Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Faces Kent State Saturday On ESPNU
February 09, 2012 | Men's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals wrap up Mid-American Conference crossover play Saturday morning as Ball State travels to Kent State ... Game time is set for 11 a.m. at the MAC Center and will be nationally televised on ESPNU ... Adam Amin and Brooke Weisbrod will provide the call on ESPNU and online at ESPN3.com ... This is the second time this season the Cardinals have appeared on ESPNU as their game at Ohio (Jan. 28) was televised ... 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.
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 12-10 overall record and a 4-6 mark in MAC play as it sits a game out of first place in the MAC West Division ... Kent State enters the game with a 17-6 record overall and a 7-3 mark in league play ... The Golden Flashes are tied for third place in the MAC East Division, two games behind division leader Akron.
Series History . . .
Saturday's game marks the 75th meeting all-time between Ball State and Kent State ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series by a 38-36 margin, but is just 10-25 all-time on the road ... Kent State has won seven straight in the series, including a 66-53 regular season win in Muncie last year and a 79-68 victory in the semifinal round of the 2011 Mid-American Conference Tournament that ended the Cardinals' season ... Ball State last won a game in the series January 2, 2005 with a 76-67 win at Worthen Arena ... The Cardinals last won at Kent January 23, 1999 with a 58-56 victory.
Last season, the Cardinals saw their year come to an end in Cleveland with a 79-68 loss to the Golden Flashes as Kent State used a late 16-4 run to seal the victory ... Forward Jarrod Jones led the Cardinals with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the loss while guard Jesse Berry added 14 points and five assists ... Kent State was led by Justin Greene who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Michael Porrini posted 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Kent State posted a 66-53 victory in Worthen Arena during the regular season last year ... The Golden Flashes limited Jones to just five points and seven rebounds in the loss ... Forward Chris Bond scored 12 points off the bench while guard Randy Davis added 10 points and seven assists ... Greene scored 12 point and grabbed nine rebounds while Randal Holt paced the attack with 21 points.
Among The National Leaders . . .
Senior guard Randy Davis ranks third in the NCAA Division I this season in assist/turnover ratio entering Saturday's game at 3.21 ... Davis has handed out 122 assists this season while only committing 38 turnovers ... He dropped from the top spot this week after posting a season-high seven turnovers Wednesday against Bowling Green ... He now trails North Carolina's Kendall Marshall (3.39) and Northwestern's Dave Sobolewski (3.36) ... He has a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio in Mid-American Conference play with 42 assists and 17 miscues ... His 2.5 ratio also leads the MAC in league games.
Davis was named the MAC West Player of the Week earlier this season (Jan. 23) for his efforts leading the Cardinals to road wins over Central Michigan and Northern Illinois ... He averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game ... Davis handed out 16 assists while only committing three turnovers in 62 minutes of action for the week for a 5.33 assist/turnover ratio.
Davis is second in the MAC at 5.5 assists per game ... Davis currently ranks 32nd in NCAA Division I in assists per game.
Getting The Start . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones has played in every game of his Ball State career, appearing in 115 games with 113 career starts ... He is tied with former Cardinal Peyton Stoval for second all-time in career starts with 113 ... Saturday, Jones will move into a first place tie with former BSU great Bonzi Wells with 114 career starts.
Jones has only not started twice during his career -- once during his freshman season at UC Santa Barbara (12/29/08) and once during his junior campaign against Ohio (1/29/11).
Vote For Coach Taylor . . .
Ball State men's basketball head coach, Billy Taylor, is proud to support Athletes In Action by participating in Infiniti's ongoing partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the NCAA and ESPN in the Infiniti Coaches' Charity Challenge ... The program includes a $100,000 donation to the winning coach's designated charity ... Expanding from 14 participating NABC coaches last season to 48 of the nation's top NCAA Division I Men's Basketball coaches this year, the total Infiniti contribution will be more than $300,000.
Fan participation will determine the ultimate winner over an eight-week period beginning January 18th by registering and voting on a custom microsite on www.ESPN.com/Infiniti.
Coaching Comparison . . .
Ball State is led by fifth-year head coach Billy Taylor ... Taylor has led the Cardinals to 60 wins over the past four-plus 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.
Kent State is coached by first-year head coach Rob Senderhoff who was the associate head coach three seasons for former coach Geno Ford.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Saturday's game with a 12-10 overall record and a 4-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have dropped five straight games, all against MAC East Division foes ... Ball State is averaging 64.2 points per game this season while allowing a league-best 59.5 points per game ... The Cardinals are shooting 42.7 percent (482-of-1130) from the field and 31.1 percent (133-of-428) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 39.8 percent (459-of-1152) from the field and 32.1 percent (133-of-414) from long range.
Senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals in scoring at 16.7 points per game and on the glass at 8.6 rebounds per game ... Jones is shooting 52.4 percent (133-of-254) from the field while shooting 81.1 percent (90-of-111) from the free throw line ... Sophomore guard Jesse Berry is second on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 30 three-pointers.
Senior guard Randy Davis leads the team with 122 assists and is tied for the team lead with 30 three-pointers while chipping in 8.2 points per game ... Sophomore Chris Bond is second on the team in rebounding at 4.7 boards per game while sophomore Tyler Koch is third at 3.8 caroms per contest.
Scouting The Golden Flashes . . .
Kent State enters Saturday's game with a 17-6 overall record and a 7-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Golden Flashes have won five straight, all against the MAC West Division after dropping games at Ohio and Akron ... The Golden Flashes are averaging 71.7 points per game while allowing 64.8 points per game ... Kent State is shooting 45.3 percent (583-of-1288) from the field and 35.3 percent (143-of-405) from three-point land ... Opponents are shooting 41.7 percent (546-of-1308) from the field and 32.4 percent (138-of-426) from long range.
Justin Greene, the reigning MAC Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game and on the glass at 6.3 rebounds per game ... Greene is shooting 51.1 percent (114-of-223) from the field and 75 percent (78-of-104) from the free throw line ... Guard Randal Holt is second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game and leads the team with 47 three-pointers.
Chris Evans is third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game, mostly as a reserve ... Carlton Guyton chips in 9.9 points per game and 30 three-pointers while Michael Porrini leads the team with 99 assists.
Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals dropped their fifth straight game Wednesday night as they fell 61-54 to visiting Bowling Green ... Ball State rallied to tie the game at 48-48 before the Falcons hit back-to-back three-pointers on their way to a 13-6 closing push ... The Cardinals committed 18 turnovers in the loss, including a season-high seven miscues by senior point guard Randy Davis.
Freshman forward Aaron Adeoye posted his first career double-double with a career-high 10 points and 10 rebounds ... Adeoye was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line ... Senior forward Jarrod Jones led the Cardinals with 14 points, 12 in the second half, along with eight rebounds ... Davis added nine points as he was 3-of-6 from three-point land.
Freshman Rebounding . . .
Freshman forward Aaron Adeoye grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds last week against Miami, including eight offensive boards ... Adeoye followed that up with his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Bowling Green
Adeoye's 11 rebounds are the most for a Ball State freshman since Jarrod Jones corralled 15 rebounds against Toledo January 25, 2009 ... He is the first freshman to post back-to-back double figure rebounding games since Jones posted three straight Dec. 21-31, 2008 against North Carolina Central, Maryland Eastern Shore and Manchester.
Bounce Back Potential . . .
The Cardinals have dropped five straight games for the first time since the 2007-09 season ... Ball State, which won 19 games last season, still has the opportunity to stem the tide of the streak as history shows ... During the 1999-2000 season, the Cardinals dropped four straight Mid-American Conference games and six out of seven league games to fall to 11-8 on the year ... Ball State re-grouped and won eight of nine to end the regular season winning the MAC West ... The Cardinals closed the year with an 11-2 push to win the MAC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament with a 22-9 overall record.
Comparing W's vs. L's . . .
Ball State has won 12 games this season by an average of 15.4 points per game while its 10 losses have been by an average of 8.2 points per game ... In the 12 wins, Ball State has two different players averaging double figures in Jarrod Jones (18.6) and Jesse Berry (11.8) while Tyrae Robinson and Randy Davis average 9.5 and 9.2 points per game, respectively ... In its losses, BSU only has one player averaging double figures in Jones at 14.4 points per game ... Robinson is the next highest scorer at 8.0 points per game.
W's -- L's
Scoring Off. 72.0 -- 54.9
Scoring Def. 56.6 -- 63.1
Field Goal % .472 -- .373
Field Goal % Def. .367 -- .444
3-Pt Field Goal % .360 -- .250
3-Pt Field Goal % Def. .272 -- .396
Rebounding Off. 37.8 30.2
Rebounding Def. 31.6 3-- 2.9
Assists Per Game 15.7 -- 11.2
Turnover Margin +0.7 -- +2.0
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.21 -- 0.82
Steals/Game 6.3 -- 6.3
Behind The Numbers . . .
