Ball State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels To Indiana State Today
November 18, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State continues its two-game road swing to open the 2011-12 season Friday as the Cardinals travel to instate rival Indiana State ... Game time is set for 5:05 p.m. at the Hulman Center ... The game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM and on www.ballstatesports.com with Morry Mannies and Jeff Weller providing the call ... The game will be video streamed online at www.gosycamores.com, a fee is required to view the game.
Series History . . .
Friday's game marks the 126th meeting all-time between Ball State and Indiana State dating back to the first meeting February 11, 1922 (Indiana State 47-12) ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 68-57 margin but have won two straight in the series and nine of the last 12 meetings.
Last season, Ball State posted a 75-60 victory in Worthen Arena behind a career-high 24 points by guard Jauwan Scaife ... Scaife scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half, including a stretch of 17 straight points in a span of 5:08 ... He went 7-for-10 from the field in the second half with one three-pointer, while adding a perfect 7-for-7 effort from the line ... He was 0-for-4 from the field and just 2-for-2 from the line in the first half ... Jarrod Jones scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while also posting two steals and two assists. Junior guard Randy Davis scored 15 points while dishing out a career-high nine assists and committing just two turnovers.
Ball State is just 17-47 all-time against the Sycamores in Terre Haute but won the last meeting at the Hulman Center with a 68-63 victory ... Jones scored 16 points in the victory while Scaife added 14 points and Davis chipped in 11 in the victory.
Jones Earns MAC West Player Of The Week Honors . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week Monday ... Jones tied his career-high with 25 points against No. 16 Arizona Sunday night while also grabbing nine rebounds ... He connected on 11-of-15 (73.3%) against the nationally ranked Wildcats, including hitting 3-of-3 from three-point land ... He played a team-high 37 minutes as the Cardinals led by 11 points in the second half before their upset bid fell short ... His 25 points ties his career-high which he has posted two other times in his career.
Coaching Comparison . . .
Ball State is led by fifth-year head coach Billy Taylor ... Taylor has led the Cardinals to 54 wins over the past four seasons, including a 19-win campaign last year which marked the 11th most wins in program history ... The Cardinals have finished either first or second in the Mid-American Conference West Division the past three years and have advanced to the MAC Tournament semifinals two out of the last three years.
Greg Lansing is in his second season as head coach of Indiana State after spending eight years as an assistant coach for the Sycamores ... Lansing led ISU to a 20-14 record in his rookie campaign as well as a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Last Time Out. . .
Ball State opened the 2011-12 season with a near upset as the Cardinals led No. 16 Arizona by 11 points early in the second half before falling 73-63 in front of 12,833 raucous fans at the McKale Center ... Arizona out-scored the Cardinals 44-25 in the second half to run its record to 3-0 on the year.
Senior forward Jarrod Jones tied his career-high with 25 points as he was 11-of-15 from the field ... Jones connected on 3-of-3 from three-point land, his first three-pointers of his career ... He also grabbed nine rebounds in 37 minutes of play ... Senior guard Randy Davis tied his career-high with 11 assists while only committing two turnovers in 36 minutes.
Junior guard Jauwan Scaife added 14 points on the strength of 4-of-9 shooting from long range ... Sophomore Jesse Berry chipped in 11 points off the bench ... Redshirt sophomore Tyler Koch started his first career game as a Cardinal and played 18 minutes ... Koch sat out last season after transferring from Wright State and was expected to miss games this season due to offseason surgery but made an early return in Arizona.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State returns nine letterwinners from last season's 19-13 team, includings its top five scorers ... The Cardinals opened the 2011-12 season Sunday afternoon with a 73-63 loss at No. 16 Arizona ... Ball State committed just nine turnovers in the loss and out-scored the Wildcats 26-10 in the paint ... The Cardinals connected on 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field and 32.1 percent (9-of-28) from long range.
Senior forward Jarrod Jones tied his career-high with 25 points against the Wildcats ... His 25-point effort marked the 66th time in his career he has scored in double figures and the 11th time he has reached at least 20 points in a game.
Senior guard Randy Davis dished out a game-high 11 assists in the loss, matching his career-high (vs. Southern Utah, 11/26/10) ... Junior guard Jauwan Scaife connected on 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from three-point land in the loss as he scored 14 points.
Scouting The Sycamores . . .
Indiana State enters Friday's game with a 2-0 record on the year after downing Eastern Illinois (79-72) and Louisiana-Monroe (71-59) ... The Sycamores are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
Indiana State is shooting 43.4 percent (49-of-113) from the field and 35.9 percent (14-of-39) from long range ... ISU is holding opponents to a 42.5 field goal percentage (48-of-113) and a 44.1 clip from three-point land (15-of-34).
Carl Richard leds the Sycamores in scoring at 15.0 points per game and on the glass at 8.0 boards per game ... Jake Odum is second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game and has dished out 13 assists this year ... Dwayne Lathan rounds out the double figure scorers for ISU as he averages 10.0 points per game.
Climbing The Charts . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones currently ranks 19th in Ball State history with 1,207 career points and is seventh all-time with 729 rebounds ... Senior guard Randy Davis is 10th all-time in Ball State records with 313 assists.
