Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts North Carolina A&T Friday
December 30, 2010 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State closes out the 2010 calendar year New Year's Eve as it hosts North Carolina A&T at Worthen Arena for a noon tip-off ... The Cardinals enter the game with a 6-4 overall record and are coming off a 69-52 loss at Valparaiso ... North Carolina A&T brings a 5-7 overall mark into the contest and most recently dropped an 87-59 contest at Arkansas.
Friday's game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha providing the call ... The game will also be video streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com.
New Year's Eve Games . . .
Friday's game marks the sixth time in Ball State history that the Cardinals have played on New Year's Eve and the fifth time since the 2002-03 season ... Ball State owns a 3-2 record all-time on New Year's Eve, including a 69-55 victory over Manchester last season ... The Cardinals also picked up victories in the 2007-08 season against IPFW and the 1966-67 season against Evansville ... Ball State's two losses on New Year's Eve have come against Indiana in the 2002-03 and 2005-06 seasons.
Hubbard Leaves Basketball Program . . .
Junior forward Mo Hubbard is no longer with the program, head coach Billy Taylor announced Thursday afternoon ... Hubbard will continue his studies at Ball State during the 2010-11 academic year.
Jones Climbs The Charts . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones has led the Cardinals in rebounding since he stepped on campus and leads the team once again this year averaging 8.8 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 538 career rebounds which places him 14th all-time in the BSU annals ... He just surpassed Chandler Thompson (534) and is nine boards behind Paris McCurdy (547) for 13th place all-time ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Davis A Bob Cousy Award Candidate . . .
Junior guard Randy Davis has been named one of 66 candidates for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. ... The annual award, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes college basketball's top point guard ... This original list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 by January 3, final 10 by February 3 and final five by March 3.
Davis is second in the Mid-American Conference and 14th in NCAA Division I in assists per game at 6.10 ... He also is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game ... He has dished out at least seven assists in five games this season, including a career-high 11 assists against Southern Utah (Nov. 26).
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won six games this season by an average of 21.0 points per game while its four losses have been by an average of 18.2 points per game ... In the six wins, Ball State has three different players averaging double figures in Jauwan Scaife (16.5), Jarrod Jones (16.3) and Randy Davis (11.5) while Jesse Berry chips in 9.2 points per game ... In its four losses, BSU only has one player averaging double figures in Jones at 13.0 points per game ... Davis is the next highest scorer at 8.5 points per game.
W's / L's
Scoring Off. -- 76.2 / 56.0
Scoring Def. -- 55.2 / 74.2
Field Goal % -- .498 / .381
Field Goal % Def. -- .356 / .486
3-Pt Field Goal % -- .337 / .293
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. -- .206 / .333
Rebounding Off. -- 37.3 / 29.5
Rebounding Def. -- 34.8 / 34.0
Assists Per Game -- 16.8 / 10.5
Turnover Margin -- +4.8 / -1.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio -- 1.3 / 0.9
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday night as the Cardinals dropped a 69-52 contest to instate rival Valparaiso ... The Cardinals connected on 40.4 percent (19-of-47) from the field in the loss and 61.1 percent (11-of-19) from the free throw line ... Valparaiso was strong offensively as it connected on 52.0 percent (26-of-50) from the field and hit seven three-pointers ... Junior forward Jarrod Jones was the only Cardinal in double figures scoring as he tallied a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds ... Ball State has had two games this season in which only one player has reached double figures in scoring and both games have resulted in losses (Alaska-Anchorage & Valparaiso) ... Junior guard Randy Davis chipped in eight points and three steals while freshman forward Chris Bond tallied seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Friday's game with a 6-4 overall record after having its three-game winning streak snapped at Valparaiso ... The Cardinals are 3-0 this season at home at Worthen Arena ... Ball State is averaging 68.1 points per game this season and is holding opponents to 62.8 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 45.4 percent (235-of-518) from the field and 32.3 percent (42-of-130) from three-point land.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game ... Jones has connected on 50 percent (60-of-120) from the field this season and leads the team on the glass at 8.8 boards per game ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game and leads the team with 16 three-pointers.
Junior guard Randy Davis leads the team with 61 assists and 16 steals on the year ... Davis is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game and is second with 14 three-pointers ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry chips in 8.7 points per game while senior forward Malik Perry adds 7.6 points per game.
Scouting N.C. A&T . . .
North Carolina A&T enters Friday's game with a 5-7 overall record and a 1-7 mark away from home this season ... The Aggies are coming off of four straight road losses at Mississippi State, Stanford, Arizona State and Arkansas ... N.C. A&T is averaging 69.8 points per game this season and is allowing 78.2 points per game against ... The Aggies are shooting 41.3 percent (295-of-715) from the field and 32.5 percent (82-of-252) from three-point land.
Senior center Thomas Coleman averages a double-double as he leads the team in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (11.4) ... Coleman has also tallied 38 blocked shots in 11 games and is shooting 54.7 percent (64-of-117) from the field ... Nic Simpson is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game and leads the team with 26 three-pointers.
Marc Hill is third on the team as he averages 11.0 points per game and leads the team with 44 assists ... Austin Witter is second on the team on the glass at 4.1 caroms per contest.
Buzzer Beater . . .
Freshman guard Tyrae Robinson introduced himself to Ball State fans with a splash earlier this month as he helped the Cardinals defeat Big East foe DePaul 79-77 in overtime ... Robinson stepped up in the overtime period when junior point guard Randy Davis fouled out and scored a career-high nine points while dishing out five assists ... He hit the game-winning shot with 2.7 seconds left in overtime as he drove down the lane and laid it off the glass to break the 77-77 tie.
Home, Sweet Home . . .
Friday's game marks the Cardinals' 276th game all-time at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 200-75 all-time record at Worthen Arena and has won 72.7 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals have posted a 2-0 record this season at Worthen with wins over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State and Mount St. Joseph ... Last season, the Cardinals posted an 11-6 record at home, including a 6-3 mark during non-conference play ... The Cardinals have averaged over 10 wins a season at home at Worthen Arena.
Double Trouble . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals with five double-doubles on the season ... Jones has tallied double dips against Eastern Illinois (twice), Indiana State, Alaska-Anchorage and DePaul ... He is 20th in NCAA Division I in double-doubles so far this season and is tied for Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry with the lead in the Mid-American Conference ... Jones has posted 15 double-doubles in his career.
Junior guard Randy Davis posted his first career double-double with an 11-point, 11-assist effort against Southern Utah ... Davis becomes the first Cardinal to post a point/assist double-double since 2006 when Maurice Acker posted 15 points and 10 rebounds at Buffalo (1/18/06).
Lending A Helping Hand . . .
Junior guard Randy Davis has tallied 61 assists the first 10 games and has only committed 35 turnovers ... His 61 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... In fact, he is ranked 14th in the NCAA Division I in assists per game at 6.10 ... He handed out a game-high eight assists against Eastern Illinois ... He followed that up with a nine-assist effort against Indiana State, tying his career-high ... He also tied his top mark with nine helpers against St. John's in the Great Alaska Shootout before setting a career-high with 11 assists against Southern Utah ... Last time out, he handed out nine assists against Mount St. Joseph.
Davis is ranked 142nd in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 1.75.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Ball State are in the top three in eight different Mid-American Conference team statistical categories ... The Cardinals lead the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.17) and three-point field goal defense (.262) while placing second in scoring defense (62.8), scoring margin (+5.3), field goal percentage (.454) and field goal defense (.406) ... Ball State is third in the MAC in assists (14.30), turnover margin (+2.2) and defensive rebounds (24.70).
Ball State has three players ranked in the top 25 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking eighth in the league (15.0) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 11th (13.2) and junior guard Randy Davis is 24th (10.3).
Davis is second in the MAC in assists at 6.10 per game ... He is also sixth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.74), eighth in steals (1.60), sixth in free throw percentage (.806) and 13th in three-point percentage (.368) ... Scaife is second in the MAC in free throw percentage at .900 and 11th in three-point percentage (.372) ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.8 boards per game and sixth in field goal percentage at .500.
Digital Guide Available Online . . .
The 2010-11 Ball State men's basketball digital guide is available online at www.ballstatesports.com by clicking the digital guide button on the main page or the men's basketball page ... The guide was produced by the Ball State athletics media relations office and 180 Communications.
Turning Up The Defense . . .
