Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts SIU Edwardsville Monday Night
January 02, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens the 2011 calendar year as the Cardinals welcome SIU-Edwardsville Monday night to Worthen Arena for a 7 p.m. tip-off in its final tune-up before Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals bring a 7-4 overall record into the contest, including a 4-0 mark at home this season ... The Cougars own a 4-12 overall record and had a two-game winning streak snapped last time out at Murray State.
Monday'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.
Series History . . .
Monday's game marks the third meeting all-time between the Cardinals and Cougars ... Ball State owns a 2-0 record all-time against SIU-Edwardsville as the teams will be meeting for the third straight year ... Last season, the Cardinals posted a 57-47 victory over the Cougars at Worthen Arena November 21 ... Forward Jarrod Jones led the Cardinals with a game-high 19 points as he was 7-of-10 shooting from the field ... Jones also came just shy of a double-double was he grabbed eight rebounds as Ball State out-rebounded SIUE 40-32, including 17 offensive rebounds ... Guard Jauwan Scaife chipped in 12 points as he hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line ... SIU Edwardsville was led by David Boarden who finished with 14 points while Mark Yelovich added nine points and 11 rebounds.
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.
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 547 career rebounds which places him in a tie for 13th all-time in the BSU annals ... He is tied with Paris McCurdy for 13th all-time and recently surpassed Chandler Thompson (534) ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won seven games this season by an average of 19.7 points per game while its four losses have been by an average of 18.2 points per game ... In the seven wins, Ball State has four different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (17.6), Jauwan Scaife (14.1), Randy Davis (10.7) and Jesse Berry (10.0) ... 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. 76.7 -- 56.0
Scoring Def. 57.0 -- 74.2
Field Goal % .488 -- .381
Field Goal % Def. .360 -- .486
3-Pt Field Goal % .314 -- .293
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .240 -- .333
Rebounding Off. 38.4 -- 29.5
Rebounding Def. 34.1 -- 34.0
Assists Per Game 16.7 -- 10.5
Turnover Margin +3.6 -- -1.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.3 -- 0.9
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State improved to 4-0 this season at Worthen Arena with an 80-68 New Year's Eve victory over North Carolina A&T ... The Cardinals dominated play inside as they posted 38 points in the paint and held a 45-30 advantage on the glass.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones led the attack as he scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds ... Jones hit 7-of-13 from the field and connected on a career-high 11-of-14 from the free throw line ... The Cardinals as a team hit a season-high 31-of-38 (81.6%) free throws in the victory.
Ball State received strong contributions from its freshman class off the bench ... Freshmen Jesse Berry, Chris Bond and Tyrae Robinson combined to score 38 points off the bench ... Berry tallied 15 points as he was 3-of-6 from three-point land ... Bond scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Robinson chipped in a career-high 10 points while grabbing five rebounds.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Monday's game with a 7-4 overall record ... The Cardinals are averaging 69.2 points per game this season while holding opponents to a Mid-American Conference low 63.3 points per game ... Ball State is shooting 45.1 percent (258-of-572) from the field while limiting opponents to 40.4 percent (243-of-602) shooting.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring as he averages 15.9 points per game and also leads the team on the glass at 8.8 caroms per contest ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game and leads the team with 16 three-pointers ... Junior guard Randy Davis chips in 9.9 points per game and leads the team with 65 assists ... Davis also is third on the team with 14 three-pointers.
Freshman guard Jesse Berry adds 9.3 points per game and has hit 14 three-pointers ... Senior forward Malik Perry is second on the team in rebounding at 5.3 boards per game while notching 7.7 points per contest.
Scouting SIUE . . .
SIU Edwardsville enters Monday's game with a 4-12 overall record, including an 0-9 mark on the road ... The Cougars are coming off a 71-46 loss at Murray State ... SIUE is averaging 61.9 points per game this season while allowing 78.1 points per game against ... The Cougars are shooting 41.2 percent (359-of-871) from the field and opponents are hitting 46.5 percent (438-of-942) from the field.
Corey Wickware leads the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game and has hit a team-high 31 three-pointers ... Nikola Bundalo is second on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 6.1 rebounds per game ... Cornelius Chatt chips in 8.9 points per game while Michael Messer adds 8.4 points per game.
Did You Know? . . .
The Cardinals connected on 31-of-38 (81.6%) from the free throw line in Friday's victory over North Carolina A&T ... The 31 made free throws are the most for the Cardinals' this season and the most since Ball State hit 31 against Manchester last New Year's Eve.
Davis A 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 5.90 ... He also is third on the team in scoring at 9.9 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).
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 . . .
Monday's game marks the Cardinals' 277th game all-time at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 201-75 all-time record at Worthen Arena and has won 72.6 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals have posted a 4-0 record this season at Worthen with wins over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Mount St. Joseph and North Carolina A&T ... 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 65 assists the first 11 games and has only committed 36 turnovers ... His 65 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... 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 ... He handed out nine assists against Mount St. Joseph.
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 (1.16) scoring defense (63.3) and three-point field goal defense (.276) while placing second in scoring margin (+5.9), field goal percentage (.451), field goal defense (.404) and defensive rebounds (25.27) ... Ball State is third in the MAC in assists (14.45), turnover margin (+1.64) and rebounding defense (34.1)
Ball State has three players ranked in the top 25 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking fifth in the league (15.9) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 14th (12.0) and junior guard Randy Davis is 25th (9.9).
Davis is second in the MAC in assists at 5.91 per game ... He is also sixth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.74), eighth in steals (1.55) and fifth in free throw percentage (.833) ... Scaife is second in the MAC in free throw percentage at .900 ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.8 boards per game and eight in field goal percentage at .504.
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 first in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (63.3) and three-point defense (.276) while second the league in field goal defense (.404) ... 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 opens the 2011 Mid-American Conference play Saturday afternoon as it travels to DeKalb, Ill., for the first of two meetings with Northern Illinois.
