Cardinals Welcome Kent State for Social Media Day on National Television

Game 22
Social Media Day
Ball State (11-10, 2-6 MAC) vs. Kent State (15-5, 4-3 MAC)
Saturday, Feb. 2 (Noon)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: CBS Sports Network | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• After playing four of its past five games on the road, Ball State returns to Muncie to host Kent State on Social Media Day. The Cardinals will play five of their seven February games at Worthen Arena. Kent State has not played since Friday, Jan. 25. The Golden Flashes' midweek game at Western Michigan was postponed due to severe winter weather conditions.

• Because of the postponement, both Ball State and Kent State enter Saturday's contest coming off losses to nationally-ranked Buffalo. The Cardinals scored their second-fewest points of the season Tuesday in an 83-59 loss at Buffalo. The Golden Flashes dropped an 88-79 decision at home to UB on Jan. 25, as the Bulls pulled away in the closing minutes.

About the Matchup
• Ball State faces a Kent State team that won three in a row before its loss to Buffalo. The Golden Flashes feature the MAC's leading scorer in senior guard Jaylin Walker at 22.3 points per game. He shoots 45.5 percent from 3-point range and ranks fifth in the country with an average of four made 3's per game. Backcourt mate Jalen Avery is the nation's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.85-to-1. Only four players in the country are better than even 4-to-1. Kent State has had a knack for winning close games, going 6-0 in contests decided by four points or fewer. The Golden Flashes are 5-2 on the road, including non-conference wins at Vanderbilt and Oregon State.

• Ball State and Kent State met three times last season. Kent State won in overtime on its home floor, Ball State won handily in Muncie, and the Golden Flashes took the rubber match, 76-73, in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. The Cardinals' victory over Kent State last year in Muncie snapped a 15-game losing streak in the series dating back to 2005.

• Ball State is looking for its first home win in MAC play. The Cardinals went 14-2 at home last season and 5-0 in non-conference play this year before dropping their first three MAC home games.

• Despite losses in six of its past seven games, Ball State remains a top-100 team in ESPN's BPI rankings (No. 97). The Cardinals reached a high of No. 49 in the NCAA's NET rankings earlier this year. BSU has not finished a season in the top 100 since 2004-05 (96 in Ken Pomeroy).

What's Trending
• With center Trey Moses sidelined for most of Tuesday's game at Buffalo after sustaining an early injury, redshirt freshman big man Blake Huggins played a career-high 19 minutes and pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Zach Gunn also registered a career high with nine boards in just 14 minutes.

• Ball State is looking to snap back into form at home, where the Cardinals have really struggled offensively in MAC play. Through three league home games, BSU is shooting 40.7 percent from the floor, 22.9 percent from 3-point range and 62.3 percent from the foul line.

• After shooting 38.4 percent from 3-point range during the non-conference schedule, Ball State is making just 27.6 percent in MAC play. The Cardinals shot a season-best 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from beyond the arc last Saturday at Ohio but then made just 2-of-23 Tuesday at Buffalo. It has been 359 games since BSU did not make at least one 3 (Dec. 2, 2007 at Valparaiso).

Cardinals Welcome Kent State for Social Media Day on National Television

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Players Mentioned

Zach Gunn

Blake Huggins

Trey Moses