Ball State continues its defensive dominance under fourth-year head coach Billy Taylor ... The Cardinals are second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (62.8) and field goal defense (.406) while leading the league in three-point defense (.262) ... Ball State held Eastern Illinois to just 46 points, its lowest scoring output since posting 42 points against St. Louis last December ... The Cardinals forced the Panthers into 21 turnovers in the victory as they recorded 11 steals as a team ... Ball State turned the EIU miscues into 24 points off of turnovers.
The Cardinals forced Indiana State into 26 turnovers ... Ball State turned the turnovers into 33 points ... The Cardinals also held the Sycamores to just 4-of-17 shooting from three-point land after ISU entered the game averaging 9.0 three-pointers a game ... Ball State forced Southern Utah into 19 turnovers in Alaska and turned those miscues into 24 points.
The Cardinals held Mount St. Joseph to just 43 points and limited the Lions to just 24.6 percent (14-of-57) shooting from the field and 10.7 percent (3-of-28) from three-point land.
Jones Earns Weekly Honors . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week and the MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week for his performances against Eastern Illinois and DePaul (Dec. 13) ... Jones, who owns a 3.291 GPA as a telecommunications major, posted back-to-back double-doubles in the victories as he averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game ... He connected on 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field in the two victories ... He posted 20 points and 13 rebounds at EIU as he was 9-of-15 from the field ... He led the Cardinals to their first win over a Big East foe since 1990 with 17 points and 12 rebounds at DePaul.
Freshmen Debuts . . .
Freshman guard Jesse Berry opened his Ball State career in stellar fashion as he scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench ... Berry connected on 6-of-14 from the field and 3-of-9 from three-point land in the victory ... His 15 points marks the third straight season a Ball State freshman has opened their career with a double figure output, joining Jauwan Scaife last season (14 points) and Jarrod Jones (21 points) in 2008-09.
Jones Named All-Tournament . . .
Junior guard Jarrod Jones was named to the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team ... Jones is one of 10 members of the All-Tournament squad ... He scored in double figures in all three games of the Shootout as he averaged 14.6 points per game and chipped in 7.3 rebounds per contest ... He connected on 56.8 percent (21-of-37) in the three games ... Justin Brownlee of St. John's was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
Taylor Names Team Captains . . .
Head coach Billy Taylor has named team co-captains for the 2010-11 season in senior forward Malik Perry and junior guard Randy Davis ... Perry is entering his fourth year with the program and has already played 85 games in his career, with 68 starts ... Davis took over the starting point guard position last season and made 29 starts while averaging 10.3 points per game.
BSU MAC West Favorites . . .
Ball State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference West Division according to the preseason poll conducted by members of the MAC Media News Association ... The Cardinals are under the direction of fourth-year head coach Billy Taylor and are preseason favorites to claim the MAC West Division for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
The Cardinals received 124 total votes, including 12 first place votes, to out-distance second place pick Central Michigan by two votes (122, 8). In the East Division, Ohio has been selected as the preseason favorite with 128 total votes and 12 first place selections. The Bobcats have also been selected to win the 2011 MAC Tournament with 10 of 24 votes.
Ball State returns four full-time starters and five players who started at least 11 games last year. Those five players have combined to play in 285 career games and have made 223 starts at Ball State. The Cardinals also add a six-member recruiting class which includes five highly touted freshmen who are expected to contribute this year.
Jones Earns MAC Honors . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones was selected as preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Division by the league's head coaches ... . Jones earned All-MAC and All-Region accolades last year as he led the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game and rebounding at 7.4 rebounds per contest ... He has led the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding since he stepped on campus after being named MAC Freshman of the Year in the 2008-09 season.
Defensive Prowess . . .
Ball State was one of the top defensive teams in the Mid-American Conference last season and have been since head coach Billy Taylor took over the program ... The Cardinals led the MAC last year in scoring defense (62.4), field goal percentage defense (.400) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.312) ... Ball State was also 43rd in the nation in scoring defense, 36th in field goal defense and 43rd in three-point defense ... Two years ago, the Cardinals held opponents to just 59.7 points per game.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State continues its two-game home swing Monday, January 3 as it hosts SIU-Edwardsville in its final tune-up for the Mid-American Conference schedule.
