Fresh of Top-10 Win, Men’s Hoops Hosts Valpo for Another Strong Test

Saturday, December 9

Muncie, Ind.

2:00 PM ET

Ball State University

Valparaiso

Photo by: Justin Casterline

Fresh of Top-10 Win, Men’s Hoops Hosts Valpo for Another Strong Test

December 08, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Saturday is Toys for Tots Military & Public Safety Appreciation Day

Game 10
Ball State (5-4, 0-0 MAC) vs. Valparaiso (8-1, 0-0 MVC)
Saturday, Dec. 9 (2 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

Toys for Tots Military & Public Safety Appreciation Day
Any individual who presents a valid military or public safety I.D. will receive complimentary admission for the game, while each fan who brings a toy to donate will receive specially-priced $6 (bronze section) or $10 (silver) tickets … Ball State students are encouraged to participate, as well, with 50 student rewards bonus points accumulated with a donated toy. More details.

About the Cardinals
• Ball State returns to Worthen Arena riding a four-game winning streak to kick off a six-game home stand against Valparaiso, its fifth straight in-state opponent.

• The Cardinals are coming off an 80-77 victory Tuesday at Notre Dame, which was ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the AP Top 25. It was the third victory over a top-10 opponent in Ball State's program history and the first on the road. BSU defeated No. 4 Kansas and No. 3 UCLA on back-to-back days in neutral-site contests at the 2001 Maui Invitational. Those were the most recent wins by the Mid-American Conference over AP top-10 teams.

• Junior point guard Tayler Persons hit the game-winning 3-pointer at Notre Dame with 1.7 seconds on the clock, giving him 24 points for the night. It was his third 20-point game of the season and his 11th in his 43 games as a Cardinal.

• Ball State held a monstrous 40-26 rebounding advantage against the ACC's Fighting Irish, including a 13-4 edge on the offensive glass. After losing the battle of the boards in the first five games of the season, the Cardinals have outrebounded each of their past four opponents.

• Ball State climbed to No. 116 in the Ken Pomeroy rankings after the win at Notre Dame. The Cardinals enter Saturday's contest at No. 117, the highest of any MAC team. Buffalo (131) and Western Michigan (139) are next.

• BSU has faced the 14th-most difficult schedule in the country, according to KenPom, already playing four games against the top 100 -- Notre Dame (20), Oklahoma (30), Oregon (53) and Bucknell (97). Valparaiso (87) also falls into that category.

Scouting Valparaiso
• Valparaiso won eight straight games to open the season before suffering its first loss Thursday night at Purdue.
• The Crusaders boast some of the country's best defensive numbers, holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting (3rd nationally) and 25.8 percent from 3-point range (9th). Valpo is allowing just 62.2 points per game.
• Senior guard Tevonn Walker leads Valpo with 16.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
• The Crusaders' roster features freshman forward Parker Hazen, brother of Ball State's Brachen Hazen who is sitting out this season as a transfer.
• Valparaiso, playing its second season under head coach Matt Lottich, is in its first year as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference after sharing the Horizon League regular season title a year ago.
• The Crusaders went 24-9 (14-4 Horizon) last season and earned a berth in the NIT for the second year in a row.

Series History
• Ball State holds a 32-31 edge in the all-time series with Valparaiso, dating back to 1928.
• The teams will be meeting for the fifth straight season. The past three meetings have all been decided by six points or fewer.
• Ball State won the last meeting in Muncie in 2015, pulling off a 69-66 victory over a Valpo team that was receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and rated 23rd in the country by Ken Pomeroy.
• The Crusaders won last year, 79-73 in Valparaiso, in a game Ball State led by three at the half.

Inside the Winning Streak
• During its current four-game winning streak, Ball State is shooting 53.5 percent from the floor and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc.
• BSU is outrebounding opponents by an average of 37.2 to 28.3 over the four games.
• Four Cardinals are averaging double-figure scoring during the stretch: Tayler Persons (16.0), Tahjai Teague (14.0), Sean Sellers (11.8) and Kyle Mallers (10.3).

Moses Returning to Form
• After playing limited minutes early in the year as the result of a preseason injury, junior center Trey Moses has started to find his stride of late.
• Moses has not missed a shot from the floor over the past three games, going 11 for 11. He is averaging 9.7 points and 7.0 rebounds over the past three games.
• He played a season-high 28 minutes in Tuesday's win at Notre Dame.