Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts IUPUI Wednesday In Home Opener
November 22, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens the home portion of the 2011-12 schedule Wednesday night as the Cardinals host instate foe IUPUI at Worthen Arena ... Wednesday's game marks the first of two games this season against the Jaguars as the Cardinals will face IUPUI December 19 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Wednesday'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.
Home Openers . . .
Wednesday's game marks the 91st home-opener in program history, dating back to the 1920-21 season ... The Cardinals own a 73-17 record all-time in home openers, including victories in three straight and 11 of the past 12 home openers ... Ball State has opened the home portion of the season against IUPUI on two different occasions, posting wins in 2000-01 (W, 73-65) and 2002-03 (W, 85-69).
Last season, the Cardinals opened the home portion of the schedule with a 77-46 victory over Eastern Illinois (11/14/10) ... In that game, forward Jarrod Jones posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while guard Jauwan Scaife led all scorers with 18 points ... Jesse Berry made his Worthen Arena debut and scored 15 points off the bench.
Series History . . .
Wednesday's game marks the seventh meeting all-time between Ball State and IUPUI ... The two teams played for six straight years from the 2000-01 season to the 2005-06 campaign with the Cardinals owning a 5-1 record against the Jaguars ... The teams last met December 7, 2005 with Ball State posting a 53-50 victory on the road at IUPUI ... The teams last played in Muncie December 11, 2004 with the Cardinals recording an 80-73 victory over the Jaguars.
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.
IUPUI is led by first-year head coach Todd Howard ... Howard spent the past 16 years on the Jaguars' sideline, including the past 10 years as the associate head coach under former coach Ron Hunter.
Last Time Out. . .
The Cardinals rallied from a 20-point second half deficit and pulled within five points late against Indiana State before falling 57-50 at the Hulman Center last Friday night ... Ball State was out-scored 38-19 in the first half as it connected on just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) in the opening frame ... The Cardinals responded after the halftime break and turned the tables on the Sycamores, out-scoring ISU 31-19 ... Ball State connected on 41.7 percent (10-of-24) in the second half and hit 8-of-10 free throws.
Junior guard Jauwan Scaife was the only Cardinal in double figures in the loss as he scored 15 points while shooting 5-of-13 from the field ... Senior forward Jarrod Jones scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds while sophomore forward Matt Kamieniecki posted a career-high seven rebounds.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with an 0-2 record on the year after losses at No. 16 Arizona and at Indiana State ... The Cardinals are averaging 56.5 points per game while allowing 65.0 points per game ... Ball State is shooting 36.0 percent (40-of-111) from the field and 26.5 percent (13-of-49) from three-point land ... The Cardinals are being out-rebounded by a 35-32 margin this season.
Senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game and on the glass at 8.5 rebounds per game ... Jones is connecting on 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the field ... Junior guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and has hit a team-high six three-pointers.
Senior guard Randy Davis is averaging 7.5 assists per game while only committing 2.0 turnovers per game ... Sophomore Matt Kamieniecki is second on the glass at 7.0 rebounds per game.
Scouting The Jaguars . . .
IUPUI enters Wednesday's game with a 1-3 record on the year ... The Jaguars opened the season with a victory over Anderson before dropping games at UALR, at Milwaukee and at home to Eastern Michigan ... IUPUI is averaging 71.0 points per game while allowing 67.8 points per game ... The Jaguars are shooting 42.0 percent (100-of-238) from the field and 29.9 percent (23-of-77) from three-point land.
Alex Young, the reigning Summit League Player of the Year, leads the Jaguars in scoring at 16.3 points per game and on the glass at 7.5 rebounds per game ... Young has hit a team-high seven three-pointers this season ... Christian Siakam is second on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game while Stephen Thomas leads the Jaguars with 12 assists and 8.3 points per game.
Climbing The Charts . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones currently ranks 18th in Ball State history with 1,214 career points and is sixth all-time with 737 rebounds ... Senior guard Randy Davis is 10th all-time in Ball State records with 317 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. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 1,214
Rebounding
3. Steve Payne, 1992-95 885
4. Theron Smith, 1999-2002 882
5. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 843
6. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 737
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, 2008-11 317
Jones Collects MAC Honor . . .
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.
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 continue their three-game road swing over the holiday break as they host Calumet College Sunday before welcoming in Texas Southern next Tuesday.
