Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Battles Miami Tuesday Night
January 31, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State hits the road for the first time during Mid-American Conference crossover play Tuesday night as it travels to Oxford, Ohio for a meeting with rival Miami ... Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Millett Hall ... Ball State enters Tuesday's game with a 13-7 overall record and a 5-2 mark in MAC play, which is the top mark in the MAC West Division ... Miami enters the game with a 9-12 overall record and a 4-3 mark in league play.
Due to the forecasted winter storm, the Ball State Sports Network will not be televising Tuesday's game ... The game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha providing the call.
ESPNU BracketBusters . . .
Ball State will participate in the ninth annual ESPNU BracketBusters event February 19 as it travels to face 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Wofford in Spartansburg, S.C. ... Game is set for 7 p.m. at the Benjamin Johnson Arena ... Wofford owns a 12-10 overall record this season and boasts a 9-2 mark in the Southern Conference, where it currently leads the South Division.
Series History vs. Miami . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 94th meeting all-time between Ball State and Miami ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 57-36 margin and have only posted a 10-33 record all-time in Oxford ... Ball State has not won in Oxford since January 17, 2004 when the Cardinals posted a 56-50 victory over the RedHawks.
Ball State snapped a nine-game losing streak to Miami last season with a 65-59 double overtime victory in Muncie ... That victory was the Cardinals' first double overtime victory since 1999 ... The Cardinals rallied from a nine-point second half deficit and closed the game on a 14-4 run to force the overtime period ... Forward Jarrod Jones led the Cardinals to victory as he posted a double-double with a then career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds ... Guard Jauwan Scaife chipped in 11 points while Randy Davis handed out nine assists ... Miami was led by Julian Mavunga who scored 14 points while Nick Winbush chipped in 10 points.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's game with a 13-7 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have dropped three straight games for the first time all season with losses at home to Morehead State, Kent State and Ohio ... The Cardinals are averaging 66.9 points per game while holding opponents to 60.9 points per game ... Ball State is shooting 45.0 percent (443-of-985) from the field and is limiting opponents to 40.2 percent (438-of-1089) shooting from the field.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals in scoring at 15.4 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 8.5 rebounds per contest ... Jones is shooting 52.4 percent (120-of-229) from the field ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game ... Scaife is second on the team with 28 three-pointers and is shooting 35 percent from long range.
Junior guard Randy Davis is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game ... Davis leads the team with 110 assists and has connected on 86.9 percent (93-of-107) from the free throw line ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game and leads the team with 30 three-pointers ... Senior forward Malik Perry is second on the team on the glass at 5.6 boards per game.
Scouting Miami . . .
Miami enters Tuesday's game with a 9-12 overall record and a 4-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The RedHawks have dropped two out of their last three games with loss at Kent State and at home to Western Michigan in overtime ... Miami is averaging 63.7 points per game while allowing 69.9 points per game ... The RedHawks are shoot 43.3 percent (459-of-1060) from the field while opponents are shooting 45.0 percent (537-of-1193) from the field.
Julian Mavunga leads the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 6.7 boards per game ... Mavunga has gone to the free throw line a team-high 125 times this season and has connected on 72.0 percent ... Antonio Ballard was second on the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game but was lost for the season due to an injury suffered at Central Michigan ... Nick Winbush chips in 12.3 points per game and has hit a team-high 44 three-pointers ... Winbush is second among active players on the glass at 6.5 caroms per game.
Jones Climbs The Charts . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones became the 25th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark Saturday afternoon against Ohio ... Jones scored a team-high 21 points against the Bobcats and now has tallied 1,020 career points ... He is currently 24th all-time in scoring in BSU history as he passed George Bradley (1,010) and is seven points shut of 23rd all-time trailing Stan Davis (1,027).
Jones has also led the Cardinals in rebounding since he stepped on campus and leads the team once again this year averaging 8.5 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 620 career rebounds which places him tied for 10th all-time in the BSU history ... He is even with Dan Palambizio (1984-86) with 620 boards ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State suffered its third straight loss last week as it dropped a hard fought 61-60 contest to Ohio at Worthen Arena ... The see-saw affair so both teams make multiple runs of seven or more points in the second half with the Bobcats making the final run with a 7-0 stretch in the closing minutes.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones, who came off the bench for the first time this season and snapped a 69-game starting streak, led the Cardinals with 21 points and seven rebounds as he was 10-of-19 from the field.
