• The No. 5-ranked Washburn Ichabods will host the No. 17-ranked MSU Moorhead on Tuesday night in the NCAA Sweet 16 with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.
• The Ichabods are looking for their fourth trip to the NCAA Elite Eight joining the 1993, 1994 and 2001 Washburn squads. MSU Moorhead is looking for its second trip joining its 2015 team.
• MSU Moorhead enters the game 25-8 overall and winners of their last 13 games … the Dragons advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 70-59 win over NSIC foe Winona State.
• 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 18-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament play going 7-3 in home contest.
• The Ichabods are 2-1 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 Concordia-St. Paul last time out and 0-1 against Northern State falling 91-75 in Maryville, Mo. on March 10, 2018.
• 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' 28 wins this season is tied for fourth 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.
• Former longtime Ichabod head coach and athletic director and Washburn Hall of Fame member Glenn Cafer spent one season as the head coach at MSU Moorhead going 13-10 during the 1961-62 season before going coming to Washburn where he went 170-145 over 12 seasons.
• 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 1,321 career points in 13th 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 1,005 becoming the 29th member of the Ichabod 1,000 point club … in 127 career games as an Ichabod and he is third on the career blocks chart with 103… he is also second all-time in steals with 163 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 14th in the nation and leading the MIAA in assist to turnover radio at 2.90 and he is 12th in total assists at 168 and 17th in assists per game with 5.4.
• The Ichabods are third in the nation in rebound margin at +9.7, seventh in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.8 percent, 22nd in scoring defense allowing 67.0 ppg, third in scoring margin at +20.0 and seventh in free throws made per game at 18.4.
• Jacob Hanna is 14th in the nation in free throws made with 172 and seventh in attempts with 240 leading the MIAA.
• Andrew Orr is 12th in the nation in field goal percentage at 63.6 leading the MIAA.
• Michael Keegan is 14th in the nation and leading the MIAA in steals with 70 and he is ranked 21st in the nation in steals per game at 2.26 per game.
• Brayden Shorter is sixth in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 3.48 and he's ranked fourth in total 3-pointers made at 108 … 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 70 and 13th all-time in rebounds with 566.
• 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 .858 (91-106) free throw percentage is eighth on the Ichabod single season chart  and his 168 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 70 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 172 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 … Hanna's 240 free throw attempts is fifth trailing Buie's 371 from the 1996-97 season.
• The Ichabod scoring average of 87.0 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 20.0 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 165-78 in his eighth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 198-111 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 0-1 against MSU Moorhead.
 
MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD HEAD COACH TIM BERGSTRASER ...
• is in his third season as the head men's basketball coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead going 75-21. He was named to the post in May 2022.
• MSUM went 25-7 in 2022-23, including a 17-5 mark in NSIC competition.
• The Dragons secured their second consecutive NSIC Tournament championship with a resounding win over Minnesota Duluth in the tournament title game. MSUM would go on to compete at the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Maryville, Mo.
• is 1-0 against the Ichabods.
  • MSU Moorhead is looking for its second trip to the Elite Eighth joining its 2015 team.
• The Dragons are 25-8 this season and have a 13-game winning streak which is the third-longest streak in the nation … the Dragons have also won their last five true road contests which is the 13th-longest streak in the D2 ranks currently … the Dragons' last lost came on Jan. 25, 2025 in a 73-68 overtime loss at Wayne State (Neb.) … MSUM also had a losing streak of  five games in a row from Jan. 3 to Jan. 17.
• Carson Johnson leads five Dragons who are averaging double figures at 19.9 ppg. Logan Kinsey is scoring 14.8 ppg followed by Jacob Beeninga at 13.6 ppg, Jacob Jennissen at 12.0 ppg and a team-high 8.5 rpg and JaMir Price is scoring 10.5 ppg.
• The Dragons are averaging 75.7 ppg while allowing 67.7 per contest while holding a 36.9 to 31.1 rebound advantage of their opponents.
  • The Ichabods have only faced the Dragons once in program history - a 79-77 loss to the Dragons on Nov. 12, 2023 in Kansas City at the Central Regional Challenge in Municipal Auditorium.
  Nov. 12, 2023 -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods battled back from a 10-point deficit with 3:46 to go in the game and had a chance to tie the score with under a second to go but the Ichabods came up short in a 79-77 loss to Minnesota State Moorhead in its final game of the Central Regional Challenge on Sunday afternoon in Municipal Auditorium. 
