Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Travels To Central Michigan Saturday Night
February 26, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State begins a two-game road swing Saturday night as it travels to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a meeting with Mid-American Conference rival Central Michigan ... Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at McQuirk Arena ... The Cardinals head into the final three games of the regular season with a 16-11 overall record and an 8-5 mark in MAC play ... Ball State sits tied atop the MAC West Division with Western Michigan and control its own destiny for the divisional title down the stretch ... Central Michigan enters Saturday's game with a 9-18 overall record and a 6-7 mark in MAC play as it sits alone in third place in the MAC West Division.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM and online at www.ballstatesports.com with Morry Mannies and Jerry Peirson providing the call ... Live stats and video will be available online at www.cmuchippewas.com.
16 Wins & Counting . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 16-11 overall record marking the Cardinals' first season of at least 16 wins since posting a 23-12 record in 2001-02 ... The Cardinals are also guaranteed of their first winning record since the 2004-05 season (15-14) ... Ball State has now posted three straight seasons of at least 14 wins and the two straight years reaching 15 wins (15-15 in 2009-10).
Additionally, the Cardinals own an 8-5 record in Mid-American Conference play ... The eight MAC wins have already tied last year's MAC win total (8-8) ... Ball State has not won more than eight league games in a season since posting a 10-8 record in 2004-05.
Divisional Records . . .
The Mid-American Conference tiebreakers for the 2011 MAC Tournament have a new twist this season ... The first tiebreaker for tournament seeding is head-to-head matchups while the second tiebreaker is now a team's divisional record ... This marks the first year that divisional record will help decide tournament seeding ... In years past, the second tiebreaker was record against ranked teams (regardless of division) ... Ball State enters Saturday's game leading the MAC West with a 7-0 divisional record while Western Michigan owns a 5-2 mark against MAC West foes.
MAC Tournament . . .
The 2011 Mid-American Conference Tournament begins Tuesday, March 8 with the first round games at campus sites while the tournament continues in Cleveland, Ohio March 10-12 at the Quicken Loans Arena ... The two division winners and the next two higher ranked teams regardless of division receive first round byes and advance to Cleveland the for the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.
If the season ended today, Ball State would be the number two seed in the tournament as leader in the MAC West Division, edging out WMU due to head-to-head tiebreaker and divisional records ... The seeds would fall as follows:
1.) Kent State (10-3)
2.) Ball State (8-5)
3.) Miami (9-4)
4.) Akron (8-5)
5.) Western Michigan (8-5)
6.) Bowling Green (7-6)
7.) Ohio (7-6)
8.) Buffalo (7-6)
9.) Central Michigan (6-7)
10.) Eastern Michigan (4-9)
11.) Northern Illinois (3-10)
12.) Toledo (1-12)
Series History vs. Central Michigan . . .
Saturday's game marks the 86th meeting all-time between Ball State and Central Michigan ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series by a 55-30 margin but are just 17-24 all-time in Mount Pleasant ... The two teams have split the season series the past four years with the home team winning in each of the past three seasons ... Ball State has not won in Mount Pleasant since January 19, 2007 (64-57).
Ball State has won four out of the last five meetings between the two programs including a 64-55 victory earlier this season at Worthen Arena ... All nine players to see action scored at least three points, with six scoring seven-or-more ... Junior forward Jarrod Jones and junior guard Randy Davis tied for team-high honors with 10 points apiece, while freshmen Jesse Berry and Tyrae Robinson chipped in nine apiece ... Ball State's main advantage in the contest came from the free throw line, where the Cardinals hit 30-of-42 attempts in the victory, including a 10-for-10 effort from Davis ... All nine Cardinals who saw action in the contest hit at least one free throw as BSU connected on 71.4 percent from the charity stripe ... Central Michigan conversely hit just 3-of-10 (30%) from the line in the loss.
Central Michigan shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field and hit 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from three-point land ... The Chippewas were also out-rebounded by a 30-20 margin in the loss and committed 14 turnovers ... Freshman Trey Zeigler finished with a game-high 21 points while Jalin Thomas added 17 points before going down with an injury.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 16-11 overall record and an 8-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have won two straight MAC games with wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan to improve to 7-0 this season against MAC West foes ... Ball State is averaging 67.3 points per game while holding opponents to 62.8 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 44.5 percent (606-of-1362) from the field and 33.2 percent (117-of-352) from three-point land ... Opponents are being held to 41.4 percent (609-of-1470) shooting from the field and 31.8 percent (161-of-506) from long range.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 8.4 rebounds per game ... Jones is shooting 51.5 percent (154-of-299) from the field this season and 67.6 percent (96-of-142) from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game ... Scaife leads the team with 48 three-pointers and is shooting a team-high 39.3 percent (48-of-122) from long range ... Junior guard Randy Davis rounds out the Cardinals' double figure scorers as he chips in 10.0 points per game ... Davis leads the team with 147 assists and 39 steals while also leading the squad at the charity stripe hitting 87.3 percent (110-of-126).
