Topeka Sun

Ichabods open MIAA Tournament on Wednesday against Missouri Western

The Washburn Ichabods enter the MIAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 Missouri Western State at noon on Wednesday, March 1 in the opening round of the tournament.

OPENING TIP

•    The Ichabods finished the regular season 14-14 (11-11 MIAA) and coming off a 86-64 loss to Emporia State in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.

•    The Griffons (13-15, 9-13 MIAA) are coming off an 69-45 win over Pittsburg State on Saturday.

•    The two teams split the season series with each team winning its home game. The Ichabods won the first contest 76-51 in Lee Arena but fell 81-80 in overtime in St. Joseph.

•    The Ichabods lead the all-time series 60-43 and have won five of the last six overall.

•    Washburn and Missouri Western last played in the MIAA tournament in 2021 with the Ichabods winning 101-72 in the semifinals.

•    Washburn is 1-1 in neutral site games this season.

•    The Ichabods are coming off the program's 30th 20-win season and the fourth under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his five seasons reaching their fourth NCAA postseason in five years.

•    The 2022-23 season marks the 118th season of Ichabod basketball.

ICHABOD BITS

•    Andrew Orr leads the Ichabods in scoring at 13.8 ppg while averaging 14.3 ppg in MIAA contests. Orr recorded his fourth straight double figures scoring effort with 13 points against Emporia State. He is second on the team in rebounds at 5.7 per game. Orr is second in the MIAA shooting nearly 59 percent from the field and is 16th in the conference in scoring.

•    Tyler Nelson is averaging 11.9 ppg overall, scoring 12.4 ppg in MIAA contests. He tied a career-high with 25 points against Nebraska-Kearney and has reached double digits in his last 12 of his last 15 games averaging 14.4 ppg.

•    Levi Braun is scoring 8.9 ppg and has hit 61 of 138 3-pointers (45 percent). He tied a career-high with seven rebounds against Missouri Western. Of his 81 field goals this season, 61 have been from 3-point range.

•    Jarmell Johnson is scoring 8.1 ppg with 3.4 rpg. Johnson is scoring 8.6 ppg with 3.7 rpg in MIAA games tying a season-high with 16 points at Newman. He has reached double figures in six of the last eight games averaging 10.7 ppg.

•    Michael Keegan is scoring 7.9 ppg with 5.6 rpg with 26 steals and 21 blocks. He scored a career-high 21 points against Newman going 8 of 11 from the field adding nine rebounds. In MIAA games he is scoring 8.3 ppg with 5.4 rpg … he is ninth in the MIAA in blocks per game.

•    Jaden Monday is scoring 6.6 ppg and has scored in double figures in four of his last seven games with a career-high 23 against Missouri Southern. He also tied a career best pulling down six rebounds against the Lions.

•    Connor Deffebaugh is scoring 6.5 ppg adding 2.3 assists per game.

•   Brady Christiansen is scoring 5.1 ppg adding 6.6 rpg which leads the team, scoring a career-high 16 against Central Oklahoma. He is ranked seventh in the MIAA in rebounds. In MIAA games is he averaging 5.5 ppg with 6.5 rpg. This season, Christiansen has 186 rebounds, which is fifth on the Ichabod all-time freshman chart. His 6.6 rpg average would be fifth on the chart if the season ended today.

•    Jordan Vincent is scoring 3.8 ppg with 1.0 rpg and 1.4 apg. He has gone 18 of 23 from the free throw line this season.

•   Zaid Dajani is scoring 2.6 ppg in 17 appearances.

•    Jake Schadegg has scored 10 points appearing in eight games while Emmanuel Byrd has scored eight points in eight games. Zach Davidson has played in eight games and Kevin Eman has appeared in three.

COACHES

WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD

•    is 118-63 in his sixth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 151-93 overall in his eighth year as a head coach.

•    has led the Ichabods to four NCAA postseason appearances in five full seasons at Washburn.

•    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.

MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH WILL MARTIN

•    is 40-44 in his third season as the Griffons head coach after serving two seasons as an assistant coach.

•    Martin, a Franklin, Tennessee native, also had three stops at NCAA Division I institutions before his arrival to St. Joseph.

•    Most recently, Martin served assistant men's basketball coach and the director of athletic admissions at Martin Methodist College (NAIA).

•    As a graduate student, Martin served as a graduate assistant and video coordinator for men's basketball at the University of Tulsa from 2013-2015.

•    As an undergraduate, Martin served as a men's basketball manager at the University of Kentucky under head coach John Calipari. During Martin's tenure with the Wildcats, the team reached the Elite 8 on three occasions, the Final Four on two occasions and Martin served as the head manager of the 2012 National Championship team.

•    Martin received his bachelors from the University of Kentucky in 2012 and obtained his Master's in Education from the University of Tulsa in 2015.

•    is 3-5 against the Ichabods.

ABOUT MISSOURI WESTERN

•    The Griffons are 13-15 overall and 9-13 in the MIAA

•    Missouri Western has won its last two games entering the tournament

•    The Griffons average 66.3 points per game while allowing 66.8. They make 7.9 three pointers per game at a 36.1% clip, the third best in the MIAA

•    Missouri Western has four players averaging double-figures scoring, led by Julius Dixon who scores 13.4 ppg with 4.6 rpg. Taye Fields chips in with 10.7 ppg while pulling down 7.8 rpg and has dished out 73 assists on the year, both tops on the team

LAST MEETING WITH MISSOURI WESTERN

(Feb. 1, 2023)  ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods' five-game winning streak came to a halt in an 81-80 overtime loss at Missouri Western on Wednesday. Washburn will return to action on Saturday at Northwest Missouri.

