Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Visits Miami Saturday on BSSN/ESPN3
January 30, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Ball State at Miami
Saturday, Jan. 31; 3:30 p.m.
Millett Hall (Oxford, Ohio)
TV: Ball State Sports Network/ESPN3
Radio: 104.1 WLBC
BSSN Affiliates: WIPB – Muncie; HTSN – Indianapolis; WHME – South Bend; WISE (MyTV 33.2) – Fort Wayne; WJTS – Jasper (tape delay)
When Matt Kamieniecki's back flared up on him before the Ball State men's basketball team played Ohio last week, it meant Bo Calhoun was going to see a lot more time in the post.
The junior from South Bend, Ind., has responded to his increased minutes by turning in the best statistical three-game stretch of his career.
Kamieniecki gutted his way through limited minutes in that Ohio game but has been forced to sit out the past two completely. While he has been banged up, Calhoun has averaged 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game.
Calhoun has scored double figures in each of the past three games and recorded double-doubles – the first of his career – in two of them. His 14 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday at Akron were both career highs.
Ball State certainly hopes to have Kamieniecki back as quickly as possible – the Cardinals have primarily used a seven-man rotation without him – but Calhoun's production has given the team a lift.
The Cardinals (7-11, 2-5 MAC) are back in action Saturday with a trip to long-time rival Miami (7-13, 2-5 MAC). It will be a homecoming of sorts for Ball State head coach James Whitford and assistant coach Jason Grunkemeyer. Whitford has been back twice as a visiting coach with Xavier, but Saturday will mark Grunkemeyer's first time as a visiting coach at Millett Hall.
Whitford got his start at Miami in 1994 as an administrative assistant and spent 11 years there, eventually becoming the staff's top assistant. He served under head coaches Herb Sendek (now the head coach at Arizona State) and the late Charlie Coles.
Grunkemeyer played at Miami from 1998-2001 and returned to the RedHawks as an assistant coach under Coles from 2007-12.
Both of them were part of a highly successful era of Miami men's basketball, including the program's Sweet 16 run in the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
This year, Ball State and Miami are both looking for a win to keep pace in the competitive MAC standings. The teams will be meeting for the 98th time.
The RedHawks were 64-52 winners last year in Muncie and hold a 60-37 lead all-time. The Cardinals won their most recent trip to Oxford with an 82-62 victory two seasons ago.
