Men's Basketball Hosts Akron for Noon Tip Saturday on CBS Sports Network

Game 21
Ball State (12-8, 3-4 MAC) vs. Akron (10-9, 3-4 MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 27 (Noon)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
TV: CBS Sports Network | Listen: WLBC | Live Stats

About the Cardinals
• Ball State hosts Akron in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network. It is the first of two meetings between the teams over the next three weeks. BSU will visit the Zips on Feb. 13.

• The Cardinals will take part in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers week Saturday. The BSU coaching staff will wear sneakers as part of the cancer awareness initiative of the NABC.

• The Cardinals are 9-1 at home this season with their only defeat at Worthen Arena coming against league leader Buffalo. BSU is 33-12 at home over the past three years.

• Ball State is coming off an overtime loss Tuesday at Kent State. Junior point guard Tayler Persons scored 19 points and hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to force overtime. It was the fourth time this year Persons hit a go-ahead or tying basket in the final 20 seconds regulation. But Kent State prevailed as BSU suffered just its second defeat in its past nine overtime games.

• The Cardinals rank first in the MAC in field goal percentage defense during league play (.410). Ball State has held five of its seven conference opponents to less than 40 percent shooting (Buffalo and Kent State are the only exceptions).

• Senior guard Sean Sellers has 19 rebounds over the past two games. Sellers entered the year averaging 2.9 rebounds per game for his career but is averaging 5.4 in league play this season.

• Ball State is 2-4 in its past six games after rattling off nine wins in a row. One problem for BSU has been turnover margin. In non-conference play, the Cardinals committed 13.2 turnovers per game to 12.8 for their opponents (-0.4). But in MAC games, the Cardinals are committing 15.3 per game to 10.3 for the opposition (-5.0).

Scouting Akron
• Akron is coming off consecutive league victories at home, defeating Northern Illinois (82-67) and Ohio (71-68).
• After starting MAC play 0-3, the Zips have won three of their past four games (all at home).
• Sophomore forward Daniel Utomi paces Akron with 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while Malcolm Duvivier is the Zips' top scorer in league play at 14.3 per game. Five Akron players average at least 9.0 points per game in conference action.
• For the year, the Zips rank second in the league in 3's per game (10.0) and 3-point percentage (.379).
• Akron is playing its first season under former Ohio and Illinois head coach John Groce. The Zips won a second straight MAC regular season championship last year but returned just four letterwinners and one starter from that squad.

Series History
• Ball State trails 23-15 in the all-time series with Akron, but the Cardinals hold a 10-8 advantage over the Zips in Muncie.
• The Cardinals' most recent victory in the series came in 2004.
• The teams met twice last season with Akron winning both matchups by a combined six points.
• The Zips were 65-63 winners in Akron on a buzzer-beating jumper from Isaiah Johnson and later defeated the Cardinals 74-70 in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament.
• Tahjai Teague averaged 12.0 points over the two games last year, including a career-high 19 in the tournament matchup.

Men's Basketball Hosts Akron for Noon Tip Saturday on CBS Sports Network

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Players Mentioned

Tayler Persons

Sean Sellers

Tahjai Teague