Ball State University Athletics
Men?s Hoops on the Road to Face No. 17 San Diego St.
December 19, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Ball State at #17 San Diego State
Saturday, Dec. 20; 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET)
Viejas Arena (San Diego, Calif.)
Live Video: Mountain West Network
Radio: 104.1 WLBC
The Ball State men's basketball team will take on its second ranked opponent of the season Saturday night at San Diego State, which checks in at No. 17 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Aztecs, now in their 16th season under head coach Steve Fisher, have become one of the most consistent programs in the country. They reached the Sweet 16 last season in their fifth consecutive year in the NCAA Tournament.
Ball State will have to contend with one of the top defenses in the country. San Diego State is limiting opponents to 56.6 points per game and 37.1 percent shooting. The Aztecs, however are shooting only 40 percent from the floor and 27 percent from beyond the arc.
Ball State has been successful all season at defending the 3-point line. Opponents are shooting only 29.1 percent from deep against the Cardinals, and Ball State has outscored its opponents by 90 points from 3-point range this season.
The Cardinals are looking to bounce back from a tough shooting night in Wednesday's loss when they were held to a season-low 29.8 percent shooting and made only 6 of 23 from beyond the arc against James Madison.
San Diego State is also coming off a loss. The Aztecs rallied late to force overtime at Cincinnati before falling by a 71-62 margin.
Ball State and San Diego State have met four times previously but not since the Cardinals' NCAA Tournament season in 1999-2000. Ball State won that contest in San Diego State and is 3-1 all-time against the Aztecs.
The Cardinals' first ranked opponent this year came in the season opener against a Utah team that was ranked 25th at the time but has now climbed to 14th. It was a tight game before Utah pulled away down the stretch.
San Diego State has also played Utah this season, beating the Utes 53-49.
Defending the 3
• Ball State has limited its opponents to 29.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line this season.
• The Cardinals have held five of their past six opponents to worse than 30 percent from the arc.
• For the season, Ball State has outscored its opponents 201-111 from 3-point range.
Kamieniecki Healthy and Producing
• Matt Kamieniecki has provided a lift for the Cardinals this season, returning after missing the entire 2013-14 season with a wrist injury.
• Kamieniecki has been hampered by injuries throughout his career but is healthy this season and putting up the best numbers of his career.
• Here is a look at his statistics this year compared to his first three seasons: minutes per game (up to 20.3 from 15.7), rebounds per game (up to 7.4 from 3.9), points per game (up to 8.0 from 3.1).
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's basketball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateMBB and @coachjwhit on Twitter.
