• For the first time in 24 years, the Washburn Ichabods are the host team of an NCAA regional as the Ichabods will host Harding on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabod/Bisons match up will be the first in program history for the two teams.
• The winner of the Washburn/Harding contest will face the winner of the No. 4 seed Minot State and No. 5 seed Concordia St. Paul on Sunday night at 5 p.m. in the NCAA Central Regional semifinals.
• The Ichabods enter the NCAA regional tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time since the 2000-01 season when the Ichabods reached the national championship game in Bakersfield, Calif.
• The Ichabods are 16-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament play going 5-3 in home contest.
• Washburn is 10-6 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and 13-13 overall in NCAA regional contests.
• The Ichabods have never faced a Great American Conference team in the NCAA Tournament.
• The last time the Ichabods hosted the NCAA Regional it was the South Central Bracket and a six-team regional. After a first-round bye, Washburn defeated West Texas A&M 86-61 on March 9, 2001 in an 86-61 win and then on the following night, the Ichabods defeated Northwest Missouri 67-61 in front of more than 4,000 in attendance to advance to the Elite Eight.
• The Ichabods clinched their 11th MIAA regular season championship after their 90-60 win over Rogers State on Senior Day on Feb. 22.
• The Ichabods' 26 wins this season is tied for eighth on the Ichabod program single-season chart.
• The Ichabods recorded a program-best 17 wins during the MIAA season this year.
• The Ichabods have been in the top five in the national rankings for 15-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.
  • The Ichabods recorded their 1,700th all-time program against Rogers State earlier this season. The Ichabods are the seventh NCAA D2 program to reach the 1,700 win mark.
• 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 1,296 career points in 14th all-time now trailing Greg Wilson who scored 1,323 points from 1985-89 … in collecting his 504th career rebound at the MIAA Tournament last weekend, Orr became the 13th member of the Ichabod 1,000-point/500 rebound club.
• Michael Keegan has 999 career points in 125 career games as an Ichabod and he is third on the career blocks chart with 101… he is also second all-time in steals with 160 trailing all-time leader Will McNeill who had 247 from 2008-13 … Keegan also went over the 200-assist mark the earlier this season … after reaching 1,000 career points, Keegan would become the second Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocks, 100 steals and 100 assists joining Ewan Auguste … with one more point he would be the third member of the Ichabod 1,000 point / 100 block list joining Ewan Auguste and Brady Skeens … he would also become the 14th member of the 1,000 point / 500 rebound chart and the eighth member of the 1,000 point / 100 steals grouping.
• Jack Bachelor is 16th in the nation and leading the MIAA in assist to turnover radio at 2.93 and he is 16th in total assists at 158 and 18th in assists per game with 5.4.
• The Ichabods are third in the nation in rebound margin at +9.8, eighth in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.5 percent, 21st in scoring defense allowing 67.0 ppg, third in scoring margin at +19.8 and fifth in free throws made per game at 18.6.
• Jacob Hanna is 16th in the nation in free throws made with 160 and 12th in attempts with 221 leading the MIAA.
• Andrew Orr is 10th in the nation in field goal percentage at 63.9 leading the MIAA.
• Michael Keegan is 17th in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 67 and he is ranked 19th in the nation in steals per game at 2.31 per game.
• Brayden Shorter is fourth in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.59 and he's ranked seventh in total 3-pointers made at 104 … his 104 3-pointers is 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 second on the Ichabod overall single-season chart trailing Maurice Lamar (113 in 1991-92) … Shorter's 280 3-point attempts is the Ichabod single season record.
• Brady Christiansen is 39th on the Ichabod all-time 3-pointers chart with 66 and 16th all-time in rebounds with 555.
• 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.
  • Jack Bachelor's .863 (88-102) free throw percentage i sixth on the Ichabod single season chart  and his 152 assists this season is eighth on the single season chart … Bachelor is the only Ichabod not named Jordan Canfield or Tyler Geiman to be in the top eight of the Ichabod single-season assist chart.
• Michael Keegan's 67 steals this season is fourth on the Ichabod single season chart trailing Bobby Sumler (73 in 1986-87), Will McNeill (76 in 2011-12) and McNeill again with 82 in 2012-13.
• Jacob Hanna's 160 free throws made this season is eighth on the Ichabod single season chart … the single season school record is 249 by Dan Buie during the 1996-97 season … his 221 free throw attempts is 10th as well trailing Buie's 371 from the 1996-97 season.
• The Ichabod scoring average of 86.8 is third all-time on the Ichabod single season chart behind the 1991-92 team with 88.1 and the 1994-95 team with 89.5 ppg.
• The Ichabod defensive scoring average of 67.0 is 15th all-time on the Ichabod single season chart.
• The Ichabod scoring margin of 19.8 this season is the best in program history ahead of the 14.9 scoring margin from the 1991-92 team.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 163-78 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 196-111 overall in his 10th year as a head coach.
• has led the Ichabods to four NCAA postseason appearances in seven 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 Harding.
 
