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After having its Thursday night MIAA game against Northwest Missouri postponed, Washburn University's men's basketball team will tip off the 2022 portion of its schedule at 3 p.m. Saturday against Missouri Western in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods are 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA after rallying for a 67-65 road win at Central Missouri last Friday.
Washburn got the win on a tip-in by Connor Deffebaugh with 1.9 seconds remaining.
Missouri Western is 8-7, 4-3 after dropping a 74-64 MIAA decision at Emporia State on Thursday night.
The Griffons enter the Washburn game having lost their last three games, falling 101-63 at Northwest Missouri on Dec. 18 and to Pittsburg State, 72-64, on Jan. 1 in St. Joseph, Mo. Western did mix in a 78-50 exhibition win over Friends on Dec. 29.
The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Griffons 57-42 and have won the last two games, posting a 101-72 win over the Griffons last season in the MIAA Tournament semifinals and a 72-46 win in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals.
Junior guard Jalen Lewis leads Washburn with a 14.2 scoring average entering Saturday's MIAA game against Missouri Western at Lee Arena. [File photograph]
Brett Ballard's Washburn Ichabods will be looking to climb two games above .500 for the first time this season when they host Missouri Western on Saturday in Lee Arena. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jalen Lewis leads Washburn with a 14.2 point scoring average while hitting 28 of 72 3-pointers.
Senior Tyler Geiman is averaging 11 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 rebounds in six games this season.
Tyler Nelson made his season debut against Central Missouri and scored 11 points with four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.
Michael Keegan is averaging 10.6 points along with team-highs averages of 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals. Keegan leads the MIAA in blocked shots.
Geiman is the ninth-leading scorer in WU history with 1,458 points in 121 career games and needs 26 points to catch No. 8 Dan Buie, who scored 1,484 in two seasons from 1995-97.
Geiman's 212 career 3-pointers is tied for third all-time at Washburn with Javion Blake and Todd Alexander.
Lewis has drained 225 3-pointers, which ranks second behind all-time leader Shannon Kruger, who hit 242 in 122 games.
Missouri Western's JaQuaylon Mays is third in the MIAA in scoring and assists while Will Earnes is second in rebounding.
Washburn will hit the road for games at Missouri Southern next Thursday and Pittsburg State next Saturday.
The Washburn-Missouri Western women's game scheduled for Saturday has been postponed.
