Wednesday, December 18
Atlanta, Ga.
7:00 PM ET
Ball State University
6-4,0-0MAC
65
at
47
Georgia Tech
4-5,1-1ACC
1
2
F
Ball St.
31
34
65
Georgia Tech
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47
Photo by: Clyde Click
Cardinals Steamroll Ramblin’ Wreck 65-47 in Atlanta
December 18, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Jarron Coleman leads three BSU players in double figures with 17 points
ATLANTA -- Ball State is enjoying its visits to ACC venues lately.
The Cardinals' last road game against the league was a buzzer-beating win over a top-10 Notre Dame team two years ago. This one was not that close.
Ball State led by as many as 30 points Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion and rolled to a 65-47 victory over Georgia Tech.
That 10-hour flight from Atlanta to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic might not seem quite so long now.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought we really played our best game of the year, obviously, by far, both sides of the ball."
It was the second straight game Whitford uttered that kind of sentiment. The last time was 11 days ago, Ball State's last game before final exams, a 48-point thrashing of IUPUI. And while the seventh-year BSU head man certainly liked his team's chances Wednesday night, even he probably didn't imagine a similarly dominant performance as that one.
Redshirt freshman Jarron Coleman poured in 17 points and handed out four assists with only one turnover. Kyle Mallers scored 11 points and Brachen Hazen added 10. That trio combined for eight of Ball State's 10 3-pointers on the night.
Tahjai Teague added nine points and tied his career high with six assists, while the Cardinals (6-4) also got a boost from the return of senior guard K.J. Walton who missed the previous four games with an ankle injury.
But this game was as much about what the undersized Cardinals were able to do defensively, limiting Georgia Tech (4-5) to 33 percent shooting (23 percent in the first half) and forcing 24 turnovers. BSU held the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer Michael Devoe eight below his average with just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
"Jarron Coleman was terrific tonight as the point guard for us," Whitford said. "I thought he really played well. I though Tahjai Teague really defended well."
Ball State shot and passed its way through the Georgia Tech zone, steering clear of one of the nation's top shot blockers James Banks III and building a 31-15 lead at the half. The Yellow Jackets committed 16 first-half turnovers and made only five shots from the floor.
They dialed up some full-court pressure in the second half and trimmed the lead to 12, but the Cardinals figured it out. A 15-2 run, with back-to-back 3's from Coleman and Teague at the heart of it, put BSU in complete control. A tough Mallers lay-in with 2:35 to play gave the Cardinals their biggest lead at 65-35.
"We're small compared to them, but we're very skilled in the frontcourt," Whitford said. "We can shoot 3's from the four and the five. We were able to get them out of their zone; we're a hard team to zone because we shoot a lot of 3's."
Georgia Tech is the highest-rated team Ball State has faced so far this season. That will change Sunday against 22nd-ranked Washington, the defending Pac-12 regular season champion.
Ball State will head straight from Atlanta to Honolulu for three games at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Cardinals open the event Sunday with a 4:30 p.m. HT (9:30 ET) tip against the Huskies on ESPN2. BSU will also play Monday and Christmas Day.
The Cardinals' last road game against the league was a buzzer-beating win over a top-10 Notre Dame team two years ago. This one was not that close.
Ball State led by as many as 30 points Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion and rolled to a 65-47 victory over Georgia Tech.
That 10-hour flight from Atlanta to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic might not seem quite so long now.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "I thought we really played our best game of the year, obviously, by far, both sides of the ball."
It was the second straight game Whitford uttered that kind of sentiment. The last time was 11 days ago, Ball State's last game before final exams, a 48-point thrashing of IUPUI. And while the seventh-year BSU head man certainly liked his team's chances Wednesday night, even he probably didn't imagine a similarly dominant performance as that one.
OH MY!!! ??????
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 19, 2019
It's a runaway in Atlanta!!!#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsGT pic.twitter.com/lJaa2YGNMc
Redshirt freshman Jarron Coleman poured in 17 points and handed out four assists with only one turnover. Kyle Mallers scored 11 points and Brachen Hazen added 10. That trio combined for eight of Ball State's 10 3-pointers on the night.
Tahjai Teague added nine points and tied his career high with six assists, while the Cardinals (6-4) also got a boost from the return of senior guard K.J. Walton who missed the previous four games with an ankle injury.
But this game was as much about what the undersized Cardinals were able to do defensively, limiting Georgia Tech (4-5) to 33 percent shooting (23 percent in the first half) and forcing 24 turnovers. BSU held the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer Michael Devoe eight below his average with just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
"Jarron Coleman was terrific tonight as the point guard for us," Whitford said. "I thought he really played well. I though Tahjai Teague really defended well."
Ball State shot and passed its way through the Georgia Tech zone, steering clear of one of the nation's top shot blockers James Banks III and building a 31-15 lead at the half. The Yellow Jackets committed 16 first-half turnovers and made only five shots from the floor.
They dialed up some full-court pressure in the second half and trimmed the lead to 12, but the Cardinals figured it out. A 15-2 run, with back-to-back 3's from Coleman and Teague at the heart of it, put BSU in complete control. A tough Mallers lay-in with 2:35 to play gave the Cardinals their biggest lead at 65-35.
?????? Boogie!!!
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 19, 2019
Tahj follows with a 3 of his own, and the lead is back to 20 at 49-29 with 9:30 to play.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #BSUvsGT pic.twitter.com/vvOjIY8u1u
"We're small compared to them, but we're very skilled in the frontcourt," Whitford said. "We can shoot 3's from the four and the five. We were able to get them out of their zone; we're a hard team to zone because we shoot a lot of 3's."
Georgia Tech is the highest-rated team Ball State has faced so far this season. That will change Sunday against 22nd-ranked Washington, the defending Pac-12 regular season champion.
Ball State will head straight from Atlanta to Honolulu for three games at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Cardinals open the event Sunday with a 4:30 p.m. HT (9:30 ET) tip against the Huskies on ESPN2. BSU will also play Monday and Christmas Day.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys. We played our best game of the year, obviously, by far."
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) December 19, 2019
Coach Whit on tonight's 65-47 win on the road in ACC country at Georgia Tech.
More postgame comments ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/SvKwVxQV2k
Team Stats
BSU
GaTech
FG%
.481
.333
3FG%
.435
.250
FT%
.455
.600
RB
32
30
TO
20
24
STL
11
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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