By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball will ring in 2026 at 3 p.m. on Saturday, hosting Emporia State in the long-standing Turnpike Tussle.
Junior Jack Bachelor is averaging 16.2 points with 36 3-pointers and 64 assists for 13-0 and No. 1-ranked Washburn. [File photo/TSN]
Saturday's game will be the 223th meeting between Emporia State and Washburn, with the Ichabods leading 114-108.
The ESU series is the most-played series for Washburn, with the two teams starting the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball.
"We've talked to our guys about how important this game is for our program and our fans,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "I like it because it's got our guys excited that we're at home against a rival after when you've had a long week of practice.''
Washburn is 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, one of six remaining undefeated teams in Division II, while Emporia State is 4-8 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA after falling 78-71 at Central Missouri on Thursday.
The Ichabods took an eight-day holiday break after beating then-No. 4 Lubbock Christian on Dec. 16 and No. 4 West Texas A&M 74-48 on Dec. 17 in the River City Classic in San Antonio.
"Coming off San Antonio you're kind of wanting to keep playing because you're really rolling, but it was a good time for a break, just mentally and physically,'' Ballard said. "Everybody got to go home.''
Washburn returned to practice on Monday and Ballard has been pleased with the Ichabods' work this week as they prepare for the Hornets while also trying to continue building on their hot start to the season.
"We're really harping on battling complacency,'' Ballard said. "It's human nature when things are going well to get complacent, so we're trying to challenge them as much as we can mentally to battle that with competitive practices.''
Washburn leads the nation in scoring margin in the NCAA Division II ranks at plus 29.3 points per game and is seventh in field goal percentage at 51.3 percent, which leads the conference.
Washburn is fifth in rebound margin at plus 12.5 and ranks sixth in scoring defense (60.2 points per game). The Ichabods have not been out-rebounded in a game and have only been tied once (vs. Lubbock Christian).
Ichabod sophomore Dillon Claussen, who is averaging 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, ranks sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 68.1, which also leads the MIAA.
Junior Jeremiah Jones leads the nation in total steals with 43 and he is ranked fourth in steals per game at 3.31.
Junior Jack Bachelor, a former Washburn Rural star, now has 1,017 career points in his 77 career games played. He is tied with former teammate Michael Keegan on Washburn's all-time scoring chart at No. 24 overall.
Bachelor, who is averaging 16.2 points with 36 3-pointers, is 19th in the nation in total assists with 64 and second in assist to turnover ration at 3.76 to 1.
The Ichabods' 13-game winning streak is second in the nation behind Daemen, which has won its last 15 contests.
Washburn's 22-game homecourt winning streak is third in the nation behind Nova Southeastern's 93 wins and Miles' 23 victories. The Ichabods' homecourt winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history.
Tom Billeter is in his second season as Emporia State's head coach and is 505-300 in his 28th season as a head coach.
Billeter went 394-224 in 21 years at Augustana, winning the 2016 National Championship. He led the Vikings to nine NCAA Tournaments, three regular season NSIC Championships, two NSIC Tourney Championships and 18 consecutive winning seasons.
"You look at his record and there are 30-win years and a lot of years where they consistently won 20 games, so he's a very good coach,'' Ballard said. "He had almost a completely new roster (at Emporia State) and I think they will keep getting better as (the Hornets) get more and more acclimated to each other.''
Andrew Pengel leads the Hornets in scoring at 13.4 points per game while Chris Harris is averaging 11.6 points.
Washburn took an 83-72 win over Emporia State last season in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods are 521-104 (.831) all-time in Lee Arena.
Washburn will begin a stretch of seven of 10 games on the road next week, including their next four games, starting at Missouri Western next Wednesday before taking on Northwest Missouri on Jan. 10.
Washburn will then face Emporia State for the second time in 12 days in White Auditorium and then travel to Wichita to take on Newman. The Ichabods will return to Lee Arena facing Northwest Missouri on Jan. 21 and Missouri Western on Jan. 24.
