Men’s Basketball Visits Kent State for MAC Opener

Game 14
Ball State (9-4, 0-0 MAC) at Kent State (8-5, 0-0 MAC)
Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017
Kent, Ohio (M.A.C. Center)
Watch | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

Opening Tip
• Ball State visits Kent State for its Mid-American Conference opener Tuesday as the Cardinals begin their 42nd season of MAC play. BSU shared the MAC West Division championship last season with a 10-8 conference mark.

• The Cardinals wrapped up non-conference play with a record of 9-4 for the second consecutive season, tying for the second-most non-conference wins in program history. The 1988-89 team had 10 wins before league play.

• Kent State enters conference play at 8-5 and is coming off a 63-58 victory at Texas. Returning all-conference post player Jimmy Hall leads the Golden Flashes with 17.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Kent State leads the MAC in rebounding margin (+9.5) and ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.403).

• Ball State enters conference play riding a five-game winning streak, most recently defeating two-time defending Atlantic Sun Conference champion North Florida on the road, 73-68. Sophomore point guard Tayler Persons led the way with 16 points in that game, including 13 in the second half as the Cardinals held off the Ospreys.

• Ball State is the only team in the MAC with eight players averaging at least 8.0 points per game. Persons leads the way at 14.9 per game.

• The Cardinals are one of only three MAC teams to have five players with at least 20 assists on the season (Akron and Kent State are the others). BSU leads the MAC with 16.5 assists per game as a team.

• Sophomore center Trey Moses is averaging a double-double over the past 10 games at 10.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.

Inside the Streak
• During its current five-game winning streak, Ball State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 13.6 points per game (75.6-62.0).

• The Cardinals are shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 39.3 percent from 3-point range, while holding their opponents to 39.5 percent overall and 27.8 percent from deep.

• BSU is averaging 7.2 steals per game and generating 16.2 turnovers per contest.

Career vs. Kent State
• Among active Ball State players who have played more than one career game against Kent State, junior guard Sean Sellers leads the way with an average of 10.0 points per game against the Golden Flashes.

• In three career games against Kent State, Sellers has connected of 10 of 18 shots from the floor (.556) and 6 of 11 from 3-point range (.545).

• Senior forward Franko House has averaged 9.8 points over four career games against Kent State. He has also averaged 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists versus the Flashes.

• Ryan Weber (8.7 ppg) and Francis Kiapway (5.7 ppg) have also played three career games against Kent State. Two of Weber's games against the Flashes came while he was playing for Youngstown State before transferring.

Men’s Basketball Visits Kent State for MAC Opener

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Players Mentioned

Franko House

Francis Kiapway

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Sean Sellers

Ryan Weber