Hot Teams Collide When Men’s Hoops Visits WMU

Game 29
Ball State (18-10, 9-6 MAC) at Western Michigan (12-15, 8-7 MAC)
Saturday, Feb. 25 (2 p.m.)
Kalamazoo, Mich. (University Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

Opening Tip
• Ball State visits Western Michigan for the second meeting between the teams this season. The Cardinals defeated the Broncos 84-78 in Muncie on Jan. 28 behind 28 points from Tayler Persons and a season-best 58.3 percent shooting day. BSU has won three straight over Western Michigan dating back to last season.

• The long-time rivals will be meeting for the 127th time. BSU has played only one opponent more often (Indiana State, 131 times). The all-time series is deadlocked at 63 wins apiece.

• Ball State sits alone atop the MAC West standings in its quest for a second straight division title. The Cardinals, who are 7-0 against divisional competition this season, are one game ahead Western Michigan in the standings and can clinch at least a share of the division championship with a win Saturday.

• Ball State is coming off a 79-72 victory over Eastern Michigan to stretch its winning streak to three and sweep the season series from the Eagles. The Cardinals overcame a 19-point deficit, marking the sixth time this season BSU has come from at least nine points down to win a game.

• Western Michigan has won five games in a row and seven of its past eight since losing in Muncie last month. The Broncos have climbed to the No. 2 spot in the MAC West standings. Thomas Wilder leads WMU at 19.3 points per game, while Tucker Haymond averages 14.5.

• Senior guard Ryan Weber is shooting 55.3 percent (21 of 38) from 3-point range over the past five games. He is averaging 15.4 points during that stretch with double figures in all five. Weber and fellow senior Franko House have both surpassed 1,000 points for their careers this season.

• When he steps on the floor Saturday, House will move into a tie for second on Ball State's career games played list at 124, matching Robert Owens (2000-04). Mike Spicer (1988-92) holds the school record with 126 games played.

MAC Tournament Outlook
• If the MAC Tournament started today, Ball State (9-6) would be the No. 4 seed behind Akron (12-3), Ohio (10-5) and Buffalo (9-6).
• It's a tight race for seeding with only three games currently separating seeds 3 through 10.
• The top four seeds receive byes into the quarterfinal round in Cleveland, while the bottom eight seeds will play first-round games at campus sites.

Comeback Cards
• Ball State's 19-point comeback Tuesday against Ohio was the program's largest come-from-behind victory since 2011 and its second-largest in the past 25 years.
• BSU has overcome deficits of more than 15 points to win nine times in the past 25 years, and four of those have happened in the past two seasons.

Road Has Been Friendly
• Ball State is 9-7 on the road in MAC play over the past two seasons. The Cardinals are one of four teams in the league with winning road records during that stretch – Buffalo (10-7), Ohio (10-7), Ball State (9-7) and Akron (9-7).

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Players Mentioned

Franko House

Tayler Persons

Ryan Weber