Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts WMU Wednesday At 7:30 P.M.
January 10, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens the home portion of the 2011 Mid-American Conference season Wednesday night as it hosts West Division rival Western Michigan ... Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena and the game will be televised on Sports Time Ohio and online at www.ballstatesports.com ... Michael Reghi and Steve Mix will provide the call for STO ... The game will also be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha providing the call.
Jones Earns MAC Weekly Honor . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday ... This is the second MAC weekly honor for Jones this season (Dec. 13) and the sixth of his career.
Jones, MAC Player of the Year candidate, led the Cardinals to a 2-0 week and a 1-0 start in MAC play as he averaged 22.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game ... He posted back-to-back double-doubles against SIU Edwardsville and Northern Illinois to lead the Cardinals to a 9-4 overall record as he shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the field in the two games ... Jones scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against SIUE to open the week ... He followed that up with a 25-point, 12-rebound effort in the MAC opener at Northern Illinois for his seventh double-double of the season and 17th of his career ... He hit 10-of-18 from the field against the Huskies and posted 14 points in the first half.
Jones has also earned two MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honors this season ... He owns a 3.291 GPA in telecommunications and picked up the weekly honors for all sports the weeks of Dec. 6-12 and Dec. 27-Jan. 2
Cardinals Off To Fast Start . . .
Ball State owns the top record in the Mid-American Conference West Division and the best mark in the entire MAC with a 9-4 record (.692) ... The 9-4 record marks the Cardinals' first winning record 13 games into the season since the 2004-05 season when Ball State owned an 8-5 record ... The Cardinals' .692 winning percentage after 13 games is their highest since the 1999-2000 season when they boasted an 10-3 record (.769) record on their way to a 22-9 overall mark.
MAC Home Openers . . .
Wednesday's game marks the 38th Mid-American Conference home opener in Ball State history, dating back to the 1975-76 season ... The Cardinals are 23-12 all-time in MAC home openers, including a 62-48 loss last season at home to Northern Illinois (1/9/10) ... Wednesday's game marks the fifth time Ball State and Western Michigan have met in a BSU MAC home opener with the Cardinals owning a 3-1 mark over the Broncos in such games ... Ball State won their MAC home opener against the Broncos in the 1992-93, 1988-89 and 1977-78 seasons while WMU won the contest in the 1983-84 season.
Taking Care Of The Ball . . .
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with 155 turnovers through the first 13 games ... The 155 turnovers is the lowest in the Mid-American Conference this season while the 11.9 turnovers a game ranks 44th in the NCAA Division I ... The Cardinals also lead the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.22, which ranks 47th nationally.
Getting To The Line . . .
Ball State ranks sixth in the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage connecting on 68.2 percent (242-of-355) ... The Cardinals have been to the line 355 times this season, the most in the MAC and 25 more than second place Kent State (330 in 15 games) ... Ball State goes to the free throw line 27.3 times per game this season which also leads the MAC ... The Cardinals go to the line almost five more times than the second place team of Northern Illinois (22.7 attempts/game).
Series History . . .
Wednesday's game between Ball State and Western Michigan is the 112th meeting all-time in the series dating back to the first meeting January 16, 1932 ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a slim 56-55 margin ... Ball State owns a 33-20 mark all-time against the Broncos in Muncie and a 13-6 mark all-time in Worthen Arena ... The two teams have split the season series the past two seasons with the home team winning all four games.
Last year, Ball State won the first game of the home-and-home series with a 75-68 victory in Muncie (1/20/10) ... Western Michigan evened the series with a 67-52 victory in Kalamazoo (3/4/10) ... Guard Randy Davis led the Cardinals in the season series as he averaged 22.0 points per game against WMU ... Davis connected on 10-of-20 (.500) from the field and 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the free throw line ... Guard Pierre Sneed averaged 10.0 points per game against WMU as he shot 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the field ... Forward Jarrod Jones was held to just 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game against the Broncos last year ... Western Michigan was led by former Bronco David Kool who averaged 19.0 points per game ... Flenard Whitfield was second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game against BSU.
