Cardinals on the Climb as Eastern Michigan Visits Tuesday

Game 15
Ball State (10-4, 1-0 MAC) vs. Eastern Michigan (6-8, 0-1 MAC)
Tuesday, Jan. 8 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State welcomes preseason MAC West Division favorite Eastern Michigan for its first league home game. The Cardinals are coming off a 79-64 victory in the MAC opener at Toledo, snapping the Rockets' 10-game winning streak. UT had been receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches' polls and was ranked third in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Junior forward Tahjai Teague was named MAC West Division Co-Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks after notching 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

• Eastern Michigan dropped its league opener at home to No. 20 Buffalo, 74-58. The Eagles went 6-7 in non-conference play, including losses to top-5 opponents Duke and Kansas. Eastern Michigan edged Ball State by eight points for first place in the league's preseason poll.

About the Matchup
• Ball State cracked the top 50 nationally in the NCAA's NET rankings after last week's win at Toledo. The Cardinals have skyrocketed up the rankings over the past four games, climbing from No. 119 to No. 49. BSU checks in at No. 62 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings for the program's best mark since 2002. The Cardinals have climbed nearly 50 spots in KenPom since the beginning of the season.

• The win at Toledo was Ball State's second road victory this season over a top-70 opponent. The Rockets were No. 66 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. Loyola Chicago was No. 68 when the Cardinals beat them Dec. 5.

• Ball State faces an Eastern Michigan team that features preseason All-MAC selections James Thompson IV and Elijah Minnie. Thompson, a senior center, is the leading active rebounder in the NCAA with more than 1,200 career rebounds. His 1,614 career points are second among MAC players only to Tayler Persons (1,638). Senior point guard Paul Jackson leads the Eagles this season with 12.8 points per game. EMU is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country, ranking sixth with nearly 15 per game. Thompson is fifth nationally as an individual with four offensive boards per game.

• Ball State has won five of the past six meetings with Eastern Michigan, although the Eagles won the most recent contest last year. The teams split two matchups a year ago with each winning on its home floor.

What's Trending
• Ball State, playing with a limited roster due to injuries to Brachen Hazen and Ishmael El-Amin, managed to win Friday at Toledo despite not getting a point from its bench. The BSU starters combined to play 160 minutes. One game earlier against Delaware State, the bench scored 49 points.

• Ball State posted a defensive efficiency rating of 86.3 against Toledo, according to Ken Pomeroy. That is the best number recorded by a Rockets' opponent this season.

• Ball State ranks eighth nationally in team field goal percentage at 51.1 percent, having shot at least 47 percent in each of its past 10 games, and 21st in scoring offense at 84.1 points per game. Tahjai Teague ranks 15th nationally at 65.1 percent, while K.J. Walton is 56th at 55.9 percent despite coming off a 5-for-17 performance at Toledo.

• Tahjai Teague has scored double figures in 10 straight games, averaging 16.7 per game during that stretch. Ball State is 9-1 in those nine games.

Cardinals on the Climb as Eastern Michigan Visits Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Ishmael El-Amin

Brachen Hazen

Tayler Persons

Tahjai Teague

K.J. Walton