Ball State University Athletics
Men?s Hoops Set for Another In-State Rival at Valpo
December 11, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Ball State at Valparaiso
Saturday, Dec. 13; 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET)
Athletics-Recreation Center (Valparaiso, Ind.)
Video: ESPN3.com
Radio: 104.1 WLBC
The Ball State men's basketball team returns to action Saturday night at Valparaiso after a week away from competition for final exams.
It will be the second straight game against an in-state rival for the Cardinals (3-3), which are coming off a 70-63 victory over Indiana State last weekend.
Valparaiso (9-2) is off to a fast start this season with its only losses through 11 games coming against Missouri and New Mexico. Coach Bryce Drew's Crusaders will be wrapping up a three-game home stand with Saturday's contest.
The Crusaders will feature the biggest lineup Ball State has seen since the opener at Utah with five front court players standing 6-foot-8 or taller.
Valpo's size will test Ball State on the glass, a place where the Cardinals have made a living recently. Since the Utah game, Ball State has outrebounded five straight opponents and has done so by an average of better than nine rebounds per game.
Ball State has also continued its marksmanship from 3-point range. The Cardinals hit six of their eight treys against Indiana State in the second half on the way to a comeback win. They are averaging better than eight 3's a game and shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Valparaiso won last year's matchup in Muncie by a 69-50 margin, but Ball State still maintains a slight 31-29 advantage in an overall series that dates all the way back to 1928.
Sharing the Ball
• Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks among the top 50 in the nation in assists per game at 15.8.
• In four of their six games, the Cardinals have recorded assists on at least 55 percent of their baskets.
• Their highest single-game percentage (70.8 percent) came with 17 assists on 24 made field goals in the win over IU Kokomo.
• Sophomore post player Franko House leads the Cardinals with 18 total assists on the season, while sophomore point guard Zavier Turner is averaging a team-best 4.0 assists per game.
Youth is Served
• Ball State is a youthful team with freshmen and sophomores combining to score 76.7 percent of the team's points (348 of 454) this season.
• The Cardinals feature a young roster with a combined eight freshmen and sophomores.
• Last season freshmen accounted for more than 45 percent of the team's minutes and more than 40 percent of its scoring.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's basketball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateMBB and @coachjwhit on Twitter.