With the Ichabods (1-1) down 73-63, Andrew Orr scored on a layup and after the teams traded free throws, Michael Keegan scored three-straight points for Washburn. The first coming on a free throw with 2:35 to go and then on a driving lay up with 1:49 remaining cutting the lead back to five at 74-69.
Sam Ungashick hit a lay-up of his own with 1:20 to play trimming the lead down to three at 74-71. After a Dragons (2-0) free throw with 41 seconds to play that stretched their lead back to four, Orr connected on another lay-up pulling Washburn back to two points down with 29 seconds to go.
After two more charities by the Dragons to go up 77-73, Jarmell Johnson hit a free throw followed by a free throw by MSUM pushing the lead back to four at 78-74. Brady Christiansen hit a guarded 3-pointer with five seconds to go as Washburn cut the lead back to one point. After a foul by Washburn, the Dragons hit one of two free throws and Johnson was fouled on a drive with 0.3 seconds to play. The Ichabods missed the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but did not secure the ball in the 2-point loss. Overall, the Dragons hit 4 of 6 free throws in the final 21 seconds.
The game was tied at 36 at the break as the Ichabods shot 50 percent from the field and hit 6 of 8 3-pointers, but committed 13 turnovers in the first half and 21 for the game compared to eight for the Dragons overall.
Christiansen led the Ichabods with 18 points adding six rebounds going 4 of 6 from deep pacing five Washburn players in double figures. Sam Ungashick scored 13 with six points and Jack Bachelor had 11 points and a game-high five assists. Orr finished with 10 points and eight boards and Jake Schadegg had 10 points.
Jacob Beeninga led the Dragons with 20 points.
Washburn finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field on 25 of 49 shooting connecting on 52 percent in the second half on 12 of 23 shooting. Washburn was 14 of 24 from the free throw line in the second half going 18 of 30 overall.
  (March 16, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 5 Washburn Ichabod basketball team will play for the NCAA Central Regional Championship for the first time since 2001 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena after shooting a blistering 58 percent in the second half from the field to pull away in a 94-78 win over Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday in Lee Arena.
With the Ichabods leading 69-64, after a 3-pointer miss by the Golden Bears, Jacob Hanna pulled down the rebound and kicked it to Michael Keegan who threw down a monster dunk as Lee Arena exploded reaching a decimal reading of 114.7 pushing Washburn to a 10-point lead with 7:53 to play. Concordia-St. Paul trimmed the lead to eight with 5:20 to go but the Ichabods outscored the Golden Bears (22-9) over the next 3:55 building a 91-74 lead with 85 seconds to play rolling to the 16-point win.
Washburn (28-3) led 43-37 at the break after shooting 48 percent from the field holding the Golden Bears to 37 percent shooting as the Ichabods started the game on a 17 to 7 run in the first 4:34 of the game hitting 6 of 8 shots including 2 of 3 from deep while the Bears were 2 of 8 starting the game from the field.
Washburn was led by Jacob Hanna scored 24 points recording his second double double of the season adding 10 rebounds. Jacob Bachelor scored 21 with five assists and Andrew Orr finished with 16 adding five boards. Dillon Claussen reached double figures for the second-straight game scoring 10 points with five boards and four blocks.
Antwan Kimmons led the Golden Bears with 25 points and Marcus Skeete scored 17.
Washburn and CSP recorded the same number of rebounds at 36, but Washburn shot 53 percent from the field (33 of 62) while the Golden Bears ended at 44 percent (29 of 65). The Ichabods were 9 of 17 from deep and Washburn hit 19 of 26 free throws in the win.
  • The Ichabods are 18-16 in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Ichabods are 7-3 in home games and 5-13 overall in the NCAA regional.
• The Ichabods are 3-7 in NCAA Regional second round games.
• The Ichabods snapped a five-game losing streak in the NCAA second round with the win over Concordia-St. Paul.
• Washburn reached the 2001 NCAA Championship game falling to Kentucky Wesleyan 72-63 on March 24 in Bakersfield, Calif. • The Ichabods are 1,704-1,136-2 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 708-328 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 514-104 (.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/Dragon game on Tuesday will to the NCAA Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind. and the National Quarterfinals. There will be a welcome banquet on March 23. The National Quarterfinals game will be played on March 25 followed by the National Semifinals on March 27 and the National Championship game on March 29.