Ball State is 9-0 this season when it scores at least 70 points and was 14-4 last season when reaching the 70-point barrier ... The Cardinals are 12-3 this season when leading at the half with their only losses coming at No. 16 Arizona, vs. Eastern Michigan and vs. Akron ... Last season, the Cardinals were 12-2 when leading at the half ... Ball State is a perfect 9-0 this season when it hands out 15 or more assists ... Last year, the Cardinals were 10-2 when reaching at least 15 assists.
Ball State is 12-3 this season when it hits more free throws in a game than its opponent ... The Cardinals are also 10-6 this season when senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring.
Double-Dipping . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones has posted six double-doubles this to raise his career total to 27 double-doubles ... Jones has accomplished the feat this season against Calumet College, Texas Southern, SIU Edwardsville, Florida A&M, Eastern Michigan and Ohio.
Jones recorded 11 points and 15 rebounds against Ohio earlier this year while sophomore forward Chris Bond posted his first double dip of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds ... Jones and Bond became the first Cardinals' duo since February 9, 2011 at Bowling Green (Jones and Malik Perry) to accomplish the feat.
Heating Up From the Line . . .
The Cardinals hit 67.1 percent (186-of-277) from the free throw line during non-conference play this season but have upped its production to 73.4 percent (130-of-177) in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State's 73.7 percent is third best in the MAC.
The Cardinals have three players in the top 12 in MAC play shooting from the line ... Sophomore Chris Bond is fourth in the MAC hitting 86.2 percent (25-of-29), senior Jarrod Jones is 10th at 82.5 percent (33-of-40) and senior Randy Davis is 12th at 81.8 percent (18-of-22) ... During MAC play, the Cardinals have posted two of their top free throw shooting games this decade ... The Cardinals hit 91.7 percent (11-of-12) at Buffalo and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) at Ohio.
Climbing The Charts . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones moved into eighth place in Ball State history with 1,549 career points and is third all-time with 910 rebounds ... Jones surpassed Theron Smith and Steve Payne on the rebounding list with his 15 boards against Ohio ... Additionally, Jones is tied for second all-time with 113 career starts ... Senior guard Randy Davis moved up to fourth all-time in assists with 424, surpassing Scott Nichols.
Scoring
6. Theron Smith, 1999-02 1,599
7. Duane Clemens, 1996-00 1,585
8. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 1,549
9. Steve Payne, 1992-95 1,440
10. Peyton Stovall, 2003-08 1,383
11. Dan Palombizio, 1984-86 1,369
Rebounding
1. Ed Butler, 1961-64 1231
2. Randy Boarden, 1975-79 1000
3. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 910
4. Steve Payne, 1992-95 885
5. Theron Smith, 1999-2002 882
Game Started
1. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 114
2. Peyton Stovall, 2003-08 113
2. Jarrod Jones, 2008-11 113
4. Duane Clemens, 1996-2000 109
5. Randy Zachary, 1993-97 100
Assists
2. Chris Shelton (1982-86) 481
3. Mike Spicer (1988-92) 430
4. Randy Davis, 2008-11 424
5. Scott Nichols (1986-90) 406
6. Bonzi Wells, 1994-98 386
Leading The MAC . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones is the Mid-American Conference career active leading scorer with 1,549 points and is the career active rebound leader at 910 boards ... Jones leads the active scoring leaders by 141 points as Kent State's Justin Greene is second at 1,408 points and Ohio's D.J. Cooper is third on the list at 1,375 points ... He also owns a 160-rebound lead as Miami's Julian Mavunga is second on the list at 744 caroms while Greene is third with 742 rebounds
Cardinals Vs. The MAC East . . .
The 2011-12 season marks the 15th season the Mid-American Conference has been in two divisions (West & East) ... Ball State, which has always been a member of the West Division, owns a 42-56 record against the East Division since the two-division format was implemented in the 1997-98 season.
This season, the MAC East Division owns a 25-5 record against the MAC West Division this season ... The Cardinals posted a 1-5 record against the East Division last season and have an 0-5 mark so far this season ... Ball State has only posted a winning record against the MAC East Division three times in 14 years .. The Cardinals posted a 4-2 record in 2009-10, a 4-2 record in 2002-03 and a 5-1 mark during the 1997-98 campaign ... Ball State has recorded four .500 records against the East Division but have seven seasons below .500 against the East Division ... Ball State is 12-4 during the regular season against Buffalo, 7-5 against Bowling Green, 5-10 against Akron, 6-7 against Ohio, 4-8 against Kent State, 2-6 against Marshall and 6-16 against Miami since divisional play began.