Freshman forward Chris Bond is fourth on the team in scoring at 7.9 points per game and is third on the team in rebounding at 4.4 caroms per contest ... Bond is second on the team in shooting at 59.9 percent (82-of-137) from the field ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry adds 7.7 points per game and is second on the team with 35 three-pointers.
Senior forward Malik Perry is second on the team in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game ... Freshman Matt Kamieniecki leads the team in shooting at 64.3 percent (18-of-28).
Scouting Central Michigan . . .
Central Michigan enters Saturday's game with a 9-18 overall record and a 6-7 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Chippewas have won three straight MAC games with wins over Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois ... Central Michigan is averaging 59.1 points per game while allowing 64.4 points per game ... The Chippewas are shooting 38.4 percent (578-of-1505) from the field and 33.1 percent (135-of-408) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 45.3 percent (577-of-1275) from the field and 36.0 percent (118-of-328) from long range.
Freshman Trey Zeigler leads the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game and is tied for second on the team in rebounding at 5.4 caroms per game ... Jalin Thomas is second on the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game and is tied for second in the glass at 5.4 rebounds per game ... Thomas leads the Chippewas with 52 three-pointers and is shooting 80.1 percent (109-of-136) from the charity stripe.
William McClure leads the team in rebounding at 5.7 boards per game while Andre Coimbra adds 4.4 rebounds per game.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State improved to 7-0 against teams from the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 64-49 victory over Eastern Michigan Wednesday ... The Cardinals used a 30-8 run to break the game open as they out-scored the Eagles 40-23 in the second half ... Ball State dominated play at the free throw line as it hit 80 percent (20-of-25) while EMU only hit 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the charity stripe ... The Cardinals also held a 43-34 edge on the glass and scored 26 points in the paint.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones posted his 10th double-double in the victory as he scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds ... Jones connected on 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line ... Freshman forward Chris Bond continued his strong play as he added 16 points and seven rebounds ... Bond hit 8-of-11 from the free throw line, both of which were career-highs.
Junior guard Randy Davis added eight points and five rebounds ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife added eight points, three steals and two blocked shots.
Jones Climbs The Charts . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones became the 25th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark earlier this season ... Jones is currently 22nd all-time in scoring in BSU history with 1,116 points ... He just past Jack Cross (1,102) for 22nd all-time and is 18 points behind John Lee (1,134) for 21st all-time.
Jones has also led the Cardinals in rebounding since he stepped on campus and leads the team once again this year averaging 8.4 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 678 career rebounds which places him tied for eighth all-time in the BSU history with Lonnie Jones (678) ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Bond, Chris Bond . . .
Freshman forward Chris Bond has been steadily on the rise for the Cardinals as the season progresses ... Bond has moved into the starting lineup the past eight games and his play has jumped once again ... He is averaging 11.9 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game in his eight starts ... During that stretch he is shooting 61.3 percent (38-of-62) from the field ... On the season, he is averaging 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game ... He is shooting 59.9 percent (82-of-137) from the field on the year which ranks second in the Mid-American Conference.
Converting Freebies . . .
Junior guard Randy Davis leads the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage at 87.3 percent as he has converted 110-of-126 from the charity stripe ... Davis currently ranks 28th in the NCAA Division I in free throw percentage, trailing Chris Warren at Mississippi (94.3%) ... His 87.3 percent clip is the second highest in a single season in Ball State history trailing Larry Bullington's 1971-72 mark of 88.2 percent (142-of-161).
Five-Finger Discount . . .
The Cardinals forced Mid-American Conference foe Toledo into 24 turnovers as they notched a season-high 15 steals ... Ball State turned the Rockets' miscues into 26 points off turnovers ... The Cardinals' 15 steals are the most since March 4, 2006 against Eastern Michigan ... The 15 steals are the most for a MAC team this season in conference play.
Freshman forward Chris Bond posted a career-high five steals while guard Jauwan Scaife added a career-high four steals.
Home, Sweet Home . . .