Scoring
13. Chris Williams, 2001-03 1,291 14. Randy Boarden, 1975-79 1,290
15. Ed Butler, 1961-64 1,278
16. J. Sylvester, 1990-94 1,238
17. C. Thompson, 1989-92 1,219
18. Tom Dobbs, 1953-57 1,210
19. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 1,207
Rebounding
3. Steve Payne, 1992-95 885
4. Theron Smith, 1999-2002 882
5. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 843
6. Mike Readnour, 1959-62 732
7. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 729
Assists
5. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 386
6. Patrick Jackson, 1998-02 349
Peyton Stovall, 2003-08 349
8. John Williams, 1979-82 344
9. Randy Zachary, 1993-97 340
10. Randy Davis, 2008-11 313
Cardinals Tabbed Second . . .
Ball State has been picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference West Division preseason poll as selected by the MAC News Media Association ... The Cardinals were picked to finish second in the MAC West Division with 111 points, including nine first place votes, behind Western Michigan (128/14) ... The Cardinals finished last season with a 19-13 overall record and a 10-6 mark in MAC play, finishing second in the West Division ... The Cardinals returns nine letterwinners, including its top five scorers, from last season's team which posted the 11th most wins in program history.
Rounding out the MAC West Division are Central Michigan (92/1), Toledo (76), Northern Illinois (59) and Eastern Michigan (38) ... Reigning MAC regular season champion Kent State was selected to win the East Division with 132 total points, including 16 first place votes ... Akron was tabbed second with 104 points and eight first place votes followed by Ohio (94), Miami (80), Buffalo (62) and Bowling Green (32).
Kent State was also selected to win the 2012 MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio as it received 12 of the 24 votes ... Akron was second with six votes followed by the Cardinals (3), Western Michigan (2) and Central Michigan (1).
Captains Earn MAC Honors . . .
Ball State senior captains Jarrod Jones and Randy Davis were named to the preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Division teams last week ... The two Cardinals were joined by Western Michigan's Flenard Whitfield and Demetrius Ward along with Central Michigan's Trey Zeigler on the West Division squad.
Jones highlights the MAC West Division preseason team, earning preseason accolades for the third time in his career ... He earned First Team All-MAC and MAC All-Tournament honors last season as a junior when leading the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and rebounding at 8.4 caroms per game ...He scored double figures in 27 of BSU's 32 games, including five games of 20-plus points last season while posting 11 double-doubles.
Davis earns preseason All-MAC honors for the first time in his career after starting all 32 games last season as the Cardinals' point guard ... He averaged 9.8 points per game while leading the team with 160 assists and 48 steals ... He led the MAC from the free throw line connecting on 87.3 percent (117-of-134) while placing second in assists per game (5.0).
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones has been selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award given to basketball student-athletes who excel on and off the court ... Jones is the first Cardinal to be selected as a candidate since Peyton Stovall was a finalist for the 2007-08 award.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition ... The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot ... Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, Division I men's coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Cardinals Sign Four . . .
Ball State head coach Billy Taylor announced the signings of Michael Ramey (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport), Bo Calhoun (South Bend, Ind./Washington), Marcus Posley (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Auburn) and Mading Thok (Boyden, Iowa/Western Christian) to national letters of intent Friday morning during the early signing period.
Ramey, a 6-5 shooting guard, was recently ranked as a Top 25 Shooter in the country for the class of 2012 by ESPN.com after leading the state in three-point shooting as a junior, connecting on 52.4 percent (66-of-126) ... He averaged 19.5 points per game as a junior to earn First Team All-Conference honors.
Calhoun, a 6-6 forward, earned First Team All-Northern Indiana Conference honors last season after averaging 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game ... He has led the Panthers to a 46-22 record during his first three seasons, including a 12-7 mark last season.
Posley, a 6-1 guard Illinois High School Association All-State honors as a junior as he averaged 19.4 points per game and 4.5 assists per contest ... He also picked up All-Northern Illinois Conference and All-Area accolades last season.
Thok, a 7-0 center, is a native of Bor, Sudan ... He averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a junior while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 67.6 percent from the free throw line.
Digital Guide Available Online . . .
The Ball State men's basketball digital guide is available online at www.ballstatesports.com by clicking the digital guide page.
Fresh Faces . . .
The Cardinals welcome in two freshmen to this year's team in guard Zeke Chapman and forward Aaron Adeoye ... Also, Ball State will have redshirt sophomore forward Tyler Koch available this season after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules coming from Wright State.
Chapman comes to the Cardinals from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz. ... He earned All-State honors as a senior when he led the Firebirds to the Class 5A state championship game ... He averaged 17.6 points, 4.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game as a senior.
Adeoye (pronounces A-DAY-oo-ee) joins the Cardinals from Marion, Ill., where he was a three-year letterwinner at Marion High school ... He averaged 19.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game as a senior while earning Honorable Mention All-State honors.
Summer Trip To Canada . . .
Ball State took a nine-day foreign trip to Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada this past August ... The Cardinals posted a 4-0 record on the trip as they picked up wins over Quest University, Trinity Western University, Victoria Select and Vancouver Island University.
The Cardinals averaged 101.8 points per game in the four-game trip as they won by an average margin of 31.5 points per game ... Ball State posted 22.5 assists per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field as a team.
Nine different Cardinals averaged at least six points per game on the trip ... Junior guard Jauwan Scaife led the team in scoring at 19.5 points per game while hitting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from long range ... Sophomore Chris Bond added 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds. 4.0 assists and 3.25 steals per game ... Senior forward Jarrod Jones chipped in 15.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while senior Randy Davis added 9.5 points and 7.0 assists per game.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals open the home portion of the 2011-12 season Wednesday evening as they begin a three-game home stand as they welcome in IUPUI to Worthen Arena.
