By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 3-ranked and 2026 MIAA champion Washburn University men's basketball will wrap up the regular season with two home games this week, starting with Pittsburg State at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Junior Jeremiah Jones (22) is one steal away from tying Washburn's single-season record entering Wednesday's game against Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]The Ichabods clinched their 12th outright MIAA title and their second in a row after topping Central Oklahoma last week.
Washburn is coming off an 81-64 win over Rogers State in their final regular-season road game last Saturday.
Washburn is 26-1 overall, 16-1 MIAA, clinched the regular-season conference title and will be the No. 1-seed in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. and will have its opening game in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 5, at 6 p.m. against the winner of the No. 8/No. 9 game.
Pittsburg State is 15-12, 9-8 MIAA, after falling to Fort Hays State 65-56 on last Saturday in its home finale.
Wedneday's game is the only regular-season meeting between the Ichabods and the Gorillas this season. With a win over the Gorillas, Washburn will record its 28th consecutive home win, tying the 28-game streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995.
The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA, putting up 86.9 points per game, and also have the No. 1-ranked scoring defense, allowing 62.2 points a game.
The Ichabods have recorded 32 20-win seasons in program history and six under Ichabod coach Brett Ballard in his nine seasons, receiving four NCAA postseason berths and coaching the 2024-25 squad to only the program's second 30-win season in school history.
Washburn is second in NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 24.7 points per game and is ranked third in field goal percentage at 51.3 percent.
Washburn is first in rebound margin at plus 10.9 and third in scoring defense.
Junior Jeremiah Jones leads the nation in total steals with 81 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.00. Jones has pulled within one steal of tying the Washburn single-season steals record of 82 set by Will McNeill during the 2012-13 season.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.3 percent.
Senior Brady Christiansen is 10th on the NCAA active D-II chart with 727 career rebounds and he has also moved into the top 50 all-time at Washburn in scoring with 833 career points.
Senior Sam Ungashick has scored 953 collegiate points with 594 coming at Washburn after scoring 359 in his lone season at Benedictine as a freshman before joining the Ichabods.
Senior Bryson Smith's 26 points against Rogers State were a career-best, as were his 15 field goal attempts, 11 free throws and 13 free throw attempts.
Washburn's 27-game homecourt winning streak is second in the nation behind Nova Southeastern's 98-game winning streak.
Connor Rogers leads Pittsburg State in scoring and tied for third in the MIAA with an18.6 average while Mason English is tied for 11th at 15.3 points per game. Ethan Sage is also scoring in double figures with a 10.8 average while adding a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game.
Wednedsay's meeting will be the 191st between WU and Pittsburg State in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1920.
Washburn leads the all-time series 112-78 and the Ichabods have won the last 25 of the last 29 meetings, including 18 of the last 21 and the last 10 overall.
The Ichabods are 35-3 in Lee Arena against PSU and 40-16 against the Gorillas in MIAA play.
The Ichabods are 526-104 (.831) all-time in Lee Arena.
Washburn will finish the regular season at 1 p.m. on Saturday, hosting Missouri Southern.
