• For the second time in 12 days, the  No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods will take on Emporia State on Thursday, Jan. 15 - this time in Emporia - at 7:30 p.m. in White Auditorium. The game will mark the third in a row of a four-game roadtrip for the Ichabods.
• Washburn improved to 16-0 (6-0 MIAA) - one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division II – after topping Northwest Missouri 76-53 last time out on Jan. 10.
• The Hornets are 5-10 this season and 1-5 in the MIAA after recording an 82-79 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 10 in the MIAA Game of the Week.
• The Ichabods have the No. 3-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA putting up 88.6 ppg just behind Missouri Southern's 89.3 ppg and Northeastern State's 89.0.
• Defensively, the Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring defense allowing 61.0 ppg behind Fort Hays State's 60.0 ppg.
• The Hornets are averaging 77.8 ppg and allowing 76.9 ppg.
• The Hornets are 3-3 in home games this season.
• Washburn is 15-4 playing at the No. 1-ranked team in the country in its NCAA program history.
• 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 +27.6 ppg and are third in field goal percentage at 51.8 percent - also leading the MIAA … Washburn is 12th in assists per game (18.2), 16th in assist/turnover ration (1.48), ninth in effective field goal percentage (.581) and second in rebound margin (+12.6) … Washburn is sixth in scoring defense (61.0 ppg), fourth in fastbreak points (19.8 ppg), fifth in defensive field goal percentage (.380) ninth in turnover margin (+6.4) and ninth in turnovers forced per game (+18.7).
• Washburn has not been outrebounded in a game and have only been tied twice (vs Lubbock Christian and Emporia State).
• Dillon Claussen is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 66.4 which also leads the MIAA … Jeremiah Jones is first the nation in total steals with 53 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.31 per contest.
• Jack Bachelor is 22nd in the nation in total assists with 78 and fourth in assist to turnover ration at 3.39 to 1.
• The Ichabods' 16-game winning streak is second in the nation behind Daemen who has won its last 17.
• The 16-game winning streak is the sixth-longest in program history.
• Washburn's 23-game homecourt winning streak is tied for second in the nation behind Nova Southeastern's 94 wins and Miles' 23 wins.
• The 23-game homecourt winning streak is tied for third for the longest in program history trailing 28 (11/19/93 to 2/8/95); 24 (2/12/03 to 12/5/04) and 23 (11/19/93 to 2/8/95).
  • Dillon Claussen recorded his third double double of the season and third of his Ichabod career with 10 points and 11 rebounds … he has also hit 2 of his last four 3-pointers.
• Brady Christiansen scored 11 points against the Bearcats and has averaged 12 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in the last two contests.
• Tyson Ruud is 6 of 8 from the field in the last two games averaging 6.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg.
• Marcus Glock scored three points with two boards and an assists in his first match up against his former team.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 183-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 216-109 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 10-6 against Emporia State.
   
EMPORIA STATE HEAD COACH TOM BILLETER ...
• is 506-302 in his 28th season as a head coach and is 16-28 in his second season at Emporia State.
• went 394-224 in 21 years at Augustana winning the 2016 National Championship
• led the Vikings to nine NCAA Tournaments, three regular season NSIC Championships, two NSIC Tourney Championships and 18 consecutive winning seasons.
• is 2-5 against Washburn (0-3) and at Augustana (2-2).
  • The Hornets are 5-10 and 1-5 in the MIAA.
• Last time out the Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak topping Nebraska-Kearney 82-79 picking up their first MIAA win of the season.
• Chris Harris leads the Hornets in scoring at 12.8 ppg and Andrew Pengel is scoring 11.8 ppg. Treyvon Taylor leads the team in rebounding at 4.9 per game.
• As a team the Hornets are averaging 77.8 ppg while allowing 76.9 ppg.
  • The meeting on Thursday will be the 223rd meeting between the two schools and the Ichabods lead at 115-108. This is the most-played series for Washburn
• The two teams started the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball, and they have met every year since the 1945-56 season.
• The home team has won 19 of the last 25 meetings.
• The Ichabods are 45-61 against the Hornets on the road.
• Washburn is 5-1 against Emporia State in MIAA Postseason tournament games.
  (Jan. 3, 2026) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 1 Washburn Ichabods used a stifling defense in the second half turning a six-point halftime lead into a 25-point win over Emporia State in a 91-66 victory in their first action of the calendar year improving to 14-0 overall and 4-0 in MIAA play.
