By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team will be back in action Saturday, hosting Missouri Western in a 3 p.m MIAA game at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods are 3-6 and 0-3 in the MIAA after falling 88-81 at Rogers State last Saturday while the Griffons are 5-2 and 2-0 in the MIAA and have not played since a 79-65 win at Missouri Southern on Dec. 3.
Washburn sophomore Andrew Orr is averaging a team-high 15.1 points for the Ichabods while also grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game. [File photo/TSN]
Western postponed games with Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Ichabods lead the all-time series with Missouri Western 59-42 and have won the last four overall.
Sophomore Andrew Orr leads the Ichabods in scoring at 15.1 points per game and is averaging 21.7 points in three MIAA contests. He has reached double figures in eight of nine games this season and is second on the team in rebounds at 6.3 per game.
Connor Deffebaugh is averaging 12.0 points while adding a team-high 3.3 assists per game.
Jaden Monday is averaging 7.9 points and has gone 15 of 33 from 3-point range.
Tyler Nelson, coming off an injury, made his first start of the season against Rogers State, scoring a season-high 15 points while adding a career-high eight assists and playing all 40 minutes.
Washburn is looking to avoid its first four-game losing streak since Dec. 30, 2009 to Jan. 9, 2010 when the Ichabods lost five in a row.
The last time the Ichabods started MIAA 0-4 was the same 2009-10 season when Washburn started the year 0-7 in the MIAA.
Julius Dixon leads a balanced Missouri Western scoring attack with a 13-point scoring average while Taye Fields averages 12.7 points and 8.4 rebounds and Will Eames averages 12.1 points.
The Ichabods will travel to Central Oklahoma on Dec. 31.
