By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University will open its 120th season of men's basketball with a pair of games in Kansas City, Mo.'s storied Municipal Auditorium, starting on Friday at 3 p.m. when the Ichabods will face Sioux Falls (S.D).
Washburn will then face preseason No. 1 and defending NCAA Division II champion Minnesota State (Mankato) at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Seniors Andrew Orr (24) and Michael Keegan (23) are part of a strong returning nucleus for the Washburn Ichabods, who posted a 19-11 record a year ago. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods played their lone exhibition game on Oct. 29, facing NCAA Division I top-ranked Kansas and falling 84-53 in Allen Fieldhouse.
Washburn coach Brett Ballard said he feels like the Ichabods got what they needed to out of the KU game and will get an idea this weekend how they will stack up against top Division II competition.
"It's two really challenging games out of the gate and two regional games, which have implications on the postseason, so we're jumping right into the deep end, but we've had a good preseason and I feel like the KU exhibition and our closed door scrimmages were really beneficial for us,'' Ballard said.
Sioux Falls will also be playing its first games of the season in Kansas City, while Minnesota State opened the season with a pair of losses to fellow ranked teams at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, falling to No. 19-ranked Florida Southern 91-86 in overtime and 57-49 to No. 9-ranked North Georgia the following day.
Washburn finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-11 record, advancing to the MIAA Tournament semifinals.
The Ichabods have recorded 30 20-win seasons and four under Ballard in his seven seasons, receiving four NCAA postseason berths.
Washburn returns four players who started at least half of last season's 30 games and eight players return who saw action last year for the Ichabods.
WU senior Andrew Orr received second-team All-MIAA honors last season after averaging 13.3 points and 5.6 rebounds while junior Sam Ungashick received all-conference honorable mention after averaging 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Other returning starters include junior Brady Christiansen (7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds) and senior Michael Keegan (7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds) while sophomore Jack Bachelor started 11 games and averaged 11.5 points and 3.8 rebounds with 3.9 assists.
Overall the Ichabods return 85 percent of their scoring, 75.5 percent of their rebounds, 86 percent of their field goals, 90 percent of their 3-pointers and 85 percent of the minutes played last season.
Washburn is also counting on senior Illinois-Springfield transfer Jacob Hanna to make a major impact for the Ichabods this season.
"Jacob Hanna has really acclimated quickly,'' Ballard said. "He's started for us and is going to be a big part of what we do and I think all of our newcomers will help us.''
Sioux Falls was picked to finish seventh in the NSIC Preseason Poll.
Noah Puetz was named USF's Preseason Player to Watch. He averaged 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season while playing an average of 25.7 minutes per game.
USF finished last year at 13-17 and 9-13 in conference play. The Cougars have seven seniors on the squad.
Washburn opened the 2023-24 hoops season with an 82-80 win over Sioux Falls at the Central Regional Challenge.
Minnesota State won the NCAA championship last season with a 35-2 record.
David Harmon leads the team in scoring after two games at 13.5 points per game while adding 3.5 rebounds. Harris Braudis is averaging 13.0 points and Kyreese Willingham 12.0 points.
"We have high expectations, so I think this weekend is an opportunity for us to set the foundation for what I think this season could be,'' Ballard said. "But it's also a long, long journey so good, bad, anything you take with a grain of salt.''
The Ichabods will open the home slate on Nov. 12 against Ottawa at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena.
