Brett Ballard speaks on Washburn men’s basketball in NCAA Division II National Tournament
Washburn men’s basketball head coach Brett Ballard previews the NCAA Division II National Championship. The Ichabods host Harding in the first round on Saturday.
For the first time since 2001, Washburn men’s basketball hosted the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship tournament on Saturday.
Behind a packed Lee Arena, No. 1 Washburn (27-3) left zero doubt that they were the top seed in the region. The Ichabods went wire-to-wire, defeating No. 8 Harding (22-10) 85-57 in the first round.
Washburn did not allow a single point in the first five minutes of the game. While the Ichabods defense was stout, the offense went to work, too. They started the game on an 11-2 run as the team dominated.
The Bison are one of the top-ranked 3-point shooting teams in the nation, but Washburn’s length caused problems throughout the game. Harding shot 20% from behind the arc hitting 6-for-30.
Freshman Dillon Claussen enjoyed the best game of his career. He scored a game-high 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting off of the bench. Washburn shot an incredible 56% from the field in the win. They finished with 18 assists on 33 made baskets, too.
The big win for Washburn advances them to the Central Regional Semifinals on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Washburn where they will face No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (22-8) inside Lee Arena. The Golden Bears defeated No. 4 Minot State in the opening round.
This is the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Concordia-St. Paul. This will also be the first meeting in history between Washburn and the Golden Bears on Sunday.
NCAA Division II Central Region Schedule
First round, Saturday
- No. 3 Winona St. 69, No. 6 Southwest Minnesota St. 62
- No. 2 Minnesota St. Moorhead 69, No. 7 Fort Hays St. 62
- No. 1 Washburn 85, No. 8 Harding 57
- No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul 83, No. 4 Minot St. 71
Second round, Sunday
- MSU Moorhead vs Winona St., 5 p.m.
- Washburn vs Concordia-St. Paul, 7:30 p.m.
Third round, Tuesday
- Central regional championship, 7 p.m.
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com
