Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Miami (OH)
Men's Hoops Set for Miami in MAC Tourney Opener
March 06, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Game 32
MAC Tournament 1st Round
#6 Ball State (19-12, 10-8 MAC)
vs. #11 Miami (12-19, 6-12 MAC)
Monday, March 7 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats
A Look at the Cardinals
• Sixth-seeded Ball State will host No. 11 seed Miami in a first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament matchup. The winner will advance to meet No. 3 seed Buffalo in Thursday's quarterfinal round at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
• The Cardinals and RedHawks will be meeting for the third time this season. Ball State won both previous meetings -- 48-46 in Muncie (Jan. 16) and 73-56 in Oxford, Ohio (Feb. 16).
• Ball State finished the regular season tied atop the MAC West Division with Central Michigan, sharing the division title for the first time since 2009 ... The Cardinals are one victory away from the 11th 20-win season in school history and the first since 2001-02.
• Ball State is looking to bounce back from consecutive losses to end the regular season. The team has not lost three in a row at any point this season.
• Ball State ranks No. 148 out of 351 Division I teams in the Ken Pomeroy rankings and has been as high as No. 127. BSU has not finished a season better than its current Pomeroy ranking since 2005 (No. 105).
• BSU is the fourth-most improved team in the country in terms of its record from last year to this year (source: NCAA). The Cardinals are 19-12 this season after going 7-23 a year ago.
• The Cardinals' 272 3-pointers this season already rank as the second most in program history.
BSU in the MAC Tournament
• Ball State will be making its 34th appearance in the MAC Tournament. The program's seven championships (most recent in 2000) are the most in league history.
• This is the fourth time the Cardinals have been the No. 6 seed. They are 4-3 when seeded sixth, reaching the semifinals in both 1985 and 2001.
• Ball State is playing a first-round home game for the first time since 2010. The team played first-round road games in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and received byes in 2011 and 2013.
Versus Miami in the Tournament
• Ball State will be playing Miami for the 10th time in conference tournament action, tying for the most often the Cardinals have played any opponent (they have also played Ohio 10 times).
• The Cardinals are 5-4 against Miami in tournament play, but the teams have not met in the tournament since the 2004 quarterfinals (a 72-67 Miami win).
• Ball State and Miami have played each other in the championship game three times, with the Cardinals winning in 1986 and 2000 and the RedHawks winning in 1992.
With a Win ...
• With a win Monday, Ball State would ...
-- Reach 20 wins for the first time since 2001-02 and the 11th time in school history.
-- Post its first MAC Tournament victory since the 2011 quarterfinals.
MAC West Titles
• Ball State shared the MAC West Division championship with Central Michigan.
• Since the MAC went to the divisional format in 1998, Ball State has won or shared five division titles: 1998 (co), 2000 (co), 2002, 2009 (co) and 2016 (co).
Franko's Strong Finish
• Franko House averaged 20.7 points per game over the final three regular season contests.
• The junior forward scored a career-high 23 points March 1 against Central Michigan. He had 20 against Eastern Michigan (Feb. 27) and 19 at Northern Illinois (March 4).
• House closed the regular season as the team's scoring leader at 12.4 points per game.
Balanced Attack
• Ball State won a share of the MAC West championship without having a single player rank among the top 15 in the league for scoring.
• The Cardinals had five players average double-figure scoring in league action -- Franko House (12.5), Bo Calhoun (10.9), Ryan Weber (10.4), Jeremie Tyler (10.2) and Francis Kiapway (10.1).
• House's league scoring average ranked 18th in the conference.
