Men’s Hoops Meets Top Seed Akron in Friday’s MAC Semifinals

Friday, March 10

Cleveland, Ohio

5:30 p.m.

Ball State University

Akron

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

Men’s Hoops Meets Top Seed Akron in Friday’s MAC Semifinals

March 10, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Semifinal Notes Ball State Postseason Guide Tournament Central Tournament Bracket

Cardinals-Zips to air nationally on CBS Sports Network

MAC Tournament Semifinals
(4) Ball State (21-11, 11-7 MAC) vs. (1) Akron (25-7, 14-4 MAC)
Friday, March 10 (5:30 p.m.)
Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio)
TV: CBS Sports Network | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

Opening Tip
• Ball State, fresh off an opening-round bye, advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament with a 66-63 victory Thursday over Western Michigan. It was the third meeting of the year between the teams who split their regular season contests and shared the MAC West Division championship.

• The Cardinals will play No. 1 seed Akron in the semis for their second meeting this season. The Zips won 65-63 on their home floor back on Feb. 7 thanks to an Isaiah Johnson buzzer beater.

• The Ball State-Akron winner will advance to the championship game to meet the winner of Friday's second semifinal matchup between No. 2 seed Ohio and No. 6 seed Kent State.

• Akron reached the semifinals with a 79-62 victory Thursday over No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan. The Zips won the regular season championship and feature MAC Player of the Year Isaiah Johnson at center. He leads the Zips with 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

• Ball State will play in the semifinals for the 21st time in 36 MAC Tournament appearances but the first time since 2011. BSU lost in 2011 to No. 1 seed Kent State. The Cardinals' last trip to the championship game came in 2000 when they defeated Ohio in the semifinals and then went on to beat Miami for the title.

• Ball State's semifinal victory over Western Michigan was the team's sixth win in the past seven games. The Cardinals snapped the Broncos' nine-game winning streak.

• BSU managed to defeat Western Michigan despite playing the final 30 minutes without All-MAC point guard Tayler Persons, who left with an injury. Junior Francis Kiapway shifted over to the point and led the Cardinals with 16 points. Sophomore center Trey Moses recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

• Senior forward Franko House scored 14 points in the quarterfinal victory and made the 127th start of his career, a new school record. The two-time All-MAC performer broke a tie with Mike Spicer (1988-92) for the top spot on the list.

Moses Cleaning the Glass
• Sophomore center Trey Moses pulled down 14 rebounds in the quarterfinal win over Western Michigan, tying for the third-most by a BSU player in a MAC Tournament game.
• It was the most rebounds by a Ball State player in the tournament since 1996.
• Only Steve Payne (1993) and Dan Palombizio (1986) have ever had more in a tournament game. Both of them pulled down 17.

He's Done This Before
• Junior Francis Kiapway played most of the final 30 minutes of Thursday's win at the point guard spot, filling in for an injured Tayler Persons.
• It was a comfortable spot for Kiapway, who shifted into the starting point guard role for the final 17 games last year and helped the Cardinals to a share of the MAC West Division championship.
• With Persons' arrival this season, Kiapway has moved back to the No. 2 guard but has continued to spell Persons at the point.

Overcoming the Boards
• Ball State has won its past three games despite being outrebounded in each: 43-37 vs. Toledo, 39-30 vs. Northern Illinois and 42-41 vs. Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.
• Prior to those three games, the Cardinals were 2-6 on the season when facing a deficit on the glass.
• For the season, Ball State is now 16-5 when the rebounding battle is even or in its favor. The Cardinals are 5-6 when being outrebounded.

Defending at a High Level
• Defense has been the key to the Cardinals winning six of their past seven games.
• During that stretch, Ball State has limited opponents to 40.3 percent shooting from the floor on average.
• Three of the seven opponents have shot less than 40 percent, including Western Michigan (38.1) in the quarterfinals.

Taking Care of the Ball
• Ball State turned the ball over only five times in its quarterfinal victory. That total was three fewer than its previous season best.
• It was the program's lowest turnover number against a Division I opponent since a five-turnover game at Miami on Feb. 4, 2012.
• The Cardinals have registered single-digit turnovers in each of the past three games (all wins), averaging 7.3 per game during that stretch.