Men’s Basketball Tips off Saturday Double Feature against Ohio at Noon

Game 16
Ball State (10-5, 1-1 MAC) vs. Ohio (8-6, 0-2 MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 12 (Noon)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State continues Mid-American Conference play with the first game of a men's/women's doubleheader against Ohio at Worthen Arena. It is the first of two meetings in two weeks for BSU with Ohio. The Cardinals will visit the Bobcats for a Jan. 26 contest. Ball State snapped an eight-game losing streak to Ohio last season with its first win in Athens since 2010.

• Ball State saw a four-game winning streak snapped Tuesday with a double-overtime loss to preseason MAC West Division favorite Eastern Michigan. Double-doubles from Tahjai Teague and Trey Moses could not propel the Cardinals to a 2-0 start to MAC play. Ohio suffered an 82-63 loss at Bowling Green that night to fall to 0-2 in league action.

About the Matchup
• Ball State comes in rated among the top 75 by the major power ranking systems, including a mark of 68th by Ken Pomeroy. BSU's KenPom rating of No. 62 earlier this week was its best since 2002. The Cardinals were as high as No. 49 in the NCAA's NET rankings before Tuesday's loss to Eastern Michigan dropped them to No. 73.

• Tuesday's loss to Eastern Michigan was Ball State's first home defeat this season. Despite the loss, the Cardinals are 21-3 over their past 24 home games.

• Ball State faces an Ohio team that features two of the MAC's top 10 scorers in forward Jason Carter (17.6 ppg, 6th) and guard Teyvion Kirk (16.4 ppg, 7th). The Bobcats also boast the league's shot blocking leader in forward Doug Taylor at 2.1 per game. Ohio went 8-4 in con-conference play before dropping its first two league games.

• Ball State and Ohio have faced one common opponent in Purdue. The Cardinals lost 84-75 to Purdue, while Ohio fell 95-67 to the Boilermakers.

What's Trending
• Senior center Trey Moses became the 32nd member of Ball State's 1,000-point club early in Tuesday's game against Eastern Michigan. He is one of three 1,000-point scorers on the Ball State roster, joining Tayler Persons and Austin Nehls.

• Trey Moses' 10 assists in the Eastern Michigan game were the most ever by a Ball State big man. Ball State notched 23 assists as a team on 29 made baskets.

• With Ball State's roster limited by injuries to Brachen Hazen and Ishmael El-Amin, graduate transfer guard Austin Nehls has stepped into an important role. After scoring just 16 points through the first 11 games, Nehls has scored 26 over the past four (6.5 per game). He is 8-for-11 from the floor, all from beyond the arc, during that stretch.

• Junior forward Tahjai Teague ranks seventh in the nation in offensive efficiency, according to Synergy Sports Technology. He is the top MAC player on the list. Teague ranks 17th nationally in field goal percentage at 64.6 percent. He has scored double figures in 11 straight games (BSU is 9-2).

• Teague set a career high with 28 points and matched his career best with 14 rebounds Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. That performance came on the heels of Teague being named MAC West Division Co-Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

Men’s Basketball Tips off Saturday Double Feature against Ohio at Noon

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Players Mentioned

Ishmael El-Amin

Brachen Hazen

Trey Moses

Austin Nehls

Tayler Persons

Tahjai Teague