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Top-ranked Washburn University men's basketball, one of just five remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II, will begin a four-game MIAA road trip on Wednesday at Missouri Western (7:30 p.m. start).

 

 

The Ichabods will continue their road trip at Northwest Missouri on Saturday. Washburn will then face Emporia State for the second time in 12 days and then travel to Wichita to take on Newman before returning to Lee Arena on Jan. 21, facing Northwest Missouri.

 

And while Washburn coach Brett Ballard knows the upcoming road stretch will be tough, he thinks the Ichabods are ready to embrace the challenge.

 

"I think the silver lining is we've played really well on the road so far this year for whatever reason,'' Ballard said. "I don't have all the answers for that other than we've got good players, but we've played really well on the road, so I think our guys can take some confidence from that, hopefully.''

 

Ichabod sophomore Marcus Glock, who has been a key contributor off the bench after transferring from Northwest Missouri, said he feels like WU will approach the upcoming stretch as business as usual.

 

"I think a big thing for us is we just go out there and play,'' said Glock, who had 10 points in Saturday's win over ESU. "We don't talk about our No. 1 ranking that much. It's a long season and we know things happen, so we just go out there and play as hard as we can every time out.''

 

Washburn moved to 14-0 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA after opening 2026 with a 91-66 win over Emporia State on Saturday in Lee Arena.

 

Junior Jeremiah Jones paced Washburn with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against Emporia State. He added four assists and four steals.

 

Junior Jack Bachelor scored 16 points with four 3-pointers and nine assists in last Saturday's 91-66 win over Emporia State. [File photo/TSN] 

 

Sophomore Dillon Claussen finished with 16 points, four steals and three blocks and junior Jack Bachelor also scored 16 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while dishing out nine assists with just one turnover. Senior Brady Christiansen led the Ichabods with eight rebounds.

The Griffons are 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA after falling at Fort Hays State 67-65 on Saturday. The Griffons are 6-0 in home games this season.

 

Washburn leads the nation in scoring margin in the NCAA D-II ranks at plus 29.0 points and are seventh in field goal percentage at 51.6 percent, which leads the MIAA.

 

Washburn has not been out-rebounded in a game and have only been tied twice  (Lubbock Christian and Emporia State).

 

Claussen is eighth in the nation in field goal percentage at 67.5 which also leads the MIAA.

 

Jones leads the nation in total steals with 47 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.36 per contest.

Bachelor is 15th in the nation in total assists with 73 and second in assist to turnover ration at 4.06 to 1.

The Ichabods' 14-game winning streak is second in the nation behind Daemen, which has won its last 16. WU's 14-game winning streak is the eighth-longest in program history.

Washburn's 23-game homecourt winning streak is tied for second in the nation with Miles behind Nova Southeastern's 94 wins.

 

The Griffons are 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA after falling at Fort Hays State last Saturday, 67-65. The Griffons are 6-0 in home games this season.

 

Noah King leads Western in scoring with a 17.6 scoring average, ranking eighth on the MIAA scoring chart.

 

Former Seaman star Ty Henry, who began his career at Baker, is averaging 12.1 points while Gavin Hershberger and Marko Pavlovic are both scoring 11.1 points a game and William Kiburis 10.7 ppg. Pavlovic is averaging a team-high 8.6 rebounds.

Wednesday's meeting will be the 109th between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 64-44.

 

Washburn has won the last four games in the series and nine of the last 12.