is 13th in the nation in field goal percentage at 63.7 leading the MIAA.
• Michael Keegan is 10th in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 60 and he is ranked 11th in steals per game at 2.50 per game.
• Brayden Shorter is third in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.67 and he's ranked fifth in total 3-pointers made at 88 … his 88 3-pointers this the most in program history on the Ichabod sophomore record chart passing Todd Alexander who hit 83 during the 1990-91 season and his total is third on the Ichabod single-season chart trailing  Randy Stats (89 in 1996-97) and the single-season record holder Maurice Lamar (113 in 1991-92).
• The Ichabods have recorded their 31st, 20-win season and fifth under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his eighth season at the helm earlier this season.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 159-77 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 192-110 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 8-6 against Central Oklahoma.
 
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH BOB HOFFMAN ...
• is 108-63 in his eighth season as the Bronchos' head coach and 627-384 in his 31st year overall as a head coach.
• came to UCO from Mercer, where he led the Bears of Macon, Ga. to 209 wins in his 11-year stint there.
• Hoffman won 209 games at Mercer from 2008-19, including 119 conference games. He led the Bears to its first ever NCAA Tournament win in 2014 – a major upset of Duke in the opening round of March Madness. And he also became the first coach in NCAA history to win a tournament game in all four Division I postseason tournaments in a four-year span.
• is 4-5 against Washburn.
  • The Bronchos are 14-10 overall and 8-7 in the MIAA after losing at Rogers State 102-92.
• UCO's Israel Hart is sixth in the MIAA in scoring at 15.6 ppg leading the team and Jacobi Sebock is second in the MIAA in rebounding at 7.4 rpg adding 13.8 ppg. JV Seat is scoring 12.9 ppg and Jordan Thompson is scoring 11.8 ppg.
• The Bronchos are second in the MIAA to the Ichabods in scoring offense averaging 82.2 ppg and they are eighth in scoring defense allowing 72.5 ppg.
  • Thursday's meeting will be the 41st in the series history which is tied 20-20.
• Washburn has won 10 of the last 15 meetings after UCO won the last meeting.
• The Ichabods lost the first match up as MIAA schools on Jan. 5, 2013 in a 72-67 loss in Edmond and in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2013 in a 99-88 defeat in Kansas City.
• Washburn's two highest-scoring combined games in school history came against UCO. In 1992 the two teams scored 246 points (132-114, UCO) and in 1998 they scored 218 points (111-107, UCO).
• In the Jan. 13, 2018 meeting, the 49 points was the fewest by the Ichabods in a win in the shot clock era and the 96 combined points were the second fewest scored by Washburn and its opponent in the shot clock era.
• In 40 all-time meetings, the Ichabods have averaged 76.4 points per game with the Bronchos.
• WU is 12-3 in games against UCO in Topeka winning the last eight games in Lee Arena … UCO's last win in Topeka came on Feb. 20, 2016 in a 71-60 victory.
  (Feb. 15, 2025) TAHLEQUAH, Okla. --  The NSU Events Center continued to be a house of horrors for the Washburn Ichabods as the No. 1-ranked squad fell 88-84 losing their fourth in a row to the RiverHawks in Tahlequah.
For the second-straight game the Ichabods led at the break by four leading Northeastern State 40-36 despite the RiverHawks shooting 60 percent from the field in the opening period hitting 15 of 25 shots while the Ichabods were 15 of 35 for 43 percent.
In the second half, the Ichabods (22-2, 13-2 MIAA) led by as many as eight points with 14:12 to go on a layup by Jack Bachelor who scored 10 in the second half. A 17 to 6 run by the RiverHawks that finished with back-to-back 3-pointers put NSU up 62-60 with 10:22 to go.
The RiverHawks (14-10, 8-7 MIAA) pushed their lead to five at 82-77 with 3:00 to go, but a Brayden Shorter 3-pointer cut the lead to 82-80 17 seconds later. NSU hit a pair of free throws then after two free throws by Bachelor and Jacob Hanna pulled the Ichabods within one at 85-84 with 33 seconds left, NSU scored a basket with 26 seconds to go and a free throw with 18 to go to wrap up the game.
Shorter scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half hitting five 3-pointers leading five Ichabods in double figures. Andrew Orr had 15 with eight boards before fouling out. Bachelor finished with 14 and Hanna had 12 points with nine assists and five rebounds. Dillon Claussen had 10 points off the bench
Six players reach double digits for the RiverHawks led by the MIAA's leading scorer Trey Phipps, who had 20 points.
After shooting 60 percent in the first half, the RiverHawks shot a blistering 70 percent in the second half going 16 of 22 from 2-point range (72 percent) finishing at 65 percent for the game hitting 34 of 52 shots overall. Washburn shot 47 percent hitting 29 of 62 shots overall. The Ichabods were 18 of 23 from the free throw line compared to 15 of 19 for the RiverHawks.
Washburn outrebounded the RiverHawks 30 to 24 recording 16 offensive rebounds scoring 16 second chance points. NSU outscored the Ichabods 54 to 36 in the paint. • The Ichabods are 1,698-1,135-2 all-time in the 119th year in the program's history.
• Washburn is the seventh-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
• Washburn is 705-327 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 31 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 510-104 (.831) 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 wrap up the home regular season slate hosting Rogers State on Feb. 22 for senior day. Washburn will end the regular season with road games at Pittsburg State on Feb. 26 and Missouri Southern on March 1.