Men’s Hoops Back Home for Taco Tuesday against Central Michigan

Game 18
Ball State (11-6, 2-2 MAC) vs. Central Michigan (12-5, 1-3 MAC)
Tuesday, Jan. 16 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WLBC) | Live Stats

Taco Tuesday presented by Kroger's Pay Less: The first 500 students will receive a free walking taco, while any fan may purchase one at the concessions stands for just $4.

Cardinal Deans' Shootout: Deans from various colleges on campus will square off against each other in a halftime free throw shooting contest.

About the Cardinals
• Ball State returns home after two straight games on the road to host MAC West Division foe Central Michigan in the first of two meetings between the teams this season.

• The Cardinals are 17-5 in MAC West Division games over the past three seasons, including a 9-1 mark last year. BSU is 1-1 against the division this year.

• Ball State is coming off a 73-58 loss Saturday at Western Michigan. Guards Tayler Persons (13 points) and Ishmael El-Amin (11) led the Cardinals in scoring.

• Senior guard Sean Sellers surpassed 1,000 points for his career at Western Michigan. He became the 30th member of the Cardinals' 1,000-point club. Sellers is the second BSU player to reach the 1,000-point mark this season. Persons accomplished the feat Nov. 22 at Bucknell.

• Ball State ranks second in the MAC in field goal percentage defense during league play (.409). The Cardinals are holding opponents to 38.8 percent (66 for 170) inside the arc but surrendering 45.5 percent (35 for 77) from 3-point range.

• Ball State has won 10 of 12 games since Thanksgiving, including a nine-game winning streak that ended Jan. 6. The Cardinals check in at No. 144 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings as the third-highest team from the MAC (Buffalo is No. 86, Toledo is No. 126).

• Junior center Trey Moses is averaging a double-double over the past seven games at 10.9 points and 10.7 rebounds. He has four double-doubles during that stretch and ranks third in the MAC during league play with 10.3 rebounds per game.

Scouting Central Michigan
• Central Michigan opened MAC play with a 75-50 victory over Ohio but has since dropped games against Kent State (85-69), Eastern Michigan (79-74) and Toledo (93-82).
• Senior forward Cecil Williams leads the Chippewas at 14.9 points per game. Shawn Roundtree (14.5) and David DiLeo (13.7) also average double figures.
• For the full season, CMU leads the MAC in scoring defense (68.1) and field goal percentage defense (.408). But in league play, the Chippewas are allowing 76.8 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting.
• Central Michigan is the league's top free throw shooting team at 81.1 percent.
• The Chippewas are in their sixth season under Keno Davis. CMU shared the MAC West title with Ball State two seasons ago.

Series History
• Ball State holds a 64-34 lead in the all-time series with Central Michigan, and the Cardinals are 39-6 against the Chippewas in Muncie.
• The Cardinals have won five of the eight meetings with CMU under head coach James Whitford.
• BSU won both meetings last season, 98-83 at home and 109-100 in overtime on the road.
• The Cardinals placed seven scorers in double figures in the game at Central Michigan for the first time in the program's Division I history.
• Tayler Persons averaged 25.0 points per game last year versus CMU (including a career-high 32 in the OT road win), while Trey Moses averaged 17.0 points and 11.5 rebounds over the two games.
• Senior guard Sean Sellers is averaging 10.3 points on 13-for-24 (.542) shooting from 3-point range in six career games against the Chippewas.

Men’s Hoops Back Home for Taco Tuesday against Central Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Ishmael El-Amin

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Sean Sellers