Men’s Hoops Hosts NIU Friday for #MuncieOut, Senior Night

Friday, March 3

Muncie, Ind.

7:00 PM ET

Ball State University

Northern Illinois

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Men’s Hoops Hosts NIU Friday for #MuncieOut, Senior Night

March 02, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Cardinals can seal at least a share of the MAC West title with a win

Game 31
Ball State (19-11, 10-7 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (15-15, 7-10 MAC)
Friday, March 3 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

#MuncieOut: Ball State will host the second annual #MuncieOut game with special ticket pricing ($6 GA, $10 reserved), FREE parking, $1 hot dogs and a halftime performance by the K-9 Disc Dog Crew.

Senior Night: Fans should be in their seats by 6:45 p.m. for a senior recognition, as the Cardinals honor Franko House, Ryan Weber, Kaleb Mallory and DouDou Gueye.

A Look at the Cardinals
• Ball State enters the final game of the regular season tied for the MAC West Division lead with Western Michigan and seeking a second straight division championship after sharing last year's title with Central Michigan.

• The Cardinals are part of a five-way tie for the No. 2 spot in the overall league standings with Ohio, Buffalo, Western Michigan and Kent State. BSU can be anywhere from the No. 2 seed to the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament depending on Friday's outcomes.

• Ball State and Northern Illinois will be meeting for the second time in 17 days. The Cardinals defeated the Huskies in overtime Feb. 14 in DeKalb, Illinois, using a 19-0 run spanning the end of regulation and the extra period on the way to an 81-72 victory. Ryan Weber led the way with 23 points in that game, and Tayler Persons had 13 assists.

• The Cardinals are coming off an 82-74 win Tuesday at Toledo, as they improved to 8-1 against MAC West Division opponents this season. Persons scored a game-high 31 points, including BSU's first 17 points of the night.

• Senior forward Franko House is set to tie the Ball State record for career games played. Friday's contest will mark the 126th game of his career, matching Mike Spicer (1988-92) for the most appearances in school history.

MAC Tournament Outlook
• Ball State can still be anywhere from the No. 2 seed to the No. 6 in the conference tournament. If the tournament started today, BSU would be the No. 6 seed.
• The top four seeds receive byes into the quarterfinal round in Cleveland, while seeds 5-8 will host first-round games Monday night.
• Ball State has not been a top-4 seed since earning the No. 4 seed in the 2011 tournament.
• The Cardinals can jump into one of the top four spots with a win and one of the following results around the league ...

-- A loss by Kent State vs. Akron
-- Losses by two of the following: Ohio (vs. Miami), Buffalo (vs. Bowling Green) and Western Michigan (vs. Central Michigan).