Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts Central Michigan Saturday At 2 P.M.
January 14, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State continues Mid-American Conference play Saturday afternoon as it hosts divisional rival Central Michigan at 2 p.m. ... The Cardinals enter the contest with a 10-4 overall record and a 2-0 mark in MAC play while the Chippewas come into the game with a 4-11 overall record and a 1-1 mark in league action ... The game will be the first of a men's/women's doubleheader at Worthen Arena ... Saturday's game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha providing the call ... Video streaming of the game will be available on www.ballstatesports.com.
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 10-4 record (.714) ... The 10-4 record marks the Cardinals' first winning record 14 games into the season since the 2004-05 season when Ball State owned an 9-5 record ... The Cardinals' .714 winning percentage after 14 games is their highest since the 1999-2000 season when they also boasted a 10-4 record (.714) record on their way to a 22-9 overall mark ... Ball State is also off to a 2-0 start in MAC play for the second time in the past three season as BSU opened the 2008-09 season with wins over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois ... The Cardinals have not opened MAC play with three straight wins since 2003-04 when they posted a 5-0 league start.
Ball State is currently riding a season-best four-game winning streak with victories over North Carolina A&T, SIU Edwardsville, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan ... The four-game streak is the Cardinals' longest since winning four in a row last year (Jan. 26-Feb. 4) with wins over Miami, Buffalo, Ohio and Bowling Green ... The Cardinals have not had a winning streak over four games since the 2003-04 season when they won five straight Jan. 7-Jan. 20.
Home, Sweet Home . . .
Saturday's game marks the Cardinals' 279th game all-time at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 203-75 all-time record at Worthen Arena and has won 73.0 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals have posted a 6-0 record this season at Worthen with wins over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Mount St. Joseph, North Carolina A&T, SIU Edwardsville and Western Michigan ... The Cardinals' 6-0 home record this season is the top home record in the Mid-American Conference this season and is the best start to a home season since the 2004-05 campaign when the Cardinals opened the year 9-0 at Worthen Arena.
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.
Series History . . .
Saturday's game is the 85th meeting all-time between Ball State and Central Michigan ... The Cardinals own a 54-30 record against the Chippewas, including a 33-5 mark all-time in Muncie ... Ball State is 16-2 all-time against the Chippewas in Worthen Arena ... The two teams split the season series last year with Central Michigan claiming a 53-38 victory in Mount Pleasant before Ball State notched a 69-63 victory in Worthen Arena.
In the first meeting, Central Michigan jumped out to a 26-14 halftime lead as the Cardinals hit just 3-of-23 (13.0%) from the field in the opening frame ... Guard Jauwan Scaife led BSU with 12 points but was just 3-of-14 shooting from the field and only 1-of-6 from long range ... Forward Jarrod Jones tallied 11 points and Malik Perry was held scoreless as he fouled out in only 11 minutes of action.
Ball State evened the season series with a pivotal victory at Worthen Arena as the Cardinals opened to a 36-25 halftime lead ... Guard Randy Davis led the Cardinals as he scored 24 points and dished out five assists ... Davis hit 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from long range ... Scaife added 18 points as he was 12-of-14 from the free throw line while Jones chipped in 10 points.
Reaching The Century Mark . . .
Senior forward Malik Perry will appear in his 100th career game for Ball State Saturday afternoon ... Perry has played in 99 games, including 82 career starts prior to Saturday's game ... He has played 2,479 career minutes as a Cardinal and has career averages of 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds 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), field goal defense (.400) and three-point defense (.280) ... Ball State is currently 48th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 66th in field goal percentage defense and 14th 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).
Taking Care Of The Ball . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with 170 turnovers through the first 14 games ... The 170 turnovers is the lowest in the Mid-American Conference this season while the 12.1 turnovers a game ranks 36th in the NCAA Division I ... The Cardinals also lead the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.18, which ranks 43rd nationally.
Getting To The Line . . .
Ball State ranks sixth in the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage connecting on 68.5 percent (267-of-390) ... The Cardinals have been to the line 390 times this season, the most in the MAC and 36 more than second place Kent State (356 in 16 games) ... Ball State goes to the free throw line 27.9 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 (22.8 attempts/game).