If The MAC Tournament Started . . .
The 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament has a new format this season that protects the top seeds like never before ... The top two seeds based on winning percentage, regardless of division, will receive a bye into the semifinal round while seeds three and four (also regardless of division) receive byes into the quarterfinal round ... Teams seeded 5-12 will have to play a first round contest on campus and a second round game at the Quicken Loans Arena before meeting a team in the quarterfinal round.
If the MAC Tournament started today, the seeded would be as follows:
1.) Akron
2.) Buffalo
3.) Ohio
4.) Kent State
5.) Bowling Green
6.) Eastern Michigan
7.) Ball State
8.) Western Michigan
9.) Toledo
10.) Miami
11.) Northern Illinois
12.) Central Michigan
The Cardinals would host 10th seeded Miami in the first round at Worthen Arena March 5 while Kent State would receive a bye into the quarterfinals March 8.
Cashing In The Freebies . . .
Ball State seniors Randy Davis and Jarrod Jones rank in the top five in the Mid-American Conference this season in free throw percentage, the only team with two players in the top five ... Davis leads the MAC from the line, hitting 86.9 percent (53-of-61), while Jones is fourth in the conference at 81.1 percent (90-of-111).
Davis had a stretch of 26 straight free throws made earlier this season, which was a career-high ... He posted 22 straight on two different occasions last year ... The Ball State record for consecutive free throws made is 41 set by Larry Bullington in 1971-72.
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 the game leading the MAC and ranking 23rd in NCAA Division I in scoring defense holding opponents to a 59.5 point per game average ... Also, the Cardinals are second in the MAC in field goal percentage defense at 39.8 percent, which places them 31st in the nation.
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.
Home, Sweet Home . . .
Wednesday's game marked the 293rd game all-time for the Cardinals at Worthen Arena since it opened January 15, 1992 (previously named University Arena) ... Ball State owns a 214-80 record all-time at Worthen Arena as it has won 73.0 percent of its games at home ... The Cardinals are 7-4 so far this season at home with wins over IUPUI, Calumet College, Texas Southern, Butler, Chicago State, Florida A&M and Western Michigan.
Last season, the Cardinals posted an 11-3 record at home, including a 5-1 mark during non-conference play ... During its career, the Cardinals have averaged over 10.35 wins a season at home at Worthen Arena.
Jones' Scoring Numbers . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the Cardinals and is third in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 16.7 points per game ... Jones ranks 86th in NCAA Division I in scoring this season ... He ranks 53rd in the country in field goal percentage at 52.4 percent (133-of-254), which is eighth best in the MAC.
Jones has scored at least 20 points in 10 of the 20 games this season, including three straight games 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 and added 23 points against Calumet College ... He notched three-straight games of 20-plus points with 22 points against UT Martin , 22 at SIU Edwardsville and 21 against Butler ... He has notched 19 games of 20-plus points in his career, including 21 points last time out against Buffalo.
Jones' Weekly Honors . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week four times this season ... Jones is the only play in the MAC this season to earn multiple honors and has now garnered weekly accolades 10 times in his career.
Jones picked up his most recent honor last week after leading the Cardinals to two victories, including a 78-69 win over preseason MAC West Division favorite Western Michigan ... He averaged 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the two victories.
Jones has picked up MAC West Player of the Week honors this season Nov. 14, Dec. 12 and Jan. 2.
Jones Earns January MAC Honor . . .
Senior forward Jarrod Jones was named one of five All-Mid-American Conference selections by CollegeHoops.net for his play in the month of January ... Jones averaged 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds in the seven MAC games in January ... Joining him on the list for January include Miami's Julian Mavunga, Central Michigan's Trey Zeigler, Buffalo's Javon McCrea and Toledo's Rian Pearson.
Jones also was one of five selected for their play in the non-conference portion of the schedule, joining Mavunga, McCrea, Pearson and Ohio's D.J. Cooper.
Davis - Cousy Award Candidate . . .
For the second year in a row, Ball State senior point guard Randy Davis has been named one of 59 candidates for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award ... The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in college basketball ... Davis is one of just two players from the Mid-American Conference (D.J. Cooper, Ohio) among the 2012 nominees and is just one of 12 players in the country that has made the exclusive list for two straight years
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.
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.
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).
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals return to intra-divisional play Wednesday evening as they host Toledo at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena ... Ball State will play four out of its last six games at home, beginning with Wednesday's contest against the Rockets.
