Men’s Basketball Opens Friday at Saint Louis

Game 1
Ball State (0-0, 0-0 MAC)
at Saint Louis (0-0, 0-0 A-10)
Friday, Nov. 11 (7 p.m. CT/8 ET)
Chaifetz Arena (St. Louis, Mo.)
Watch (Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Go)
Listen (WLBC)
Live Stats

A Look at the Cardinals
• Ball State begins its fourth season under head coach James Whitford with a road trip to Atlantic 10 opponent Saint Louis for the first ever meeting between the teams.

• Friday's game is the first of four contests Ball State will play as part of the MGM Grand Main Event. The Cardinals will also play a road game Nov. 18 at Alabama and then two neutral site games against Coppin State (Nov. 21) and Southern Utah (Nov. 23) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as part of the event.

• The contest at Saint Louis begins a stretch that will see the Cardinals play five of their first six games away from their home floor in Muncie. The only home game during the stretch comes Tuesday, Nov. 15 against long-time rival Indiana State.

• Ball State opens the season at No. 134 in the Ken Pomeroy rankings. The Cardinals reached as high as No. 127 last season and ended the year at No. 155. BSU finished last season 21-14, shared the MAC West Division championship and played in the postseason for the first time in 14 years, reaching the quarterfinals of the CIT.

• The Cardinals made 305 3-pointers last year (five shy of the school record) and bring back 81 percent of that production this season. Ryan Weber (74) and Francis Kiapway (70) gave Ball State two players with 70 or more 3-pointers for only the second time in program history.

• Ball State is led by preseason All-MAC forward Franko House, who is one of only four players in program history with at least 900 points, 500 rebounds and 175 assists in a career, joining Bonzi Wells (1994-98), Derrick Wesley (1984-88) and Chandler Thompson (1989-92).

Season Openers
• Ball State will begin its 96th season of competition Friday.
• The Cardinals are 54-41 in their previous 95 season-opening contests.
• Ball State will be opening on the road for the fourth consecutive season after beginning the past three years at Indiana State, Utah and Bradley.

Preseason Poll/All-MAC
• Ball State was picked to finish second in the MAC West Division in the preseason poll of head coaches and media members.
• Senior forward Franko House was selected to the preseason All-MAC West Team.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Franko House

Francis Kiapway

Ryan Weber