Ball State University Athletics
Men?s Hoops Hosts NIU Friday for Senior Night
March 05, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Ball State vs. Northern Illinois
Friday, March 6; 7 p.m.
Worthen Arena (Muncie, Ind.)
TV: Ball State All-Access
Radio: 104.1 WLBC
The Ball State men's basketball team will close out the regular season Friday night when its hosts Northern Illinois for the second meeting between the teams this year.
Prior to tipoff, the Cardinals will honor their lone senior Matt Kamieniecki. The fifth-year senior has battled through a back problem over the second half of the season and returned to the lineup Tuesday against Eastern Michigan after missing six of the previous seven games.
Ball State will look to build some confidence heading into next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Cardinals will be the No. 12 seed and will play a Monday night road game against the No. 5 seed, which could still be one of four teams – Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State or Toledo.
Northern Illinois makes the trip to Muncie with some momentum, riding a three-game winning streak. The Huskies have toppled a few the league's top teams – Central Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan – over the past two weeks.
When Ball State and NIU met a month ago in DeKalb, Ill., the Huskies came away with a 75-63 win. It was a tight game through the middle of the second half before Northern Illinois opened it up in the closing minutes.
The Huskies have won the past three meetings in the series, but Ball State had won the previous seven. The Cardinals are 49-35 all-time against NIU, including 30-10 in Muncie.
