Men?s Hoops Opens Home Slate Monday with EIU

November 14, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

Game 2
Ball State (0-1) vs. Eastern Illinois (0-1)
Monday, Nov. 16 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC)

A Look at the Cardinals
• Ball State will open the home portion of its schedule Monday against Eastern Illinois. The Cardinals and Panthers met last year in Charleston, Ill., with EIU winning 61-54. Eastern Illinois opened its season Friday with an 88-49 loss at Indiana.

• The Cardinals opened their 95th season Friday with a 54-53 loss at Bradley. Ball State held the Braves to 31.9 percent shooting and made five more field goals, but Bradley had the advantage at the free throw line, connecting on 19 of 32 to the Cardinals' 10 of 20. Ball State led 45-37 with seven minutes left, but Bradley scored 17 of the final 25 points, including a key 13-2 run.

• Ball State entered the 2015-16 season with far more continuity than it has had in recent years. The Cardinals return 10 players from last year's roster, including six who averaged at least six points per game. Last year, the Cardinals ranked among the 25 youngest teams in the country.

• The group of returning players features reigning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year Sean Sellers, who averaged 12 points per game and shot nearly 44 percent from 3-point range in his rookie campaign. Fellow sophomore Jeremie Tyler is back after missing the second semester of last season. He also averaged 12 points.

• Ball State has a four-member leadership council voted on by the players. Franko House, Jeremiah Davis, Bo Calhoun and Francis Kiapway make up the leadership council.

• Ball State will play five games in the first 10 days of the season and nine in the first 23. The Cardinals will play eight of their 13 non-conference games at home, although Monday's game versus Eastern Illinois is the only one of the first five at home.

The Series with Eastern Illinois
• Ball State and Eastern Illinois will be meeting for 22nd time in series history. The Cardinals hold a 15-6 advantage, including 10-1 in Muncie.
• It is the fifth meeting since the start of the 2008-09 season, following a 23-year hiatus in the series.
• Monday's meeting is a return game for last season's contest in Charleston, Ill., which Eastern Illinois won 61-54.

Balanced Attack
• Eight different players scored for Ball State in the season opener at Bradley, and none had more than eight points.
• Jeremiah Davis, Naiel Smith and Bo Calhoun scored eight points each, while Franko House, Sean Sellers and Jeremie Tyler all scored seven.

Debut Performances
• Three players made their debut for Ball State at Bradley -- junior point guard Naiel Smith and freshman center Trey Moses in the starting lineup and graduate center Nate Wells off the bench.
• Smith, a junior college transfer, scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out two assists. Moses scored five points and grabbed five boards.
• Wells, a fifth-year transfer from Bradley, saw action as a reserve in his return to his old home court.