Washburn carried a 45–39 lead into halftime after a first half featuring four lead changes and five ties. The Ichabods shot 56.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes and closed the half on a late 10-1 run, scoring in transition and from deep to create separation. Washburn also controlled the tempo early by outscoring Emporia State 24-12 in the paint and 15-4 on fast breaks in the first half.
In the second half, it was all Washburn. The Ichabods opened the half with a 10-0 run in the first two minutes, forcing turnovers on consecutive possessions and converting them into quick baskets pushing the lead to 52–39. Washburn matched its first half shooting at 56.7 percent after the break and connected on 7-of-11 from three-point range, stretching the advantage to as many as 28 points late in the game.
Jeremiah Jones paced Washburn with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. He added four assists and four steals. Dillon Claussen finished with 16 points, four steals and three blocks and Jack Bachelor scored 16 points as well, hitting four 3-pointers, while dishing out nine assists with one turnover. Brady Christiansen led the ichabods with eight boards.
Washburn's bench outscored the Hornet bench 29 to 25 with Marcus Glock adding10 points and five rebounds while Tyson Ruud contributed nine points and three rebounds, and Sam Ungashick provided six points while hitting a pair of three-pointers. The Ichabods finished with 23 assists on 34 made field goals overall.
The Ichabods also won the interior battle, outscoring Emporia State 44-20 in the paint turned 18 Hornet turnovers into 41 points recording 14 steals and three blocks while limiting the Hornets' second-half opportunities.
Emporia State was led by Chris Harris with 19 points and Andrew Pengel had 11.
The Ichabods shot 56.7 percent from the floor (34-of-60) for the game knocking down 12 three-pointers at a 48.0 percent clip, while holding the Hornets to just 36.0 percent shooting in the second half.
  (Jan. 10, 2026) MARYVILLE, Mo. – The top-ranked Washburn Ichabods men's basketball team continued its perfect start to the season Saturday afternoon, pulling away in the second half for a 76–53 road win over Northwest Missouri State at Bearcat Arena. The Ichabods improved to 16–0 overall and 6–0 in MIAA play, leading wire-to-wire in the matchup.
Washburn jumped out quickly, scoring the first 10 points of the game and holding the Bearcats without a field goal for nearly three minutes jumping out to a 21-2 lead at the 12:38 mark of the opening half. The Bearcats clawed back into the game, trimming the Ichabod advantage to two at 29-27 with 1:33 to play before the Ichabods closed the half on a 7-0 run taking a 36–27 lead into break. Washburn dominated the paint early, outscoring the Bearcats 24 to 2 while the Bearcats connected finished the first 20 minutes with nine field goals as seven were hit for 3-pointers.
Washburn pushed its lead to 11 at 41-30 with 19:02 to play in the game before the Bearcats (9-8, 2-4 MIAA) hit back-to-back 3-pointers cutting the lead back to three with 16:19 to play. After a free throw by Bryson Smith, a basket from Jack Ratigan cut the lead down to two with 14:47 remaining. Washburn outscored the Bearcats 22 to 7 opening a 64-47 lead with 7:41 to play. Northwest scored the next two points of the game, and then another 9-0 spurt by Washburn stretched the lead to 73-49.
For the game, Washburn shot 30-of-59 from the field (50.8%), including a strong 26-of-39 (66.7%) on two-point attempts, leading to a 50 to 14 advantage in points in the paint.. The Ichabods went 4-of-20 from three-point range (20.0%) and 12-of-16 at the free-throw line (75.0%).
Washburn held Northwest to 40.0% shooting overall limiting the Bearcats to only three second half 3-pointers. Washburn also dominated on the glass winning the rebounding battle 43 to 21.
Individually, Bryson Smith led all scorers with 16 points, knocking down 6-of-11 shots, adding three assists and two steals in 31 minutes. Dillon Claussen delivered a strong all-around performance with 10 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, recording his third double-double of his career.
Jeremiah Jones added 12 points, hitting 5-of-10 shots from the floor, while also contributing seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sam Ungashick chipped in seven points and five rebounds off the bench.
  • The Ichabods are 1,724-1,137-2 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 725-328 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 522-104 (.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 travel to Wichita to take on Newman on Jan. 17. Washburn will then return to Lee Arena facing Northwest Missouri again on Jan. 21 and Missouri Western on Jan. 24 before heading back on the road for a three-game roadtrip starting at Fort Hays State on Jan. 29.