•    The No. 5-ranked at the NCAA Central Region's top-ranked Washburn Ichabods will host Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. in the NCAA Regional semifinals in the first meeting between the two schools in program history.
•    It will mark the second time in as many nights the Ichabods will face someone for the first time in the NCAA regional as Saturday's contest with Harding was the first as well.
•    The winner of the Ichabod/Golden Bears game on Sunday will face the winner of the Winona State/MSU-Moorhead contest at 7 p.m. on March 18 in the NCAA Regional championship game with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.
•    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 17-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament play going 6-3 in home contest.
•    Washburn is 11-6 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and 14-13 overall in NCAA regional contests.
•    The Ichabods are 1-1 all-time against foes from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the NCAA Tournament topping Minnesota Duluth 83-73 on March 12, 2022 in Sioux Falls and 0-1 against Northern State falling 91-75 in Maryville, Mo. on March 10, 2018 … both games were in the first round of 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' 27 wins this season is tied for seventh 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 1,305 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 went over the 1,000-point mark in his Washburn career against Harding in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and now has 1,001 becoming the 29th member of the Ichabod 1,000 point club … in 126 career games as an Ichabod and he is third on the career blocks chart with 102… he is also second all-time in steals with 162 trailing all-time leader Will McNeill who had 247 from 2008-13 … Keegan also went over the 200-assist mark the earlier this season … in reaching 1,000 career points, Keegan is now the second Ichabod to have at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocks, 100 steals and 100 assists joining only Ewan Auguste … he is also now the third member of the Ichabod 1,000 point / 100 block list joining Ewan Auguste and Brady Skeens … and he is now the 14th member of the 1,000 point / 500 rebound chart and the ninth member of the 1,000 point / 100 steals grouping.
•    Jack Bachelor is 15th 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 106… his 106 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 288 3-point attempts is the Ichabod single season record.
•    Brady Christiansen is 39th on the Ichabod all-time 3-pointers chart with 67 and 16th all-time in rebounds with 560.
•    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 .856 (89-104) free throw percentage is sixth on the Ichabod single season chart  and his 163 assists this season is sixth 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 69 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 163 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 225 free throw attempts is 10th as well trailing Buie's 371 from the 1996-97 season.
•    The Ichabod scoring average of 86.7 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 66.6 is 12th all-time on the Ichabod single season chart.
•    The Ichabod scoring margin of 20.1 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 164-78 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 197-111 overall in his 10th 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 Concordia-St. Paul.
 
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL HEAD COACH MATT FLETCHER ...
•    is 44-84 in his fifth season as the Golden Bears coach and he is 120-117 overall in his ninth season as head coach.
•    Fletcher has played a game against the Ichabods in his freshman season as a player at Southwest Minnesota State …the Ichabods won the game 65-58 in Honolulu, Hawaii …Fletcher was 0-1 from the field with three rebounds as a starter playing 17 minutes.
•    a native of North Branch, Minnesota, Fletcher is the 10th head coach in the institution's era as a 4-year college basketball program since 1967, and the 19th in institution history dating back to 1912 to include its prep and junior college eras.
•    A graduate of Southwest Minnesota State University, Fletcher set the career records at SMSU for three-pointers made (305), free throw percentage (.853, now 2nd) and is second in career three-point percentage (.448) while holding single season records in free throw shooting (.913) and ranks second and fifth with 48.0 and 45.5 percent three-point junior and sophomore seasons. His 1,375 career points rank ninth on the Mustangs' career scoring charts and he was a three-time All-NSIC Second Team selection. In his career, Fletcher played on winning teams as a sophomore (15-14), junior (20-10) and senior (17-12).
•    is 0-0 against Washburn.
  •    The Golden Bears are 22-8 this season and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional semifinals with an 83-71 win over conference foe Minot State on March 15.
•    CSP is led by senior guard Antwan Kimmons who leads the team with a scoring average of 25.2 ppg … his 756 points so far this season are a program record, shattering his own record of 591 from the 2022-23 season. His 253 free throws attempted and 188 free throws made are both program records, and his 262 field goals are also a school record. His 2024-25 scoring average of 25.2 points per game is also the highest in a single season in CSP history.
•    Marcus Skeete is scoring 15.3 ppg while Ben Kopetzki is scoring 13.8 ppg and Cade Meyer is scoring 13.6 ppg … Skeete is averaging a team-high 7.9 rpg.
  •    The Ichabods have never faced Concordia-St. Paul in program history.
  The NCAA meeting on March 16 will be the first between the two schools.
  (March 15, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 5-ranked Washburn Ichabods moved into the NCAA Central regional semifinals with an 85-57 win over Harding in Lee Arena on Saturday. .
Washburn (27-3) opened the game on an 11 to 2 run holding Harding scoreless the first 5:08 of the game. The Ichabods would go on to lead by as many as 18 in the first half with 5:16 to using a 10 to 2 spurt leading 35-17. Washburn went on to lead at the break 41-25 after shooting 57 percent from the field.
As in the first half, the Ichabods jumped on the Bison (22-10) with a big run to start the frame as Washburn scored 17 of the first 21 points of the second half building a lead of 58-30 and would go on to lead by as many as 35 at 85-50 before the Bison scored the final seven points of the game cutting the final margin to 28.
Dillon Claussen scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first half hitting 6 of 7 shots from the field adding six boards which tied for the game-high as well. Jacob Hanna scored 13 and Sam Ungashick scored a season-high 13 off the bench. Jack Bachelor scored 12 and Brayden Shorter scored 10. Bachelor also added five assists and six boards. Michael Keegan became the 29th member of the Ichabod 1,000-point club with his first half lay up.
Rylie Marshall scored 16 to lead the Bison.
Washburn finished 56 percent from the field hitting 33 of 59 shots while holding the Bison to 21 of 57 shooting for a 37 percent clip.
Washburn dominated the glass 38 to 21 over the Bison. Washburn bench also outscored the Bison bench 39 to 17.
  •    The Ichabods are 17-16 in the NCAA Tournament.
•    The Ichabods are 6-3 in home games and 14-13 overall in the NCAA regional.
•    The Ichabods are 3-7 in NCAA Regional second round games.
•    The Ichabods are looking to snap a five-game losing streak in the NCAA second round … Washburn's last win in the round came in the regional final (when there were only six teams in the regional) on March 10, 2001 in a 67-61 win over Northwest Missouri.
•    Washburn reached the 2001 NCAA Championship game falling to Kentucky Wesleyan 72-63 on March 24 in Bakersfield, Calif. •    The Ichabods are 1,703-1,136-2 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 513-104 (.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/Golden Bears game on Sunday will face the winner of the Winona State/MSU-Moorhead contest at 7 p.m. on March 18 in the NCAA Regional championship game with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.