Cardinals Wrap up Non-Conference Play Saturday with Delaware State

Game 13
Ball State (8-4) vs. Delaware State (3-9)
Saturday, Dec. 29 (2 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State closes out its non-conference schedule with a second consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent in Delaware State. The Cardinals are coming off their most efficient offensive performance of the season in a 98-71 victory over Howard. BSU, which has not played in the past eight days, has won seven of its past eight games.

• Delaware State split two games the week before Christmas, winning at in-state rival Delaware and falling in a trip out west to Weber State. Ball State is the highest-rated opponent on the Hornets' schedule. Saturday's meeting will be just the second all-time between the programs. Ball State won the initial matchup 33 years ago, also in Muncie.

About the Matchup
• Ball State is 4-0 at Worthen Arena this season and 20-2 in its past 22 home games. The Cardinals have not lost a non-conference home game since Dec. 3, 2016 (IUPUI).

• Ball State has climbed to No. 84 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings, markings its best rating since at least the 2004-05 season (BSU opened the year at No. 109). The Cardinals have not finished a season better than No. 96 since ending the 2001-02 season at No. 55. The MAC currently has three teams among KenPom's top 100. Buffalo is No. 31, and Toledo is No. 68.

• Ball State faces a Delaware State team that attempts nearly 27 3-pointers per game and makes nearly nine of them. Senior guard Saleik Edwards ranks among the top 30 nationally with 103 attempts of his own from long range (nearly one-third of the team's 320 attempts). Backcourt mate Kevin Larkin, who has played in just eight of the team's 12 games, leads the Hornets with 16.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He went off for 40 points earlier this season against Division III Cairn. Edwards adds 12.8 points in a team-high 32.0 minutes per game.

• Ball State is 15-2 all-time against the MEAC, with its only losses coming to South Carolina State in 1993 and Coppin State in 1994. The Cardinals are 10-0 in the past decade against the MEAC (5-0 under James Whitford), although three of those have been one-possession games.

What's Trending
• Ball State has turned in its best defensive and best offensive performances of the season in the past two games. The Cardinals' defensive efficiency at Valparaiso (87.2) was their best against any opponent except Division II Tiffin, while their offensive efficiency versus Howard (145.5) was their best against any team this year. For the season, BSU ranks 46th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (109.9), according to Ken Pomeroy.

• Senior point guard Tayler Persons is the active leader among MAC players in career points (1,601) and assists (477). Persons entered the year as the assists leader and recently surpassed Eastern Michigan big man James Thompson IV in the scoring category. His assists total ranks 11th among all active Division I players, while Trey Moses is 17th among active players in career rebounds (760).

• Ball State ranks sixth nationally in team field goal percentage at 50.9 percent. The Cardinals feature the two most efficient players in the MAC in Tahjai Teague (63.6 percent) and K.J. Walton (61.1 percent). That duo ranks 23rd and 31st in the nation, respectively. Walton is 56-for-78 (71.8 percent) over his past seven games. He missed his first game of the season against Howard with an ankle injury.

Cardinals Wrap up Non-Conference Play Saturday with Delaware State

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Players Mentioned

Trey Moses

Tayler Persons

Tahjai Teague

K.J. Walton