Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts Buffalo Saturday On BSSN
February 05, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns home to Worthen Arena Saturday afternoon as it hosts Mid-American Conference East Division foe Buffalo at 2 p.m. ... The Cardinals have dropped four straight games and own a 13-8 overall record and a 5-3 mark in MAC play ... Buffalo enters Saturday's game with a 14-6 overall record and lead the MAC with a 6-2 league record as the Bulls have won six straight games after opening league play with losses to Bowling Green and Miami.
Saturday's game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN) with Jerry Peirson and Vince Welch providing the call ... The game will be broadcast on WIPB-Muncie, WTTV-Indianapolis (4.2), WTTK-Kokomo (29.2), WNDA-Jeffersonville, Hometown Sports-Hamilton County (tape delay), Comcast Channel 83-Indianapolis/Fort Wayne (tape delay) and WJTS 18-Jasper (tape delay) ... The game will also be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha providing the call.
Ball State Sports Network Schedule . . .
Due to the winter weather last week, the Ball State Sports Network was unable to broadcast the Miami contest ... BSSN has added a replacement game to the 2011 broadcast schedule as it will now televise the Feb. 23 contest versus Eastern Michigan ... Additionally, BSU Sports Link will now broadcast the Feb. 15 game against Toledo and will be streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com.
The Ball State Sports Network will also broadcast the March 2 contest at Western Michigan.
ESPNU BracketBusters . . .
Ball State will participate in the ninth annual ESPNU BracketBusters event February 19 as it travels to face 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Wofford in Spartansburg, S.C. ... Game is set for 7 p.m. at the Benjamin Johnson Arena ... Wofford owns a 12-10 overall record this season and boasts a 9-2 mark in the Southern Conference, where it currently leads the South Division.
Series History vs. Buffalo . . .
Saturday's game marks the 20th meeting all-time between Ball State and Buffalo ... The Cardinals hold a 12-7 record all-time against the Bulls and have won four out of the last five meetings, including the past four in the regular season ... Ball State owns a 6-1 record all-time against the Bulls in Worthen Arena, including a 53-51 victory during the 2008-09 season.
Last season, the Cardinals travelled to Buffalo and claimed a 75-69 victory January 28, 2010 ... Ball State used a strong first half effort as it ran out to a 38-31 halftime lead and held off a late 10-0 Buffalo run to claim victory ... The Cardinals connected on 9-of-11 (81.8%) from three-point land, including a late three-pointer from Randy Davis with 1:02 left in the contest to end the Bulls' 10-0 run and keep BSU in the lead ... Davis finished the game with 14 points and five assists in the victory while guard Jauwan Scaife chipped in 16 points, including five three-pointers ... Forward Jarrod Jones added 14 points and six rebounds for the Cardinals ... Buffalo was led by Max Boudreau who scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 13-8 overall record and a 5-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have dropped four straight games after posting a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 31 through Jan. 22 ... Ball State is averaging 67.3 points per game this season while allowing a MAC-low 62.2 points per game against ... The Cardinals are shooting 44.8 percent (469-of-1046) from the field while limiting opponents to 40.9 percent (470-of-1148) from the field.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 8.3 rebounds per game ... Jones is shooting 51.5 percent (123-of-239) from the field this season ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game and leads the team with 33 three-pointers.
Junior guard Randy Davis is third on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game and leads the team with 118 assists ... Freshman guard Jesse Berry is second on the team with 31 three-pointers and averages 8.8 points per game ... Classmate Chris Bond chips in 6.6 points per game and is shooting a team-high 60.7 percent (54-of-89) from the field.
Scouting Buffalo . . .
Buffalo enters Saturday's game with a 14-6 overall record and the top mark in Mid-American Conference play with a 6-2 record ... The Bulls opened league play with losses against Bowling Green and Miami before rolling off six straight victories ... Buffalo has won its past six games in league play by an average of 13 points per game.
The Bulls are averaging 73.9 points per game this season while limiting opponents to 64.2 points per game ... Buffalo is shooting a MAC-high 48.9 percent (529-of-1081) from the field while holding opponents to 41.0 percent (445-of-1086) from the field.
Zach Filzen leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game ... Filzen leads the team with 75 three-pointers and is shooting 43.4 percent from long range ... Byron Mulkey is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and is second on the team with 32 three-pointers ... Javon McCrea is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 6.5 boards per contest despite coming off the bench in all 20 games.
Streaking Cardinals . . .
Ball State is currently riding a four-game losing streak after posting a seven-game winning streak, its longest winning streak since the 1999-200 season ... That year, the Cardinals posted a 10-game winning streak to open the year with a 10-1 record ... Ball State followed that streak with four straight losses on its way to losses in six of seven games ... The Cardinals regrouped from the losing streak and closed the regular season with wins in eight of their last nine and finished the season with a 22-9 overall record.
Jones Climbs The Charts . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones became the 25th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark against Ohio ... Jones scored a team-high 21 points against the Bobcats and now has tallied 1,029 career points ... He is currently 23rd all-time in scoring in BSU history as he passed Stan Davis (1,027) with his nine points at Miami.
Jones has also led the Cardinals in rebounding since he stepped on campus and leads the team once again this year averaging 8.3 rebounds per game ... Jones has grabbed 624 career rebounds which places him 10th all-time in the BSU history ... He just past Dan Palambizio (620) to move into the top 10 ... Ed Butler (1961-64) holds the Ball State career record with 1,231 rebounds.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State suffered its fourth straight loss Tuesday night as it dropped an 89-75 contest at Miami ... The Cardinals were downed by the hot shooting of the RedHawks who hit a season-high 16 three-pointers as they connected on 50 percent (16-of-32) from long range ... Miami hit 11-of-19 three-pointers in the second half as it out-scored the Cardinals 50-29 in the second frame.
Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife led the Cardinals with 22 points in the loss, including 17 in the first half ... Scaife hit 5-of-9 three-pointers in the loss and was 8-of-18 from the field overall ... Freshman forward Chris Bond scored a career-high 14 points in his second straight start as he was 6-of-9 from the field ... Bond also led the Cardinals with eight rebounds ... Junior guard Randy Davis added 10 points and eight assists in the loss.
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 128-of-165 (77.6%) in the final five minutes of games ... Conversely, opponents have hit just 84-of-121 (69.4%) ... Junior guard Randy Davis has been especially strong from the line in the closing minutes as he is shooting 88.4 percent (61-of-69) while Jauwan Scaife has hit 18-of-21 (85.7%).
Home, Sweet Home . . .
The Cardinals have played 282 games all-time at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 204-78 all-time record at Worthen Arena and has won 72.0 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals have posted a 7-3 record this season at Worthen with wins over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Mount St. Joseph, North Carolina A&T, SIU Edwardsville, Western Michigan and Central 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.
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 (62.2), field goal defense (.409) and three-point defense (.311) ... Ball State is currently 30th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 44th in field goal percentage defense and 14th 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 fifth in the Mid-American Conference in free throw percentage connecting on 68.8 percent (388-of-564) ... The Cardinals have been to the line 564 times this season, the most in the MAC and 84 more than second place Ohio (480 in 22 games) ... Ball State goes to the free throw line 27.3 times per game this season, which also leads the MAC ... The Cardinals 28.8 free throw attempts per game rank 21st in all of the NCAA Division I this season.
In MAC play, the Cardinals have connected on 146-of-205 from the line (71.2%) ... The Cardinals have also made 146 free throws with Ohio second in the league with 132 free throws made.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won 13 games this season by an average of 16.2 points per game while its seven losses have been by an average of 12.7 points per game ... In the 13 wins, Ball State has four different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (16.6), Jauwan Scaife (12.6), Randy Davis (11.2) and Jesse Berry (10.1) ... In its losses, BSU only has one player averaging double figures in Jones at 12.6 points per game ... Scaife is the next highest scorer at 9.6 points per game.
W's -- L's
Scoring Off. 73.3 -- 57.5
Scoring Def. 57.2 -- 70.4
Field Goal % .484 -- .392
Field Goal % Def. .373 -- .474
3-Pt Field Goal % .337 -- .320
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .271 -- .367
Rebounding Off. 36.2 -- 30.9
Rebounding Def. 33.0 -- 33.4
Assists Per Game 14.8 -- 11.6
Turnover Margin +2.3 -- -0.9
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.1 -- 0.9
Steals/Game 6.9 -- 4.5
Bond Steps Up Too . . .
Freshman forward Chris Bond has seen his playing time almost quadruple over the past nine games ... Bond averaged 5.4 minutes per game in the first five games of his career and has averaged 22.7 minutes per game over the last 14 games ... His increased playing time has also seen a jump in his production as he is averaging 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds over the past six games ... Since the DePaul game, Bond is shooting 62.5 percent (50-of-80) from the field ... He scored a career-high 14 points at Miami as he was 6-of-9 from the field while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
Ball State are in the top three in nine different Mid-American Conference team statistical categories ... The Cardinals lead the league in scoring defense (62.2), three-point field goal defense (.311) field goal percentage (.448) and field goal defense (.409) ... Ball State places second in rebounding defense (33.1), and scoring margin (+6.0) ... The Cardinals also rank third in the MAC in rebounding margin (+1.0), defensive rebounds (24.38) and assist/turnover ratio (1.03). Ball State has three players ranked in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with junior forward Jarrod Jones leading the way ranking sixth in the league (15.1) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 21st (11.6) and junior guard Randy Davis is 26th (10.2).
Davis leads the MAC in free throw percentage (.872) and is second in the MAC in assists at 5.62 per game ... He is also fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.93) and ninth in steals (1.57) ... Scaife is fourth in the MAC in free throw percentage at .833 ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.3 boards per game and seventh in field goal percentage at .515.
Jones Earns MAC Weekly Honor . . .
Junior forward Jarrod Jones was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week (Jan. 10) ... This is the second MAC weekly honor for Jones this season (Dec. 13) and the sixth of his career.
Jones, MAC Player of the Year candidate, led the Cardinals to a 2-0 week and a 1-0 start in MAC play as he averaged 22.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game ... He posted back-to-back double-doubles against SIU Edwardsville and Northern Illinois to lead the Cardinals to a 9-4 overall record as he shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the field in the two games ... Jones scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against SIUE to open the week ... He followed that up with a 25-point, 12-rebound effort in the MAC opener at Northern Illinois for his seventh double-double of the season and 17th of his career ... He hit 10-of-18 from the field against the Huskies and posted 14 points in the first half.
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 eight double-doubles on the season ... Jones has tallied double dips against Eastern Illinois (twice), Indiana State, Alaska-Anchorage, DePaul, SIU Edwardsville, Northern Illinois and Toledo... He is second in the Mid-American Conference behind Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry (11) and is 29th in the NCAA Division I ... Jones has posted 17 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 118 assists this season and has only committed 61 turnovers ... His 118 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 30th in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.6 and his assist/turnover ratio is 137th in the country (1.93)
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.
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.
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 in January, the final 10 by February 3 and final five by March 3.
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.
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 closes out Mid-American Conference crossover action next week with a pair of road games as the Cardinals travel to Bowling Green Wednesday night and Akron Saturday.
