Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Opens MAC Play Saturday At NIU
January 06, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens Mid-American Conference play Saturday afternoon as it travels to DeKalb, Ill., for a meeting with the Northern Illinois Huskies ... The game will be the first MAC game played across the schedule for the 2011 season ... Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. (ET) at the Convocation Center ... The game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and Jeff Weller providing the call.
Cardinals Off To Fast Start . . .
Ball State owns the top record in the Mid-American Conference West Division and is tied for the best mark in the entire MAC with an 8-4 record (.667) heading into league play ... The 8-4 record marks the Cardinals' first winning record heading into league play since the 2004-05 season when Ball State owned a 5-3 record ... The Cardinals' .667 winning percentage entering league play is their highest since the 1999-2000 season when they boasted an 8-1 record (.889) record on their way to a 22-9 overall mark.
MAC Openers . . .
Saturday's game marks the 38th Mid-American Conference opener in Ball State history, dating back to the 1975-76 season ... The Cardinals are 16-21 all-time in MAC openers, including a 62-48 loss last season at home to Northern Illinois (1/9/10) ... Saturday's game marks the 17th time Ball State has opened league play on the road and the first since the 2008-09 season when BSU defeated Eastern Michigan 46-42.
Ball State and Northern Illinois have met three times in MAC openers, including last season's NIU victory ... The Huskies and Cardinals met in the 1999-2000 conference opener with NIU taking home a 75-67 victory in DeKalb ... The two teams opened the 1981-82 conference season with the Cardinals claiming a 73-65 victory in Muncie.
Series History . . .
Saturday's game marks the 74th meeting all-time between Ball State and Northern Illinois ... The Cardinals hold a 42-31 record all-time in the series and the teams have split the season series the past three years ... Ball State is 14-21 all-time against the Huskies in DeKalb, including a victory last season at the Convocation Center.
Last year, Northern Illinois won the first meeting between the two teams with a 62-48 victory at Worthen Arena January 9 ... Xavier Silas led the Huskies in the league opener as he scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds ... Silas hit 15-of-15 from the free throw line in the victory ... Forward Malik Perry led the Cardinals with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench ... Ball State shot just 27.1 percent (16-of-59) from the field in the loss as NIU opened the second half on a 19-4 run.
Ball State evened the season series with a 71-66 victory over Northern Illinois in DeKalb February 13 ... Guard Randy Davis led the Cardinals to victory as he scored 20 points, including 15 in the second half, as he was 7-of-12 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds ... Forward Jarrod Jones chipped in 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds while guard Pierre Sneed added 10 points off the bench ... The Huskies were led once again by Silas who finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds a he hit 9-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
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 9.0 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 558 career rebounds which places him 13th all-time in the BSU annals ... He recently surpassed Paris McCurdy for 13th all-time (547) and Chandler Thompson for 14th (534) ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Jones also leads the team in scoring as he averages 16.2 points per game ... He enters Saturday's game with 906 career points and is 94 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 eight 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 eight wins, Ball State has four different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (17.8), Jauwan Scaife (12.9), Jesse Berry (11.0) and Randy Davis (10.6) ... 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. 76.6 / 56.0
Scoring Def. 55.6 / 74.2
Field Goal % .489 / .381
Field Goal % Def. .359 / .486
3-Pt Field Goal % .302 / .293
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .234 / .333
Rebounding Off. 37.6 / 29.5
Rebounding Def. 33.9 / 34.0
Assists Per Game 16.8 / 10.5
Turnover Margin +5.0 / -1.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.4 / 0.9
Steals/Game 7.8 / 4.3
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State ran its home record to 5-0 on the season with a 76-46 victory over SIU Edwardsville Monday evening ... The Cardinals connected on 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the field in the victory as they posted 40 points in the paint ... Ball State held the Cougars to just 34.6 percent (18-of-52) shooting from the field and only 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point land ... The Cardinals forced SIUE into 24 turnovers and turned those miscues into 25 points.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones posted a double-double in the victory as he scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, both game-highs ... Jones connected on 9-of-11 from the field while also handing out three assists ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry scored 18 points in his return to the starting five as he was 5-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Senior forward Malik Perry added 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals in 26 minutes of play ... Junior guard Randy Davis ended the game with 10 points, six assists and four rebounds while freshman Chris Bond chipped in eight points.
