• The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods will continue their four-game roadtrip traveling to Northwest Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 10 to face the Bearcats at 3:30 in Bearcat Arena.
• Washburn moved to 15-0 (5-0 MIAA) - one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division II – after starting the roadtrip with an 87-75 win at Missouri Western on Jan. 7 in St. Joseph.
• The Bearcats are 9-7 this season and 2-3 in MIAA play after falling at home to Central Missouri last time out 76-72.
• The Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA putting up 89.4 ppg just behind Missouri Southern's 90.6 ppg.
• Defensively, the Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring defense allowing 61.5 ppg behind Fort Hays State's 59.3 ppg.
• The Bearcats are averaging 73.1 ppg and allowing 71.8 ppg.
• The Bearcats are 4-2 in home games this season.
• Washburn is 14-4 playing at the No. 1-ranked team in the country.
• 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 +27.9 ppg and are fifth in field goal percentage at 51.9 percent - also leading the MIAA … Washburn is 12th in assists per game (18.5), 10th in assist/turnover ration (1.53), 10th in effective field goal percentage (.584) and second in rebound margin (+12.0) … Washburn is eighth in scoring defense (61.5 ppg), fourth in fastbreak points (20.9 ppg), sixth in defensive field goal percentage (.378) seventh in turnover margin (+6.7) and ninth in turnovers forced per game (+18.8).
• Washburn has not been outrebounded in a game and have only been tied twice (vs Lubbock Christian and Emporia State).
• Dillon Claussen is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 66.9 which also leads the MIAA … Jeremiah Jones is first the nation in total steals with 50 and is ranked second in steals per game at 3.33 per contest.
• Ichabod Marcus Glock played his freshman season at Northwest Missouri where he started 19 of 28 games averaging 9.1 ppg with 2.5 rpg hitting a team-high 51 3-pointers shooting 42 percent from deep  scoring 10.2 ppg in MIAA play while averaging 13.5 ppg in two games against Washburn.
• Jack Bachelor is 17th in the nation in total assists with 75 and second in assist to turnover ration at 3.57 to 1.
• The Ichabods' 15-game winning streak is second in the nation behind Daemen who has won its last 16.
• The 15-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).
  • Jack Bachelor moved into the top 10 on the all-time Ichabod steals chart with his 112th against the Griffons.
• The win was the fifth in a row by the Ichabods over the Griffons improving to 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
• The 18 Ichabod turnovers were the most by the Ichabods since committing 20 against Dallas Baptist in the season's second game.
• The 75 points were the third-most scored by an Ichabod opponent this season.
• Dillon Claussen fouled out of his first game as an Ichabod in his 49 games played at Washburn.
• Claussen also went over the 500-point mark in his second season as an Ichabod in his 49th game overall.
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 182-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 215-109 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 5-18 against Northwest Missouri.
   
NORTHWEST MISSOURI HEAD COACH MATT KEELEY ...
• was named the 21st head men's basketball coach in Northwest history.
• is 15-29 in his second season in Maryville and 128-118 overall in nine seasons.
• served as the head coach at Ottawa University Arizona for seven seasons going 113-92.
• spent two seasons as an assistant for Bob Chipman on the Washburn bench for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons … his father Mike is in the Washburn athletic hall of fame and his sister Cindy was a member of the 2005 Lady Blues Basketball National Championship team.
• is 0-2 against the Ichabods.
  • The Bearcats are 9-7 this season and 2-3 in MIAA play after falling at home to Central Missouri last time out 76-72.
• Royce Williams leads the team in scoring at 14.1 ppg while Aiden Gair is scoring 13.1 ppg hitting a team-high 41 3-pointers this season … Matthew Mayes is scoring 12.6 ppg.
• The Bearcats are -4.5 in rebounding margin this season (38.9 to 34.4).
• Royce Williams leads the team in scoring at 14.1 ppg while Aiden Gair is scoring 13.1 ppg hitting a team-high 41 3-pointers this season … Matthew Mayes is scoring 12.6 ppg.
• The Bearcats are averaging 73.1 ppg and allowing 71.8 ppg.
• The Bearcats are 4-2 in home games this season.
  • Saturday's meeting will be the 124th between the two schools and Washburn holds a 65-58 lead in the series.
• The series dates back to the 1940-41 season and they have played each other every year since WU joined the MIAA in 1989-90.
• The Ichabods are 22-17 against the Bearcats in Lee Arena.
• Washburn is 27-26 in Maryville.
• In the MIAA Tournament, the Ichabods are 4-9 against Northwest after falling in the 2018, 2019 and 2022 MIAA Championship games before winning the 2021 Tournament in Maryville.
• In the NCAA Tournament, the Ichabods are 2-3 against the Bearcats.