HARDING HEAD COACH WESTON JAMESON ...
• is 34-26 in his second season as the Bisons head coach.
• is in his second stint at Harding after serving as assistant women's basketball coach from 2015-20. He was instrumental in leading the team to 106 wins over five seasons, two regular season conference championships, one conference tournament championship and an appearance in the 2017 Division II Final Four.
• spent the 2021-23 seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at Abilene Christian University in Texas. He helped ACU achieve historic offensive success, ranking fourth nationally in 3-pointers made per game and in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense. Jameson was an assistant women's basketball coach at Arkansas State University for the 2020-21 season. Before his first stint at Harding, Jameson worked as the junior boys head coach and senior boys assistant coach at Central Arkansas Christian School in North Little Rock in 2014-15.
• was a three-year starter and four-year letter winner at point guard for the Harding men's basketball team from 2010-14. He had 474 assists in his time as a Bison, fourth on Harding's career list, and helped lead the Bisons to the 2014 Great American Conference Tournament championship. Jameson played in three NCAA Division II Tournaments during his career.
• is 0-0 against Washburn.
  • Harding is 22-9 this season after going 15-7 in the Great American Conference.
• The Bisons won the GAC Tournament topping Southern Nazarene 75-74 in the title game.
• Keyln McBride scored 27 points, earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors, as Harding claimed its second Great American Conference Tournament title.
• McBride shot 10-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He was perfect in the first half, going 6-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 at the free throw line. Rylie Marshall added 18 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Bisons. Stetson Smithson and Sam Smith joined McBride and Marshall on the All-Tournament Team.
• Keyln McBride, a junior guard, was named to the All-GAC First Team after averaging 15.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, while shooting 52.2% from the field and 48% from 3-point range … Sam Smith, a senior forward, secured a spot on the All-GAC Second Team, averaging 14.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.9% from the field … Rylie Marshall, a junior guard, received Honorable Mention All-GAC recognition, averaging 13.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
  • The Ichabods have never faced Harding before in the NCAA Tournament.
• In fact, the Ichabods have never faced a member of the Great America Conference in the NCAA Tournament before.
  The NCAA meeting on March 15 will be the first between the two schools.
  (March 6, 2025) KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 4-ranked Washburn Ichabods ran into a hot-shooting Central Oklahoma team while shooting a season-low from 3-point range in a 90-84 MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals loss on Thursday in Municipal Auditorium.
Both teams started out slow as the Ichabods led 7-6 at the first media timeout, but the Ichabods would hit 8 of their next 14 shots starting a 25-13 run pushing Washburn to a 32-19 lead with 5:38 to play in the opening half.
From that point on, the Bronchos outscored the Ichabods 25-12 hitting 7 of 8 shots including both 3-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws as the two teams went into the locker room tied at 44. Washburn (26-3) shot 54 percent in the opening half, but the Bronchos (18-12) shot 57 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Washburn came out of the half outscoring the Bronchos 9-4 in the first two-plus minutes taking a 53-48 lead, but UCO used a 13-3 run hitting 4 of 8 shots while the Ichabods were 0 of 10 overall and 0-6 from deep as UCO pushed out to a five-point lead with 10:30 to go.
After a 3-point play from Jacob Hanna that tied the score at 65, UCO's 15-4 spurt stretched the lead to 11 with 3:52 to play. Washburn cut the lead down to five twice with 64 seconds to play, but did not get any closer as UCO hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch securing the win.
Hanna led the Ichabods with a career-high 29 points going 12 of 16 from the field recording a double double with 13 boards adding four assists going 12 of 16 from the free throw line. Andrew Orr finished with 13 points and two steals going 6 of 8 from the field and Jack Bachelor scored 11 with six assists.
JV Seat scored 31 points leading all scorers on 11 of 16 shooting hitting 4 3-pointers.  Israel Hart had 25 as four total Bronchos reached double figures.
Washburn finished 40 percent from the field hitting 6 of 31 3-pointers in the game for a 19 percent average. Washburn was 2 of 19 from deep in the second half. The Bronchos shot 60 percent from the field going 30 of 50 hitting 8 of 17 shots overall and 22 of 31 free throw attempts.
Washburn held a 39 to 31 advantage on the glass grabbing 18 offensive rebounds (six by Hanna) scoring 17 second-chance points.
  • The Ichabods are 16-16 in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Ichabods are 5-3 in home games and 13-13 overall in the NCAA regional.
• Saturday's game with Harding will be the first home NCAA Tournament game since a 67-61 win over Northwest Missouri in the 2001 NCAA South Central regional final.
• The Ichabods are 10-6 in NCAA first round games.
• Washburn reached the 2001 NCAA Championship game falling to Kentucky Wesleyan 72-63 on March 24 in Bakersfield, Calif.
• Michael Keegan has played in four NCAA Tournament games with two starts averaging 5.8 ppg … Andrew Orr has played in one NCAA Tournament game.
    • The seeds for the NCAA Central Regional Tournament are:
1) Washburn (26-3)
2) Minnesota State-Moorhead (23-8)
3) Winona State (21-10)
4) Minot State (26-9)
5) Concordia St. Paul (21-8)
6) Southwest Minnesota State (21-8)
7) Fort Hays State (22-9)
8) Harding (22-9)
 
• Saturday, March 15
Game 1 – 12 p.m. (3 vs 6)
Game 2 – 2:30 p.m. (2 vs 7)
Game 3 – 5:30 p.m. (1 vs 8)
Game 4 – 8 p.m. (4 vs 5)
 
• Sunday, March 16
Game 5 - Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner – 5 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner – 7:30 p.m.
 
• Tuesday, March 18
Game 7 – Game 5 winner vs Game 6 winner - 7 p.m.
  • The Ichabods are 1,702-1,136-2 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 707-328 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 22 conference championships including 11 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 512-104 (.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 winner of the Ichabod/Bison game on Saturday will face the winner of the Minot State/Concordia St. Paul contest at 5 p.m. on March 16 in the NCAA Regional semifinals.