Jones' Jumps Play . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones has picked up his play since the Cardinals returned from the Great Alaska Shootout ... Over the past six games, Jones is averaging 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds ... He has posted three double-doubles in the past six games and has scored at least 15 points each game ... He is shooting 59.5 percent (44-of-74) from the field during the stretch and 72.2 percent (26-of-36) from the free throw line.
During the recent six-game streak, Jones scored a career-high 25 points against North Carolina A&T (12/31/10) while hitting a career-high 11-of-13 from the free throw line ... Last time out, he scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as he was 9-of-11 from the field against SIU Edwardsville.
Bond Steps Up Too . . .
Freshman forward Chris Bond has seen his playing time almost quadruple over the past five games ... Bond averaged 5.4 minutes per game in the first five games of his career and has averaged 20.6 minutes per game over the last five games ... His increased playing time has also seen a jump in his production as he is averaging 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds over the past five games ... Since the DePaul game, Bond is shooting 62.1 percent (18-of-29) 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.
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.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with an 8-4 overall record and a 2-3 mark on the road this season ... The Cardinals are averaging 69.8 points per game and holding opponents to 61.8 points per game ... Ball State is shooting 45.5 percent (282-of-620) from the field and 29.9 percent (47-of-157) from three-point land ... The Cardinals are limiting opponents to 39.9 percent (261-of-654) shooting from the field and just 27.0 percent (61-of-226) from long range.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring (16.2) and rebounding (9.0) ... Jones also is shooting 52.8 percent (76-of-144) from the field this year ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game and is second on the team with 16 three-pointers ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry is third on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and has hit a team-high 17 three-pointers.
Junior guard Randy Davis chips in 9.9 points per game and leads the team with 71 assists ... Davis has also hit 14 three-pointers this season and leads the team with 21 steals ... Senior forward Malik Perry adds 8.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as he is shooting 56.3 percent (36-of-64) from the field.
Scouting Northern Illinois . . .
Northern Illinois enters Saturday's game with a 4-8 overall record and a 3-2 mark at home in DeKalb ... The Huskies are coming off a 72-63 loss at Iowa State ... NIU is averaging 71.3 points per game while allowing 77.8 points per game ... The Huskies are shooting 41.5 percent (292-of-704) from the field and 30.5 percent (67-of-220) from three-point land ... Northern Illinois' opponents are shooting 46.4 percent (323-of-696) from the field and 32.4 percent (73-of-225) from long range.
Senior guard Xavier Silas leads the team and the Mid-American Conference in scoring as he averages 24.0 points per game ... Silas ranks third in NCAA Division I in scoring and has scored over 22 points on eight different occasions this year ... He is shooting 47.0 percent (87-of-185) from the field and leads the MAC in free throw shooting as he connects on 90.1 percent (91-of-101) from the line.
Tim Toler is second on the team in scoring at 7.5 points per game and is second on the glass at 4.4 boards per game ... Nate Rucker is third on the team in scoring at 7.0 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 4.8 caroms per contest ... Tony Nixon is second on the team in three-pointers with 13 and Bryan Hall leads the team with 32 assists.
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 (61.8) and three-point defense (.270) while second the league in field goal defense (.399) ... Ball State is currently 75th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 81st in field goal percentage defense and 12th 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 six double-doubles on the season ... Jones has tallied double dips against Eastern Illinois (twice), Indiana State, Alaska-Anchorage, DePaul and SIU Edwardsville ... He is tied for second in the Mid-American Conference behind Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry (8) ... Jones has posted 16 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 71 assists the first 12 games and has only committed 37 turnovers ... His 71 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 22nd in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.9 and his assist/turnover ratio is 135th 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, 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 10 different Mid-American Conference team statistical categories ... The Cardinals lead the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.21), scoring defense (61.8), three-point field goal defense (.270) and rebounding offense (33.9) while placing second in scoring margin (+7.9), field goal percentage (.455), field goal defense (.399) and assists (14.67) ... Ball State is third in the MAC turnover margin (+2.75) and and defensive rebounds (25.00).
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 (16.2) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 18th (11.3), freshman guard Jesse Berry is 25th (10.0) and junior guard Randy Davis is 27th (9.9).
Davis is second in the MAC in assists at 5.92 per game ... He is also sixth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.92), eighth in steals (1.75) and sixth in free throw percentage (.811) ... Scaife is third in the MAC in free throw percentage at .864 ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 9.0 boards per game and eighth in field goal percentage at .528.
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 by January 3, 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 . . .
Monday's game marked the Cardinals' 277th 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.
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.
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 opens the home portion of the Mid-American Conference schedule Wednesday night as it hosts Western Michigan ... Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
