Men’s Hoops Visits In-State Rival Valpo Sunday

Game 6
Ball State (3-2, 0-0 MAC) at Valparaiso (5-1, 0-0 Horizon)
Sunday, Nov. 27 (1:30 p.m. CT/2:30 ET)
Valparaiso, Ind. (Athletics-Recreation Center)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

Opening Tip
• Ball State will play its fourth straight game away from home Sunday against Valparaiso. Both teams are coming off the Men Who Speak Up Main Event in Las Vegas and own three common opponents through the event. Both teams defeated Southern Utah and Coppin State. Valpo defeated Alabama in Las Vegas, while the Cardinals lost to the Crimson Tide on the road.

• Valparaiso is coming off wins over Alabama (68-60) and BYU (92-89) at the Men Who Speak Up Main Event. Alec Peters, an honorable mention All-American last season, leads the Crusaders with 25.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Last year's NIT runner-up, Valpo is currently No. 6 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

• Ball State won last year's meeting with Valparaiso 69-66 in Muncie behind 15 points from Bo Calhoun and 14 points and eight rebounds from Franko House.

• Senior forward Franko House is three points away from becoming the 29th 1,000-point scorer in Ball State history. House has scored double figures in all five games this season.

• Ball State is coming off its best offensive half of the season with 59 points over the final 20 minutes in Wednesday's victory over Southern Utah. The Cardinals shot 65.5 percent from the floor (19 of 29), 40 percent from 3-point range (4 of 10) and 85 percent from the free throw line (17 of 20) in the second half against the Thunderbirds.

• Ball State averaged 85 points per game in Las Vegas, shooting 50.9 percent from the floor in its victories over Coppin State and Southern Utah. The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference in field goal percentage at 46.5 percent for the season.

• Junior guard Sean Sellers led the Cardinals with 17 points per game at the MGM Grand, while sophomore center Trey Moses averaged 12 rebounds. Moses pulled down 16 rebounds in the win over Coppin State, the most by any player in the three-year history of the Main Event.

• Ball State features two of the top 10 scorers in the Mid-American Conference through five games in sophomore point guard Tayler Persons (19.0 ppg, 4th) and senior forward Franko House (16.4 ppg, 2nd).

Rare Double-Double
• Sophomore point guard Tayler Persons scored 19 points and handed out a career-high 10 assists in the Nov. 21 win over Coppin State.
• It was the first points/assists double-double by a Ball State player since Randy Davis had 11 points and 11 assists Nov. 26, 2010 against Southern Utah in the Great Alaska Shootout.
• Persons scored all 19 of his points in the second half against Coppin State.

Sellers Heating up
• Junior guard Sean Sellers found his shooting stroke in Las Vegas.
• Sellers made 7 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc in Ball State's wins over Coppin State and Southern Utah.
• A 41.9 percent career 3-point shooter, Sellers was 3 for 12 from deep through the first three games of the season.

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Players Mentioned

Bo Calhoun

Franko House

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Sean Sellers