Ball State, IUPUI Take Winning Streaks into Saturday Matchup in Indy

Game 8
Ball State (4-3) at IUPUI (5-2)
Saturday, Dec. 1 (1 p.m.)
Indianapolis, Ind. (Indiana Farmers Coliseum)
Watch: ESPN3| Listen: 96.7/104.9| Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State tips off a challenging four-game road stretch with its first visit to IUPUI since 2014. The Cardinals have hosted the Jaguars in each of the past three seasons, winning the first and the last of those meetings. Ball State closed out the month of November on a three-game winning streak, most recently dispatching of Division II Tiffin, 108-62, behind a 59.4 percent shooting performance.

• IUPUI is also riding a three-game winning streak, most recently posting a home victory over a Bradley team that has been rated among the top 100 in the country this season. The Jaguars are also the only team so far this year to defeat Boston College, an ACC member that boasts a win over 2018 national semifinalist Loyola Chicago (Ball State's next opponent).

What's Trending
• Ball State's roster features five players from the Indianapolis area -- junior forward Tahjai Teague (Pike HS), junior guard K.J. Walton (Brownsburg HS), junior guard Josh Thompson (Lawrence North HS), sophomore forward Zach Gunn (Hamilton Southeastern HS) and freshman guard Jarron Coleman (Cathedral HS).

• Former IUPUI associate head coach Matt Crenshaw returns to Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the visiting bench just more than two months after leaving the Jaguars to join the Ball State staff. A 2004 IUPUI graduate, Crenshaw spent 11 years on the staff at his alma mater.

• Ball State faces an IUPUI squad whose only losses have come at Xavier (Big East) and at Richmond (Atlantic 10). The Jaguars feature the Horizon League's third-leading scorer in Camron Justice at 20.0 points per game. Justice ranks 14th nationally in free throws made at 44.

• Saturday's game marks the fourth of six this season for Ball State against teams from the state of Indiana. The Cardinals are 6-1 in such games over the past two years, with the only loss coming earlier this season at nationally-ranked Purdue.

• Junior guard K.J. Walton is 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) from the floor over the past three games and 15-for-18 (83.3 percent) over the past two.

• Ball State's 108-point output against Tiffin marked the first time the Cardinals reached the century mark since a 115-79 victory over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 27, 2016.

• Senior center Trey Moses recorded his first double-double of the season and the 20th of his career with 14 points and a career-best 17 rebounds against Tiffin. He reached double figures in both categories by halftime. His 17 rebounds were the second-most by a MAC player this season and the most by a BSU player since Majok Majok pulled down 18 against Oakland City in January 2014.

• Senior point guard Tayler Persons has racked up 22 assists over the past three games. He leads the MAC with 5.4 assists per game. His nine helpers against Evansville were the second-most by a MAC player in a game this season.

Ball State, IUPUI Take Winning Streaks into Saturday Matchup in Indy

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Players Mentioned

Jarron Coleman

Zach Gunn

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Tahjai Teague

Josh Thompson

K.J. Walton