Matchup at Top-20 Buffalo Provides Big Challenge, Big Opportunity for Cardinals

Game 21
Ball State (11-9, 2-5 MAC) at #18/17 Buffalo (18-2, 6-1 MAC)
Tuesday, Jan. 29 (7 p.m.)
Buffalo, N.Y. (Alumni Arena)
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State travels to face No. 18/17 Buffalo for its fourth road game in the past five. The Bulls are the third ranked opponent for the Cardinals this season and the first since Virginia Tech back in November at the Charleston Classic. Buffalo has lived up to its billing as the preseason favorite to repeat as MAC champion. The Bulls have represented the league in the NCAA tournament in three of the past four years.

• Ball State is coming off a pair of single-digit losses last week at home to Miami and on the road at Ohio. The Cardinals have dropped five out of six since their league-opening win at Toledo. Buffalo bounced back from its first MAC loss last week at Northern Illinois with an 88-79 win Friday at Kent State. The Bulls' only other loss this season came back in December against nationally-ranked Marquette.

About the Matchup
• Despite losses in five of its past six games, Ball State remains a top-100 team in the major power ranking systems, including a high mark of No. 95 in the NCAA's NET rankings. The Cardinals reached a high of No. 49 in the NCAA's NET rankings earlier this month. BSU has not finished a season in the top 100 since 2004-05 (96 in Ken Pomeroy).

• Ball State faces a Buffalo team that has been ranked for a MAC-record 12 consecutive weeks and has reached as high as No. 14 in the AP poll. UB leads the MAC and ranks 12th nationally in scoring at 84.8 points per game. The Bulls also have the most assists and the fewest turnovers of any team in the league. Buffalo's three leading scorers -- all seniors -- were All-MAC selections last season: CJ Massinburg (18.2 ppg), Jeremy Harris (14.6) and Nick Perkins (14.6). Massinburg, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and Perkins both scored 20 points in Saturday's win at Kent State.

• Ball State has had more success on the road than at home in MAC play. The Cardinals are 0-3 at home but 2-2 on the road with double-digit wins over Toledo and Central Michigan, a one-point loss to East Division co-leader Bowling Green, and a four-point loss to Ohio.

What's Trending
• Ball State's numbers have been starkly different at home and on the road in league play. The Cardinals are shooting nearly 10 percentage points better from the floor and nearly 15 percent better from 3-point range on the road. BSU is outscoring opponents by an average of better than five points per game on the road while being outscored by nearly nine per game at home. Tayler Persons leads the Cardinals with an average of 22.8 points on the road compared to 10.3 at home.

• Ball State fell to 2-5 in MAC play Saturday despite its best 3-point shooting percentage of the season (.556; 10-for-18) at Ohio. It was a bounce-back performance from deep after making only one 3-pointer earlier in the week against Miami. The Cardinals hit 28 of their first 51 shots from the floor Saturday but made just one of their last 10.

• Outside of an 18-point defeat to Ohio at home earlier this month, the Cardinals' other four league losses have come by a combined 13 points (an average of just 3.3 per game). All four were decided in the final minute.

• BSU is drawing inspiration from other recent MAC West Division teams that have rebounded from slow starts. Eastern Michigan started MAC play 3-6 last season before winning eight of its final nine to finish 11-7 and claim the No. 3 seed in the league tournament. A year earlier, Western Michigan started 3-7 before winning its final eight to finish 11-7 and grab a share of the division championship.

Matchup at Top-20 Buffalo Provides Big Challenge, Big Opportunity for Cardinals

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Players Mentioned

Tayler Persons