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 8.9 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 574 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 three 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 16.5 points per game ... He enters Saturday's game with 943 career points and is 57 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 10 games this season by an average of 18.2 points per game while its four losses have been by an average of 18.2 points per game ... In the 10 wins, Ball State has four different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (17.9), Jauwan Scaife (13.4), Jesse Berry (10.8) and Randy Davis (10.1) ... 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. 76.0 -- 56.0
Scoring Def. 57.8 -- 74.2
Field Goal % .486 -- .381
Field Goal % Def. .369 -- .486
3-Pt Field Goal % .324 -- .293
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .256 -- .333
Rebounding Off. 37.3 -- 29.5
Rebounding Def. 34.2 -- 34.0
Assists Per Game 15.9 -- 10.5
Turnover Margin +4.0 -- -1.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.3 -- 0.9
Steals/Game 7.4 -- 4.3
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State ran its winning streak to four straight games with a 72-63 victory over Western Michigan Wednesday night ... Three Cardinals scored in double figures and eight players scored at least four points as Ball State improved to 6-0 on the season at home at Worthen Arena.
Ball State used a 27-5 run in the first half to take control of the contest, jumping out to a 12-point halftime lead ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry led the Cardinals with 15 points in just 15 minutes of play as he battled foul trouble all game longe ... Berry hit his first four three-point attempts, all in the first half, as he posted 13 first half points ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife chipped in 14 points and six rebounds as he was 7-of-8 from the free throw line ... Junior forward Jarrod Jones notched 12 points while senior forward Malik Perry tallied nine points in the victory.
Jones' Jumps Play . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones has picked up his play since the Cardinals returned from the Great Alaska Shootout ... Over the past eight games, Jones is averaging 18.9 points and 9.3 rebounds ... He has posted four double-doubles in the past eight games and has scored at least 12 points each game ... He is shooting 57.3 percent (59-of-103) from the field during the stretch and 70.2 percent (33-of-47) 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 21.7 minutes per game over the last six games ... His increased playing time has also seen a jump in his production as he is averaging 8.1 points and 5.6 rebounds over the past six games ... Since the DePaul game, Bond is shooting 62.9 percent (25-of-39) 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 Saturday's game with a 10-4 overall record and a 2-0 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have posted four straight victories and wins in seven of their past eight games ... Ball State is averaging 70.3 points per game this season while holding opponents to a MAC-low 62.5 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 45.7 percent (330-of-722) from the field while holding opponents to 40 percent (311-of-777) shooting ... Ball State has connected on 31.7 percent (57-of-180) from long range and limits foes to just 28.0 percent (73-of-261) shooting three-pointers.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 8.9 caroms per contest ... Jones is shooting 52.6 percent (91-of-173) from the field this season ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and has hit 20 three-pointers.
Freshman guard Jesse Berry is third on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game ... Berry leads the team with 22 three-pointers as he hit shooting 35.5 percent from long range ... Junior guard Randy Davis chips in 9.6 points per game while leading the team in assists (78) and steals (24) ... Senior forward Malik Perry adds 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Scouting Central Michigan . . .
Central Michigan enters Saturday's game with a 4-11 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Chippewas are coming off a 65-52 victory over Toledo Wednesday night ... Central Michigan is averaging 59.7 points per game this season while allowing 64.9 points per game ... The Chippewas are shooting 38.4 percent (331-of-862) from the field and 29.6 percent (68-of-230) from long range ... Opponents are shooting 44.8 percent (318-of-710) from the field and 39.4 percent (71-of-180) from long range.
Freshman Trey Zeigler leads the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game ... Zeigler is the top scoring freshmen in the MAC this season and is second on the team with 16 three-pointers ... Jalin Thomas is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game and is second on the glass at 5.7 rebounds per game ... Thomas leads the team with 23 three-pointers ... Forward William McClure leads CMU on the glass at 6.7 caroms per game.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Ball State are in the top three in nine different Mid-American Conference team statistical categories ... The Cardinals lead the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.18), scoring defense (62.5), three-point field goal defense (.280), field goal defense (.400) and rebounding defense (34.1) while placing second in scoring margin (+7.8), field goal percentage (.457) and defensive rebounds (25.14) ... Ball State is third in the MAC in turnover margin (+2.46). Ball State has four players ranked in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking fifth in the league (16.5) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 16th (11.9), freshman guard Jesse Berry is 27th (10.0) and junior guard Randy Davis is 30th (9.6).
Davis is second in the MAC in assists at 5.57 per game ... He is also fifth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.95), eighth in steals (1.71) and fifth in free throw percentage (.836) ... Scaife is third in the MAC in free throw percentage at .870 and 13th in three-point percentage at .357 ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.9 boards per game and seventh in field goal percentage at .526 ... Berry is 14th in three-point percentage at .355.
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 (Jan. 10) ... 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
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 78 assists the first 14 games and has only committed 40 turnovers ... His 78 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 24th in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.8 and his assist/turnover ratio is 87th in the country (2.05)
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.
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).
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.
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 hits the road for two Mid-American Conference games next week as it travels to Eastern Michigan Wednesday and Toledo Saturday.