The Cardinals have played 285 games all-time at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 207-78 all-time record at Worthen Arena and has won 72.6 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals have posted an 10-3 record this season at Worthen with wins over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Mount St. Joseph, North Carolina A&T, SIU Edwardsville, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Toledo and Eastern Michigan ... The Cardinals' 7-0 start to the home season is the best start to a home season since the 2004-05 campaign when the Cardinals opened the year 9-0 at Worthen Arena.
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.
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 148-of-192 (77.1%) in the final five minutes of games ... Conversely, opponents have hit just 100-of-148 (67.6%) ... Junior guard Randy Davis has been especially strong from the line in the closing minutes as he is shooting 89.2 percent (66-of-74) while Jauwan Scaife has hit 25-of-29 (86.2%) and junior Jarrod Jones has connected on 24-of-37 (64.9%).
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 (62.8) while placing second in three-point defense (.318) and fourth in field goal defense (.414) ... Ball State is currently 58th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 106th in field goal percentage defense and 51st 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 sixth in the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage connecting on 70.3 percent (489-of-696) ... The Cardinals have been to the line 696 times this season, the most in the MAC and 81 more than second place Ohio (615) ... Ball State goes to the free throw line 25.8 times per game this season, which also leads the MAC ... The Cardinals 25.8 free throw attempts per game ranks 17th in all of the NCAA Division I this season.
In MAC play, the Cardinals have connected on 234-of-320 from the line (73.1%) ... The Cardinals' 320 free throws rank first with Ohio second in the league with 291 free throws attempted.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won 16 games this season by an average of 15.4 points per game while its 11 losses have been by an average of 11.3 points per game ... In the 16 wins, Ball State has three different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (16.0), Jauwan Scaife (13.2), and Randy Davis (10.9) ... In its losses, BSU only has one player averaging double figures in Jones at 13.5 points per game ... Scaife is the next highest scorer at 9.2 points per game.
W's -- L's
Scoring Off. 73.3 -- 58.6
Scoring Def. 57.9 -- 69.9
Field Goal % .477 -- .399
Field Goal % Def. .386 -- .456
3-Pt Field Goal % .343 -- .316
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .283 -- .361
Rebounding Off. 35.9 -- 32.5
Rebounding Def. 31.9 -- 33.8
Assists Per Game 15.1 -- 11.8
Turnover Margin +2.5 -- -2.0
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.1 -- 0.9
Steals/Game 7.6 -- 4.3
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 (62.8) ... Ball State places second in field goal percentage (.445), three-point field goal defense (.318) and rebounding defense (32.7) ... The Cardinals also rank third in the MAC rebounding margin (+1.9), assist/turnover ratio (1.02) and scoring margin (+4.6).
Ball State has three players ranked in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking eighth in the league (15.0) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 20th (11.6) and junior guard Randy Davis is 27th (10.0).
Davis leads the MAC in free throw percentage (.873) and is second in the MAC in assists at 5.44 per game ... He is also fifth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.79) and ninth in steals (1.44) ... Freshman Chris Bond is second in the MAC in field goal percentage at 59.9 percent.
Scaife is third in the MAC in free throw percentage at .841, 11th in three-point percentage at .393 and 12th in three-pointers made at 1.78 per game ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.4 boards per game and seventh in field goal percentage at .515.
MAC Weekly Honors . . .
Ball State has earned three Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors this season ... Junior forward Jarrod Jones was named Jan.10 and Dec. 13 while classmate Randy Davis picked up the accolades Jan. 24
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 10 double-doubles on the season ... Jones has tallied double dips against Eastern Illinois (twice), Indiana State, Alaska-Anchorage, DePaul, SIU Edwardsville, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan ... He is second in the Mid-American Conference behind Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry (13) and is 29th in the NCAA Division I ... Jones has posted 20 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).
Senior Malik Perry posted his first career double-double against Bowling Green with 10 points and 11 rebounds ... Perry combined with Jones for the Cardinals' first multiple double-double game since November 18, 2008 ... That day, Jones and Anthony Newell each recorded double-doubles against Butler.
Freshman forward Chris Bond became the fourth different Cardinal this season to post a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Toledo ... The Cardinals are one of just two teams in the MAC that has had four players double dip this season (Central Michigan).
Lending A Helping Hand . . .
Junior guard Randy Davis has tallied 147 assists this season and has only committed 79 turnovers ... His 147 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 29th in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.44 and his assist/turnover ratio is 139th in the country (1.79)
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 ... He posted his fourth nine-assist game of the year against Toledo.
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.
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.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State closes out the road portion of the 2010-11 regular season Wednesday night as it travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a pivotal battle against Western Michigan.