    In overtime, the Griffons scored first but a pair of free throws by Andrew Orr tied the score at 71 with 4:32 to play. Missouri Western went up by four after two lay ups but a 3-pointer by Braun cut the lead to 75-74. Western pushed the advantage back to three, but Orr went was fouled and went back to the line with 2:34 cutting the lead back to one at 77-76.

    Washburn took the lead at 80-79 with 11 seconds to go on Andrew Orr's career-high 25th and 26th points of the night, but Western scored on a jumper with two seconds to go going up 81-80. After a timeout, Washburn needed to go the length of the court with 2.5 seconds to go and the shot from inside the lane came up short.

    The Ichabods trailed at the break 34-30 after going the final two-plus minutes without a point after leading by as many as 10 in the opening 20 minutes. Washburn led by 10 at 17-7 with 12:50 to go after a bucket by Tyler Nelson.

    Midway through the first half, the Griffons went on a 15 to 7 run taking a 30-27. After a 3-point play by Michael Keegan tied the score at 30 with 2:38 to go but the Griffons finished with back-to-back layups to take the four-point lead into the locker rooms.

    Coming out of the break, the Ichabods scored eight-straight with six coming from Andrew Orr as Washburn took a 38-34 lead.    

    After a flagrant foul called on the Griffons, Jarmell Johnson would hit a free throw and then Orr scored on two straight possessions as the Ichabods went up 44-41 with 12:31 to play.

    With Washburn leading 65-55 with 3:04 to go in the game, the Griffons closed the game on a 14-4 run as the Ichabods' halfcourt shot at the buzzer was off.   

Orr led all scorers with his 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting scoring 21 points in the second half while going 6 of 8 from the free throw line. As a team the Ichabods were 14 of 22 from the free throw line and 6 of 13 in the second half. Braun scored 19 hitting five 3-pointers and Nelson finished with 18.

    JaRon Thames led the Griffons with 21 points.

Washburn finished 30 of 36 from the field for the game for a 47 percent average. The Ichabods finished 6 of 20 from deep and 14 of 22 overall from the free throw line going 6 of 6 in the extra frame.

Missouri Western was 32 of 67 overall and 7 of 21 from deep hitting 10 of 11 free throws in the game and 2 of 2 in overtime.

The Ichabods outrebounded the Griffons 38 to 34.

SERIES HISTORY WITH MISSOURI WESTERN

•    Wednesday's meeting will be the 104rd between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 60-43 and have won five of the last six in the series.

•    The Ichabods are 52-36 against MWSU in MIAA games and 34-15 in games played in Topeka overall.

•    The Ichabods are 23-26 in games played in St. Joseph against the Griffons.

•    In the MIAA Tournament the Ichabods are 4-7 against the Griffons.

•    The Ichabods lead 6-5 in overtime games including the 95-94 win on Jan. 9, 2019. 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS

(Feb. 25, 2023) EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team closed out the regular season losing 86-64 to Emporia State. Washburn will be the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Tournament in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., and will take on No. 9 Missouri Western on Wednesday Mar. 1 at noon.

The Ichabods only trailed 34-32 at the half but were outscored 52-32 in the second half as the Hornets completed a sweep of the 2022-23 season series.

Jaden Monday picked up where he left off after scoring a career-high 23 points on Thursday, scoring the first nine points for Washburn including back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game. Monday had 11 of the first 13 points for the Ichabods but his shot was the only one dropping early and Emporia State was able to build a 10-point lead by the 10:43 mark.

Inside the final five minutes of the half jumpers by Monday and Michael Keegan brought the lead down to just one point on two separate occasions but both times the Hornets had a response. Tyler Nelson knocked down a 3-pointer just before halftime with Washburn trailing 34-32.

The Ichabods hung around to start the second half, pulling back within five after a layup by Andrew Orr with 12:56 remaining. Following that basket the Hornets went on a 9-0 all on 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to go up by 14 with 11:15 left.

From that point on the lead never dipped below 10 points. Washburn got it down to that mark twice but both times Emporia State went on a run of their own to create more separation. In the final 90 seconds the Hornets made it a 20-point game and won with the largest lead of the game, 86-64.

Tyler Nelson led the Ichabods with 18 points on 6-11 shooting with 11 points in the second half. Jaden Monday finished with 17 points and had a team-high four assists. Andrew Orr had a near double-double, with 13 points and nine rebounds, Jarmell Johnson had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Owen Long led Emporia State with 26 points going 9-15 from the field and 6-10 from deep. As a team the Hornets shot 57.4% and drilled 14-27 from long range. Washburn was a respectable 8-21 from beyond the arc but could not make up the difference by the hot shooting Hornets at the free throw line as both teams went 10-13.

On the defensive end it was the first time all season the Ichabods did not come away with a steal, while also not blocking any shots on that end of the floor for the fifth time in the campaign.      

ICHABOD BASKETBALL HISTORY

•    The Ichabods are 1,658-1122-2 all-time in the 118th year in the program's history.

•    Washburn is the 10th-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.

•    Washburn is 674-316 since joining the conference and the NCAA.

•    The Ichabods have recorded 30 20-win seasons and they have one 30-win seasons after going 35-4 during the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season.

•    Washburn has won 21 conference championships including 10 MIAA titles.

•    Washburn has received 16 NCAA Tournament bids going to three Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.

HOME SWEET HOME

•    The Ichabods are 487-102 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.

•    The 2022-23 season marks the 38th season of play in Lee Arena.

•    The Ichabods are 37-1 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.

Original source can be found here.