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 9.2 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 570 career rebounds which places him 13th all-time in the BSU history ... He recently surpassed Paris McCurdy for 13th all-time (547) and Chandler Thompson for 14th (534) ... He is just seven rebounds out of 12th place all-time behind Chris Collins (577) ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Jones also leads the team in scoring as he averages 16.8 points per game ... He enters Wednesday's game with 931 career points and is 69 points shy of becoming the 25th player in Ball State history to reach 1,000 career points.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won nine games this season by an average of 19.2 points per game while its four losses have been by an average of 18.2 points per game ... In the eight wins, Ball State has four different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (18.6), Jauwan Scaife (13.3), Jesse Berry (10.3) and Randy Davis (10.3) ... 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. 76.4 -- 56.0
Scoring Def. 57.2 -- 74.2
Field Goal % .484 -- .381
Field Goal % Def. .366 -- .486
3-Pt Field Goal % .308 -- .293
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .256 -- .333
Rebounding Off. 38.1 -- 29.5
Rebounding Def. 34.0 -- 34.0
Assists Per Game 16.3 -- 10.5
Turnover Margin +4.3 -- -1.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.4 -- 0.9
Steals/Game 7.3 -- 4.3
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State opened Mid-American Conference play with a hard fought 75-70 victory at Northern Illinois Saturday ... The Cardinals led for the final 37:44 of the game to post their third straight win and improve to 9-4 on the season.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones posted his seventh double-double of the season as he tied his career-high with 25 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds ... Jones connected on 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line ... He also tallied two blocks and two steals ... Over the past three games he has scored 25, 19 and 25 points.
Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife came off the bench for the first time this season and scored 17 points ... Scaife hit 6-of-12 from the field, including three three-pointers ... Freshman forward Chris Bond chipped in 10 points off the bench, including four points in the final 1:36 of the contest ... The Cardinals held the MAC's leading scorer Xavier Silas to 15 points, nine shy of his season average.
Jones' Jumps Play . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones has picked up his play since the Cardinals returned from the Great Alaska Shootout ... Over the past seven games, Jones is averaging 19.8 points and 10.0 rebounds ... He has posted four double-doubles in the past seven games and has scored at least 15 points each game ... He is shooting 58.7 percent (54-of-92) from the field during the stretch and 70.5 percent (31-of-44) from the free throw line.
During the recent seven-game streak, Jones scored a career-high 25 points on two different occasions ... He tallied 25 against North Carolina A&T (12/31/10) and matched his career number with 25 at Northern Illinois Saturday.
Bond Steps Up Too . . .
Freshman forward Chris Bond has seen his playing time almost quadruple over the past six games ... Bond averaged 5.4 minutes per game in the first five games of his career and has averaged 20.8 minutes per game over the last six games ... His increased playing time has also seen a jump in his production as he is averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds over the past six games ... Since the DePaul game, Bond is shooting 62.1 percent (23-of-37) from the field ... He scored a career-high 13 points against North Carolina A&T when he hit 6-of-9 from the field and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Mount St. Joseph.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with a 9-4 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have won three straight and six out of their last seven games ... Ball State is averaging 70.2 points per game while limiting opponents to a MAC-low 62.5 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 45.4 percent (309-of-680) from the field and are holding opponents to 40.1 percent shooting (287-of-716) from the field ... The Cardinals are also out-rebounding opponents by a 35.5-34.0 margin this season.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals in scoring as he averages 16.8 points per game ... Jones also leads the team on the glass and is second in the MAC averaging 9.2 rebounds per game ... He is shooting 53.1 percent (86-of-162) from the field this season ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring as he averages 11.8 points per game ... Scaife leads the team with 19 three-pointers and is shooting 35.2 percent (19-of-54) from long range.
Junior guard Randy Davis is third on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game ... Davis leads the team with 76 assists and 21 steals ... He is shooting 87.0 percent (40-of-46) from the free throw line on the year ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game and is second on the team with 18 three-pointers ... Senior forward Malik Perry chips in 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Scouting Western Michigan . . .
Western Michigan enters Wednesday's game with an 8-6 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Broncos have won three straight games, including a 63-56 overtime victory against Central Michigan in their MAC opener ... Western Michigan is averaging 71.5 points per game this season while limiting opponents to 69.0 points per game ... The Broncos are shooting 44.3 percent (369-of-833) from the field while opponents are shooting 42.0 percent (357-of-850) from the field ... WMU is out-rebounding opponents by a 37.6-36.1 margin this year.
Six different Western Michigan players are averaging at least 8.5 points per game with Demetrius Ward leading the way at 12.4 points per game ... Ward leads the team with 33 assists, 18 steals and 23 three-pointers ... Flenard Whitfield is second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 6.0 caroms per game.
Juwan Howard Jr. is third on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game and averages 4.3 rebounds per game ... Howard is second on the team with 16 three-pointers ... Matt Stainbrook chips in 8.9 points per game and is second on the glass with 5.8 caroms per game.
Turning Up The Defense . . .
Ball State continues its defensive dominance under fourth-year head coach Billy Taylor ... The Cardinals are first in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (62.5) and three-point defense (.282) while second the league in field goal defense (.401) ... Ball State is currently 44th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 56th in field goal percentage defense and fifth in the nation in three-point field goal defense.