Junior guard Randy Davis finished the game with 11 points and six assists in 32 minutes of action as he was 3-of-5 from long range ... Freshman forward Chris Bond added nine points and five rebounds in his first career start as he played a career-high 34 minutes ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry chipped in nine points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field.
Clutch Down The Stretch . . .
Ball State has gone to the free throw line more than any other team in the Mid-American Conference and that has been evident in the final five minutes of games ... The Cardinals have converted 104-of-137 (75.9%) in the final five minutes of games ... Conversely, opponents have hit just 64-of-94 (68.1%) ... Junior guard Randy Davis has been especially strong from the line in the closing minutes as he is shooting 86.8 percent (46-of-53) while Jauwan Scaife has hit 14-of-17 (82.4%) ... Senior forward Malik Perry has gotten in on the act as he has hit 7-of-8 (87.5%) in the final five minutes.
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 (60.9), field goal defense (.402) and three-point defense (.295) ... Ball State is currently 30th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 44th 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).
Getting To The Line . . .
Ball State ranks fifth in the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage connecting on 68.3 percent (373-of-546) ... The Cardinals have been to the line 546 times this season, the most in the MAC and 97 more than second place Kent State (449 in 21 games) ... Ball State goes to the free throw line 27.3 times per game this season, which also leads the MAC ... The Cardinals 28.8 free throw attempts per game rank 21st in all of the NCAA Division I this season.
In MAC play, the Cardinals have connected on 131-of-187 from the line (70.1%) ... The Cardinals have also made 131 free throws with Ohio second in the league with 106 free throws made.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won 13 games this season by an average of 16.2 points per game while its seven losses have been by an average of 12.7 points per game ... In the 13 wins, Ball State has four different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (16.6), Jauwan Scaife (12.6), Randy Davis (11.2) and Jesse Berry (10.1) ... In its losses, BSU only has one player averaging double figures in Jones at 13.1 points per game ... Davis is the next highest scorer at 8.4 points per game.
W's -- L's
Scoring Off. 73.3 -- 55.0
Scoring Def. 57.2 -- 67.7
Field Goal % .484 -- .386
Field Goal % Def. .373 -- .462
3-Pt Field Goal % .337 -- .307
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .271 -- .336
Rebounding Off. 36.2 -- 30.9
Rebounding Def. 33.0 -- 33.1
Assists Per Game 14.8 -- 11.1
Turnover Margin +2.3 -- -1.6
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.1 -- 0.8
Steals/Game 6.9 -- 4.4
Bond Steps Up Too . . .
Freshman forward Chris Bond has seen his playing time almost quadruple over the past nine games ... Bond averaged 5.4 minutes per game in the first five games of his career and has averaged 22.2 minutes per game over the last 13 games ... His increased playing time has also seen a jump in his production as he is averaging 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds over the past six games ... Since the DePaul game, Bond is shooting 62.0 percent (44-of-71) 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.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Ball State are in the top three in seven different Mid-American Conference team statistical categories ... The Cardinals lead the league in scoring defense (60.9), three-point field goal defense (.295) and field goal defense (.402) ... Ball State places second in rebounding defense (33.0), defensive rebounds (24.60), scoring margin (+6.0) ... The Cardinals also rank third in the MAC in rebounding margin (+1.2). Ball State has three players ranked in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking sixth in the league (15.4) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 22nd (11.0) and junior guard Randy Davis is 26th (10.3).
Davis leads the MAC in free throw percentage (.869) and is second in the MAC in assists at 5.50 per game ... He is also fifth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.81) and seventh in steals (1.65) ... Scaife is third in the MAC in free throw percentage at .843 ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game and sixth in field goal percentage at .524.
Jones Earns MAC Weekly Honor . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week (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 eight double-doubles on the season ... Jones has tallied double dips against Eastern Illinois (twice), Indiana State, Alaska-Anchorage, DePaul, SIU Edwardsville, Northern Illinois and Toledo... He is second in the Mid-American Conference behind Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry (10) and is 29th in the NCAA Division I ... 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 110 assists this season and has only committed 60 turnovers ... His 110 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 30th in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.4 and his assist/turnover ratio is 137th in the country (1.83)
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.
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.
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 returns home and hosts Buffalo Saturday afternoon ... Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