• The Ichabods won a NCAA Central Regional final contest against the Bearcats in Topeka on March 10, 2001 advancing to the Elite Eight in Bakersfield, California after a 67-61 win.
  (Jan. 22, 2025) MARYVILLE, Mo. – The No. 1 ranked Washburn Ichabods rallied from a 3-point halftime deficit closing the game with an 8-0 run over the final 3:59 of the contest for an 80-69 win over Northwest Missouri on Wednesday in Bearcat Arena improving to 18-0 on the season and 9-0 in the MIAA. 
The Ichabods trailed at the half for only the second time this season and not since a 36-32 deficit against Texas Permian Basin in San Antonio on Dec. 18 in a game they rallied to win by 14 after trailing by as many as nine in the game. Washburn shot 43 percent in the opening frame trailing until taking an 18-17 lead over the Bearcats. A 10-1 run by the Ichabods pushed Washburn's lead to 28-20, but the two teams traded leads seven times in the opening half and Northwest took a 40-37 lead into the break on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Emorie Knox.
Starting the second half the Bearcats stretched their lead to seven at 44-37 with 18:51 to go. Washburn chipped away at the lead and pulled within one at 46-45 after a 3-pointer by Jack Bachelor with 16:04 left.
Washburn tied the score at 52 with 13:46 to go on a jumper by Claussen and would take a 54-52 lead on a Shorter dunk, but the lead was short-lived as the Bearcats came back with a 3-pointer of their own taking a 55-54 lead on their next possession, but Washburn came right back with a jumper by Bachelor as the Ichabods regained the lead at 56-55 with 11:58 to play.
After both team struggled from the field for the next 120 seconds, Northwest tied the score with 9:56 to play with a free throw at 56 all.
Northwest (4-14, 2-7 MIAA) took its final lead of the game at 61-60 with 8:17 to play, but a 3-pointer by Shorter put the Ichabods back in front followed by two free throws by Bachelor stretched the lead to four with 7:22 to go. The Bearcats cut the lead back to two at 65-63 before Brady Christiansen hit a 3-pointer and Claussen scored his career-high-tying 14th and 15th points of the night as Washburn took a 70-63 lead with 5:47 remaining.
Luke Moustakas, who led the Bearcats with a game-high 21 points, hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night pulling the Bearcats back within three with 3:59 to play, but the Ichabods scored the final eight points of the game as the Washburn defense held Northwest to 0 of 4 from the field forcing two turnovers holding on for the 11-point win.
Shorter recorded his first collegiate double double with 18 points with a career-high 10 rebounds adding four assists and two steals. Bachelor scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half adding six assists. Claussen finished with 15 adding five boards and two assists. Jacob Hanna has 12 points and three assists and Andrew Orr had 10 points and two blocks.
In a game that had nine lead changes and eight ties, Washburn shot 48 percent from the field for the game hitting 54 percent in the second half up from 43 in the opening half. Northwest cooled off from 46 percent in the first half to 35 in the second half to shoot 41 percent for the game.
Washburn also held a 40 to 30 advantage on the glass turning 14 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points while outscoring the Bearcats 36 to 24 in the paint and 22 to 6 in bench points.
  (Jan. 7, 2026) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods remained perfect on the season and in MIAA play with an 87–75 road win at Missouri Western on Wednesday night, improving to 15–0 overall and 5–0 in the conference. The Ichabods never trailed, building a commanding first-half lead, and then withstood a second-half push to secure the victory at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
Washburn shot a scorching 65.5 percent from the floor in the opening period (19-of-29) and knocked down 4-of-9 attempts from 3-point range while scoring 48 first-half points. Missouri Western, meanwhile, struggled to find rhythm early, shooting just 25.0 percent (8-of-32) in the first half as Washburn built a 48–29 advantage at the break.
Missouri Western (11-5, 3-2 MIAA) played its best basketball after halftime, shooting 53.3 percent in the second half and outscoring Washburn 46–39 over the final 20 minutes while dropping to 6-1 in home games this season. The Griffons trimmed the Ichabod advantage into the mid-teens on multiple occasions. However, each time the Griffons threatened, Washburn answered, keeping Western at arm's length.
Dillon Claussen scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, going 6-of-10 for the game, adding eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Sam Ungashick provided a big lift off the bench with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Jack Bachelor added 16 points while Brady Christiansen contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, helping Washburn win the rebounding battle 42–24.
As a team, Washburn finished the night shooting 56.4 percent from the field (31-of-55), 33.3 percent from three-point range (7-of-21), and 72.0 percent at the free-throw line (18-of-25). Missouri Western shot 38.7 percent overall and just 21.4 percent from beyond the arc.
  • The Ichabods are 1,723-1,137-2 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 724-328 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 will face Emporia State for the second time in 12 days inside White Auditorium on Jan. 15 and then 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.