Men's Basketball Travels To SIU Edwardsville Tuesday

December 05, 2011 | Men's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

What's On Tap . . .
Ball State continues its two-game road swing against Ohio Valley Conference opponents Tuesday evening as the Cardinals travel to SIU Edwardsville ... Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) and is the second game of a men's/women's doubleheader ... Tuesday's game will be video streamed online at www.siuetv.com for free ... Also, the game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM and online at www.ballstatesports.com with Morry Mannies and Jeff Weller providing the call.

Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the fourth meeting all-time between Ball State and SIU Edwardsville as the two teams have met the past three years with the Cardinals winning all three meetings ... This will be the Cardinals' first ever trip to SIUE in series history.

Last season, Ball State posted a 76-46 victory January 3, 2011 ... The Cardinals shot 50 percent (24-of-48) from the field and scored 40 points in the paint ... Forward Jarrod Jones scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds ... Jones connected on 9-of-11 from the field, while also handing out three assists and notching both a block and a steal ... Guard Jesse Berry finished the night with 18 points as he connected on 5-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

The Cardinals limited SIU Edwardsville to just 34.6 percent (18-of-52) shooting from the field and held the Cougars to just 3-of-16 (18.8%) from three-point land ... Ball State forced the Cougars into 24 turnovers as it tallied 13 steals ... The Cardinals turned those miscues into 25 points off of turnovers in the victory.

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.

SIU Edwardsville is led by fifth-year head coach Lennox Forrester ... Forrester owns a 40-75 mark as the Cougars head coach ... This season he will lead the Cougars through a full Ohio Valley Conference schedule for the first time.

Lighting It Up . . .
Saturday afternoon the Cardinals' offense was hitting on all cylinders in the second half at Tennessee-Martin ... Ball State shot 72.0 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half and hit 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from three-point land as it out-scored the Skyhawks by a 46-30 margin ... The Cardinals' 72 percent field goal percentage marks the first time Ball State has shot at least 70 percent in a half since hitting 71.4 percent against Marshall February 28, 1998.

Last Time Out. . .
Ball State picked up its fourth straight victory with a 71-48 win at Tennessee-Martin Saturday afternoon in a return game for the ESPNU BracketBusters event ... The Cardinals opened the second half on a 26-6 run and out-scored UTM 46-30 in the second half.

Ball State shot 72.0 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half and hit 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from three-point land ... The Cardinals dished out 16 assists on their 18 field goals in the second half as they out-scored UTM 46-30 ... The Ball State defense limited the Skyhawks to a season-low 48 points, which is the lowest total for a BSU opponent since SIU Edwardsville scored 46 points last season ... The Cardinals held UTM to just 33.9 percent (19-of-56) shooting from the field and 20 percent (4-of-20) from three-point land in the 23-point victory.

Senior forward Jarrod Jones paced a Cardinals' attack that saw five different players score at least eight points ... Jones posted a game-high 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds as he was 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line ... Sophomore Jesse Berry added 15 points in just 23 minutes off the bench as he was 6-of-11 from the field.

Defensive Prowess . . .
The Cardinals have been one of the top defensive teams in the Mid-American Conference and the country under fifth-year head coach Billy Taylor and this season is no different ... Ball State enters Tuesday's game leading the MAC and ranking 26th in NCAA Division I in scoring defense holding opponents to a 55.8 point average ... Also, the Cardinals rank third in the MAC in field goal percentage defense at 36.5 percent.

Last season, Ball State led the MAC and was 64th in the nation in scoring defense at 64.0 points per game while placing third in the league in field goal percentage defense at 42.0 ... Two years ago, the Cardinals also led the MAC in scoring defense and were 43rd in the nation at 62.4 points per game.

Hitting The Glass . . .
Ball State has been strong on the glass this season as it ranks fourth in rebounding offense in the Mid-American Conference at 37.8 boards per game and is first in rebounding defense at 31.7 caroms per game ... The Cardinals have out-rebounded their opponents in five of six games this year with only No. 16 Arizona grabbing more boards than the Cardinals.

In fact, Ball State has out-rebounded three opponents by double figures this year in IUPUI (+11), Calumet College (+14) and Texas Southern (+12).

Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's game with a 4-2 overall record and have won four straight games ... The Cardinals are averaging 65.2 points per game while holding opponents to a Mid-American Conference best 55.3 points per game ... Ball State is shooting 41.9 percent (137-of-327) from the field and 32.1 percent (42-of-131) from long range ... Opponents are being held to 36.5 percent shooting (111-of-304) from the field and 29.6 percent (34-of-115) from three-point land.

Senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 19.5 points per game and on the glass at 8.7 rebounds per game ... Jones is connecting on 61.1 percent (44-of-72) from the field and 83.3 percent (25-of-30) from the free throw line ... Junior guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and has hit a team-high 14 three-pointers.

Senior guard Randy Davis is fourth in scoring at 8.7 points per game and leads the team with 45 assists while only committing 10 turnovers ... Sophomore Jesse Berry chips in 9.3 points while sophomore Chris Bond adds 5.2 rebounds per game.

Scouting The Cougars . . .
SIU Edwardsville enters Tuesday's game with a 1-5 overall record, including a 79-57 loss Saturday to Cal State Fullerton ... The Cougars are averaging 62.8 points per game while allowing 72.0 points per game ... SIUE is shooting 41.3 percent (138-of-334) from the field and 39.7 percent (50-of-126) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 44.8 percent (141-of-315) from the field and 36.2 percent (42-of-116) from long range.

Mark Yelovich leads the Cougars in scoring at 13.4 points per game ... Jerome Jones is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points and leads the team on the glass at 7.3 rebounds per game ... Kris Davis is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 13 three-pointers ... Corey Wickware has also tallied 13 three-pointers.

Koch-ing It Up . . .
Redshirt sophomore Tyler Koch sat out last season after transferring from Wright State and spent the time rehabbing from an ankle injury and a hip injury ... Koch has hit the ground running playing in all six games and getting the start the past five games ... He is averaging 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season, including a career-high 14 points against Calumet College ... He dished out a career-high five assists Saturday at UT Martin.

Jones Scoring Numbers . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals and is second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game ... Jones ranks 37th in NCAA Division I in scoring this season.

Jones has scored at least 20 points in four of the six games this season, including back-to-back efforts for the first time in his career ... He scored 25 points against No. 16 Arizona in the season opener, scored a career-high 26 points against IUPUI, added 23 points against Calumet College and posted 22 points against UT Martin ... He has notched 14 games of 20-plus points in his career.

Running The Point . . .
Senior guard Randy Davis leads the Cardinals and the Mid-American Conference at 7.5 assists per game ... Davis currently ranks fourth in NCAA Division I in assists per game ... Additionally, Davis leads the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 4.50 .

Ball State as a team is tied for second in the MAC with 15.2 assists per game... The Cardinals lead the MAC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.21.

Double-Dipping . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones has posted back-to-back double-doubles to raise his career total to a Mid-American Conference best 22 double-doubles ... Jones has accomplished the feat this season against Calumet College and Texas Southern.

Climbing The Charts . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones currently ranks 13th in Ball State history with 1,299 career points and is sixth all-time with 772 rebounds ... Jones moved up three spots in the scoring charts with his 22-point effort at UT Martin as he passed Ed Butler, Randy Boarden and Chris Williams ... Additionally, Jones is seventh all-time with 97 career starts ... Senior guard Randy Davis moved into the top 10 all-time in Ball State assists records as he is eighth with 347 assists.

Scoring
9. Peyton Stovall, 2003-08 1,383
10. Dan Palombizio, 1984-86 1,369
11. Skip Mills, 2003-07 1,360
12. Patrick Jackson, 1998-02 1,348
13. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 1,299
14. Chris Williams, 2001-03 1,291 15. Randy Boarden, 1975-79 1,290

Rebounding
3. Steve Payne, 1992-95 885
4. Theron Smith, 1999-2002 882
5. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 843
6. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 765

Game Started
4. Randy Zachary, 1993-97 100
5. Malik Perry, 2007-11 99
6. Scott Nichols, 1986-90 98
7. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 97

Assists
5. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 386
6. Patrick Jackson, 1998-02 349
Peyton Stovall, 2003-08 349
8. Randy Davis, 2008-11 347
9. John Williams, 1979-82 344
10. Randy Zachary, 1993-97 340

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.

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).

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 return home Saturday afternoon as it hosts two-time NCAA Tournament final participant Butler ... Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Worthen Arena and the game will be televised on the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN).