Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts NIU Saturday On Senior Day
March 05, 2011 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State wraps up the 2010-11 regular season Saturday afternoon as it hosts Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois at Worthen Arena ... Prior to Saturday's game the Cardinals will honor three members of the program for Senior Day in student manager Kara Cains, guard Adrian Tucker and forward Malik Perry.
The Cardinals enter Saturday's game with a 17-12 overall record and a 9-6 mark in MAC play ... Ball State trails Western Michigan by one game heading into the weekend ... The Cardinals can still claim the MAC West title and the number two seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament with a victory Saturday and a WMU loss at Central Michigan ... The Cardinals can also be seeded No. 4, 5, 6, or 7 in the tournament in addition to the second seed ... Northern Illinois enters Saturday's game with a 9-19 overall record and a 5-10 mark in league play ... The Huskies have already claimed the No. 10 seed in the MAC Tournament and will be on the road for the first round.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on 104.1 WLBC FM with Morry Mannies and David Eha providing the call ... Video of the game will be available online at www.ballstatesports.com.
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 six seed in the tournament as the second place team in the MAC West Division ... The seeds would fall as follows:
1.) Kent State (11-4) -- First round bye clinched
2.) Western Michigan (10-5)
3.) Miami (10-5)
4.) Ohio (9-6)
5.) Akron (9-6)
6.) Ball State (9-6)
7.) Buffalo (8-7)
8.) Central Michigan (7-8)
9.) Bowling Green (7-8)
10.) Northern Illinois (5-10) -- Spot clinched
11.) Eastern Michigan (4-11) -- Spot clinched
12.) Toledo (1-14) -- Spot clinched
Ball State Scenarios . . .
Heading into the final regular season game of the year, Ball State's MAC Tournament seeding is still up in the air ... The Cardinals can still earn the No. 2, 4, 5, 6 or 7 seeds in the tournament depending on their game Saturday and multiple MAC games Friday and Saturday.
With a win (10-6) and ...
-- Western Michigan loss -- #2 seed (H2H: Split series; Division Record BSU 8-2/WMU 7-3)
-- Western Michigan win, Akron loss, Ohio loss --#4 seed (only 10-6 team)
-- Western Michigan win, Akron loss, Ohio win -- #5 seed (H2H BSU 0-1 vs. Ohio)
-- Western Michigan win, Akron win, Ohio loss -- #5 seed (H2H BSU 0-1 vs. Akron)
-- Western Michigan win, Akron win, Ohio win -- #6 seed (H2H: BSU 0-3 vs. Ohio, Akron, Miami)
With a loss (9-7) and ...
-- Buffalo win, Ohio win, Akron win -- #6 seed (H2H BSU 1-0 vs. Buffalo)
-- Buffalo loss, Ohio loss, Akron win - #6 seed (H2H: BSU 0-1 vs. Ohio)
-- Akron loss, Ohio win, Buffalo win -- #6 seed (H2H: Akron 2-1, BSU 1-1, UB 1-2)
-- Akron loss, Ohio loss, Buffalo loss -- #6 seed (H2H: Ohio 2-1, Akron 1-2, BSU 0-2)
-- Akron loss, Ohio loss, Buffalo win -- (H2H: Ohio 4-1, UB 2-3, UA 2-3, BSU 1-2; UA/UB Division Record 5-5; UB/UA each split with #1 KSU, Both def. #2 WMU, Both split with #3 Miami, Tie broken due to UB split with Ohio/Akron was swept) -- #7 seed
Season Series Sweeps . . .
Ball State entered the 2010-11 season without a season series sweep of any team under head coach Billy Taylor ... The Cardinals last posted a season series sweep in 2004-05 when they took two from both Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.
So far this season, Ball State has posted four season series sweeps, including three in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have swept Eastern Illinois in the non-conference as well as MAC West Division foes Toledo, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan ... The Cardinals' four season series sweeps are the most since the 1997-98 season when Ball State swept five times in Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Ohio and Marshall.
17 Wins & Counting . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 17-12 overall record marking the Cardinals' first season of at least 17 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 9-6 record in Mid-American Conference play ... The nine MAC wins have already surpassed 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.
Improbable Comeback . . .
Ball State produced an unbelievable comeback last Saturday night at Central Michigan ... The Cardinals rallied from a 23-point second half deficit to post a 65-58 victory over the Chippewas to improve to 8-0 this season against the MAC West Division ... The Cardinals out-scored Central Michigan 46-24 in the second half, including a 46-16 run over the final 17:40 of the game after trailing 42-19 ... Ball State shot a blistering 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the field in the second half and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from long range to aid the monstrous comeback ... The Cardinals posted a 19-6 rebounding edge in the second half and only committed three turnovers in the comeback.
Freshman guard Jesse Berry led the comeback as he had a phenomenal second half performance scoring 17 points off the bench ... Berry connected on 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point land to spark the attack as he was one of four Cardinals in double figures.
Junior guard Randy Davis shook off a tough first half due to foul trouble and added 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half ... Davis scored eight points in the final 3:30 of the game to secure the victory as he nailed two straight three-pointers in the clutch ... Freshman guard Tyrae Robinson added 11 points and six assists off the bench as he shot 3-of-4 from the field and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe ... Junior forward Jarrod Jones rounded out the Cardinals in double figures scoring with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Series History vs. NIU . . .
Saturday's game marks the 75th meeting all-time between Ball State and Northern Illinois ... The Cardinals hold a 43-31 advantage all-time in the series ... Ball State has won two straight in the series and six out of the last nine meetings with the Huskies.
Earlier this season, the Cardinals posted a 75-70 victory over NIU in DeKalb in the Mid-American Conference opener ... Junior forward Jarrod Jones led the Cardinals to victory as he posted a double-double ... Jones tied his career-high with 25 points in the victory while also grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds ... He connected on 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. He has now scored 25 points in two out of his last three games.
Ball State finished the game shooting 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from long range ... The Cardinals were strong from the free throw line as they nailed 76.2 percent (16-of-21) and controlled the glass with a 42-35 advantage ... Sophomore Jauwan Scaife came off the bench for the first time this season and scored 17 points in 28 minutes of action ... He hit 6-of-12 from the field, including three three-pointers in the victory ... Freshman forward Chris Bond Bond ended the game with 10 points as he was 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
Northern Illinois ended the afternoon shooting 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from long range ... The Huskies entered the game as the league's top free throw shooting team (73.7), but hit just 55.6 percent (55.6%) in the loss.
Tim Toler led the Huskies with 22 points as he was 9-of-14 from the field and hit 4-of-6 from three-point land ... Xavier Silas ended the game with 15 points as he was held to 6-of-16 shooting from the field and only went to the free throw line twice.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 17-12 overall record and a 9-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals own an 8-1 record this season against MAC West Division foes ... Ball State is averaging 67.3 points per game this season while opponents average 63.4 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 44.7 percent (651-of-1458) from the field and 33.4 percent (128-of-383) from long range ... Opponents are shooting 42.1 percent (662-of-1572) from the field and 32.8 percent (176-of-537) from long range.
Junior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and on the glass at 8.3 rebounds per game ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game and leads the team with 51 three-pointers ... Junior guard Randy Davis is third on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game ... Davis leads the team with 151 assists and is shooting 87.1 percent (115-of-132) from the charity stripe.
Freshman guard Jesse Berry adds 8.0 points per game and is second on the team with 39 three-pointers ... Fellow freshman Chris Bond adds 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while senior forward Malik Perry chips in 5.7 boards per game.
Scouting Northern Illinois . . .
Northern Illinois enters Saturday's game with a 9-19 overall record and a 5-10 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Huskies have won two straight with wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan ... NIU is averaging 69.4 points per game while allowing 73.5 points per game ... The Huskies are shooting 42.2 percent (669-of-1586) from the field and 32.3 percent (162-of-501) from long range ... Opponents are shooting 43.8 percent (701-of-1601) from the field and 34.2 percent (175-of-512) from long range.
Senior Xavier Silas leads the team in scoring at 22.3 points per game but has missed the last two games due to an injury ... Tim Toler is second on the team in scoring at 9.5 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 5.2 rebounds per contest ... Toler has hit 32 three-pointers which is second on the team behind Silas' 52 three-pointers ... Jeremy Landers adds 7.3 points per game while Nate Rucker chips in 7.1 points per game.
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 21st all-time in scoring in BSU history with 1,137 points ... He just past John Lee (1,134) for 21st all-time and is 27 points out of the top 20 all-time scoring marks.
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 692 career rebounds which places him seventh all-time in the BSU history ... He just past George Bradley (686) for sole possession of seventh place ... 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 10 games and his play has jumped once again ... He is averaging 9.9 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game in his eight starts ... During that stretch he is shooting 60.0 percent (39-of-65) from the field ... On the season, he is averaging 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game ... He is shooting 59.3 percent (83-of-140) 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 87.1 percent as he has converted 115-of-132 from the charity stripe ... Davis currently ranks 35th in the NCAA Division I in free throw percentage, trailing Chris Warren at Mississippi (93.7%) ... His 87.1 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).
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 156-of-205 (76.1%) in the final five minutes of games ... Conversely, opponents have hit just 106-of-158 (67.1%) ... 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 25-of-39 (64.1%).
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 (63.4), second in three-point defense (.328) and fourth in field goal defense (.421) ... Ball State is currently 46th in the NCAA Division I in scoring defense, 118th in field goal percentage defense and 58th 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 70.2 percent (523-of-745) ... The Cardinals have been to the line 745 times this season, the most in the MAC and 90 more than second place Ohio (655) ... Ball State goes to the free throw line 25.7 times per game this season, which also leads the MAC ... The Cardinals 25.7 free throw attempts per game ranks 19th in all of the NCAA Division I this season.
In MAC play, the Cardinals have connected on 268-of-369 from the line (72.6%) ... The Cardinals' 369 free throws attempted rank first with Ohio second in the league with 331 free throws attempted.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won 17 games this season by an average of 14.9 points per game while its 12 losses have been by an average of 11.7 points per game ... In the 17 wins, Ball State has three different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (15.7), Jauwan Scaife (12.9), and Randy Davis (11.0) ... In its losses, BSU only has one player averaging double figures in Jones at 13.2 points per game ... Scaife is the next highest scorer at 9.4 points per game.
W's -- L's
Scoring Off. 72.8 -- 59.6
Scoring Def. 57.9 -- 71.3
Field Goal % .481 -- .400
Field Goal % Def. .388 -- .469
3-Pt Field Goal % .349 -- .312
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .289 -- .374
Rebounding Off. 35.6 -- 32.1
Rebounding Def. 31.4 -- 33.5
Assists Per Game 14.8 -- 11.6
Turnover Margin +2.1 -- -1.6
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.1 -- 0.9
Steals/Game 7.3 -- 4.3
Cardinals In MAC Stats . . .
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 (14.7) ... Sophomore guard Jauwan Scaife is 20th (11.4) and junior guard Randy Davis is 28th (10.0).
Davis leads the MAC in free throw percentage (.871) and is second in the MAC in assists at 5.21 per game ... He is also fifth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.76) and 10th in steals (1.41) ... Freshman Chris Bond is second in the MAC in field goal percentage at 59.3 percent.
Scaife is third in the MAC in free throw percentage at .837, 11th in three-point percentage at .395 and 13th in three-pointers made at 1.76 per game ... Jones is second in the MAC in rebounding at 8.3 boards per game and ninth in field goal percentage at .506.
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.
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 151 assists this season and has only committed 86 turnovers ... His 151 assists are second in the Mid-American Conference this season ... He currently ranks 36th in the NCAA in assists per game at 5.44 and his assist/turnover ratio is 157th in the country (1.75)
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.
