MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's basketball team will play 16 home games at Worthen Arena in the 2008-09 season as the official schedule was announced Monday by head coach Billy Taylor. The 29-game schedule is highlighted by four 2008 NCAA Tournament teams including home games against Purdue, St. Joseph's (Pa.) and Kent State.
“We are very excited to bring three opponents into Worthen Arena with NCAA Tournament experience,” Taylor said. “We are very fortunate to have Purdue come to Munice. Coach Painter has done a great job with that program and we are looking forward to competing against them at home.”
The Cardinals open the 2008-09 season at home Nov. 15, as they host Eastern Illinois, marking the fourth straight season the Cardinals have opened the year at home. Ball State will travel to Butler Nov. 19, for the 100th meeting all-time between the two instate rivals.
“We are excited about playing the 100th game in the great rivalry with Butler and look forward to continuing the tradition in the future,” Taylor said. “All of our non-conference games give us the opportunity to see how we have grown as a program and will prepare us for Mid-American Conference competition.”
The Cardinals will host SIU-Edwardsville Nov. 22, before making a return trip to Wisconsin-Milwaukee Nov. 25. The Cardinals host Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference Nov. 29, to wrap up the month.
Ball State opens December with instate road games at IPFW (Dec. 1) and at Evansville (Dec. 6). The Cardinals return home Dec. 9, when they host Big Ten power Purdue at Worthen Arena. The game will mark the first visit to Worthen Arena by a Big Ten team since the 2005-06 season and will be the Boilermakers' only non-conference road game of the season.
The Cardinals continue their three-game home stretch with games against Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 13) and Presbyterian (Dec. 21). Ball State heads out west Dec. 29, with a return to NIT participant UC-Santa Barbara. The Cardinals open the New Year Jan. 3, when they host St. Joseph's.
The 16-game Mid-American Conference schedule begins Jan. 10 at Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals will host Northern Illinois Jan. 13, in their first MAC home game. The Cardinals play a home-and-home series against each team from the MAC West Division while playing each team from the MAC East Division once.
The Cardinals have also been selected to participate in the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBuster event. Ball State is slated to be a home team Feb. 21, marking the fourth time in the past seven years the Cardinals have played at home in the BracketBuster.
The 2009 MAC Tournament will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio March 10-14.
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