Ball State led the MAC in scoring defense last year (62.4), field goal percentage defense (.400) and three-point percentage defense (.312).
Double Trouble . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals with seven double-doubles on the season ... Jones has tallied double dips against Eastern Illinois (twice), Indiana State, Alaska-Anchorage, DePaul, SIU Edwardsville and Northern Illinois ... He is second in the Mid-American Conference behind Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry (9) ... Jones has posted 17 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 76 assists the first 13 games and has only committed 37 turnovers ... His 76 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 23rd in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.8 and his assist/turnover ratio is 115th in the country (1.92)
He handed out a game-high eight assists against Eastern Illinois ... He followed that up with a nine-assist effort against Indiana State ... He also dished out nine helpers against St. John's in the Great Alaska Shootout before setting a career-high with 11 assists against Southern Utah ... He reached nine assists for the third time this year against Mount St. Joseph.
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.
Last year in MAC play, the Cardinals posted an 8-8 overall record ... Guard Randy Davis had a breakout MAC campaign last year as he led the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game while handing out 55 assists ... He connected on 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from three-point land and 83.6 percent (56-of-67) from the free throw line against conference foes ... Forward Jarrod Jones averaged 10.2 points per game and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per contest in MAC play ... Guard Jauwan Scaife chipped in 10.2 points per game and hit 24-of-65 (36.9%) from long range.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Ball State are in the top three in 10 different Mid-American Conference team statistical categories ... The Cardinals lead the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.22), scoring defense (62.5), three-point field goal defense (.282) and rebounding defense (34.0) while placing second in scoring margin (+7.7), field goal percentage (.454) and field goal defense (.401) ... Ball State is third in the MAC in assists (14.54), turnover margin (+2.46) and and defensive rebounds (25.46).
Ball State has four players ranked in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking fourth in the league (16.8) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 17th (11.8), junior guard Randy Davis is 27th (9.8) and freshman guard Jesse Berry is 29th (9.6).
Davis is second in the MAC in assists at 5.85 per game ... He is also sixth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.05), ninth in steals (1.62) and fifth in free throw percentage (.814) ... Scaife is second in the MAC in free throw percentage at .870 ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 9.2 boards per game and fifth in field goal percentage at .531.
Davis: 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 in January, the final 10 by February 3 and final five by March 3.
Davis is second in the Mid-American Conference and 22nd in NCAA Division I in assists per game at 5.90 ... He also is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game ... He has dished out at least six assists in seven games this season, including a career-high 11 assists against Southern Utah (Nov. 26).
Buzzer Beater . . .
Freshman guard Tyrae Robinson introduced himself to Ball State fans with a splash earlier this year 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.
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.
Home, Sweet Home . . .
Wednesday's game marks the Cardinals' 278th game all-time at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 202-75 all-time record at Worthen Arena and has won 72.9 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals have posted a 5-0 record this season at Worthen with wins over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Mount St. Joseph, North Carolina A&T and SIU Edwardsville ... 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.
Television Package Announced . . .
The Ball State athletic department announced the television package for the upcoming Mid-American Conference season and the Cardinals can have up to 10 league games televised this season on the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN), BSU Sports Link, SportsTime Ohio (STO) and ESPNU ... BSSN will broadcast four men's games including Jan. 22 at Toledo, Feb. 1 at Miami, Feb. 5 vs. Buffalo and March 2 at Western Michigan ... Sports Link is schedule to televise the Jan. 27 contest against Kent State.
Additionally, the MAC television package includes games on SportsTime Ohio and ESPNU ... The Cardinals will have one guaranteed STO broadcast Jan. 12 vs. Western Michigan and will have two games on the STO flex-schedule which allows for a 21-day advance notice of the broadcast (Feb. 15 vs. Toledo & Feb. 23 vs. Eastern Michigan) ... Ball State also has two games on the ESPNU flex-schedule with games Feb. 26 at Central Michigan and March 4/5 vs. Northern Illinois up for the 21-day advance notice.
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.
The Billy Taylor Show . . .
The Billy Taylor Show returns for its fourth season as the Ball State Sports Network produces the half-hour show which airs on WIPB-Muncie and online at www.ballstatesports.com ... Kevin Lee returns for his second season as host of the show which airs Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. ... The show has six episodes throughout the Mid-American Conference season ... Show dates included Jan. 4, Jan. 18, Feb. 1, Feb 15, Feb. 22 and March 1.
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.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State continues its two-game home stretch Saturday afternoon as it hosts Central Michigan at 2 p.m. in the first of a men's/women's doubleheader at Worthen Arena.
