Cardinals Close Regular Season Friday with #MuncieOut, Senior Night versus NIU

Game 31
Ball State (15-15, 6-11 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (14-16, 7-10 MAC)
Friday, March 8 (7 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

#MuncieOut: Ball State will host the fourth annual #MuncieOut game with special ticket pricing ($5 bronze, $10 silver), FREE parking and $1 hot dogs.

Senior Night: Fans should be in their seats by 6:45 p.m. for the senior recognition.

Setting the Stage
• Ball State closes out the regular season by hosting Northern Illinois for Senior Night and the fourth annual #MuncieOut. The Cardinals will recognize seniors Trey Moses, Tayler Persons and Austin Nehls prior to the game. BSU is looking to sweep the season series, having defeated the Huskies 72-71 last month in DeKalb behind 29 points and six 3-pointers from Persons.

• Ball State is looking to bounce back from a 68-61 loss Tuesday at Eastern Michigan, while Northern Illinois is coming off an 89-86 win at Central Michigan. The Huskies have rebounded from a six-game losing streak by winning two of their past three games and can secure a first-round MAC Tournament home game with a victory in Muncie. Ball State will open the tournament Monday on the road.

About the Matchup
• Ball State faces a Northern Illinois team that features the MAC's second-leading scorer in junior guard Eugene German at 19.8 points per game. Levi Bradley (14.4) and Dante Thorpe (13.8) also average double figures for the Huskies. NIU ranks second in the MAC in team field goal percentage at 46.9 percent, trailing only Ball State (47.0). The Huskies got off to a 5-3 start to league play, including a home victory over nationally ranked Buffalo, before struggling through their six-game losing streak. They can still be anywhere from the No. 7 seed to the No. 10 seed in the MAC Tournament based on Friday's results.

• Ball State is guaranteed to be on the road Monday in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals will be the No. 9 seed with a win Friday, the No. 10 seed with a loss and an Ohio loss to Miami, or the No. 11 seed with a loss and an Ohio win. BSU's first-round opponent could still mathematically be one of five teams -- Miami, Northern Illinois, Akron, Eastern Michigan or Central Michigan.

• Ball State has won four out of five contests against Northern Illinois over the past three seasons, with all five meetings being decided by single digits. The past two matchups have been decided by just one point, both in DeKalb -- a 66-65 NIU victory in last year's regular season finale and BSU's 72-71 victory last month.

What's Trending
• Senior center Trey Moses will break the Ball State record for career games played when he takes the court for the 130th time Friday. He is currently tied for the top spot on the list with former teammates Franko House and Sean Sellers. Moses, who ranks second in school history for blocks (133), moved into a share of fifth place on BSU's all-time rebounding list Tuesday at Eastern Michigan, matching Theron Smith (1999-03) with 882. Next up on the list is Steve Payne (1992-95) with 885.

• Senior point guard Tayler Persons has started all 96 games of his BSU career. Only Ray McCallum (1979-83), who started his final 104 games, made more consecutive starts for the Cardinals. Despite playing just three seasons at Ball State, Persons has cracked the top 10 in school history for points (9th, 1,507) and the top 5 for assists (4th, 432).

• Ball State has seen opposing players go for 20 points and 20 rebounds in the past two games -- Western Michigan's Seth Dugan (20/20) and Eastern Michigan's James Thompson IV (20/23). The Cardinals overcame Dugan's effort and an overall rebounding deficit of 48-30 against WMU to win for the first time this season when losing the battle of the boards. They were previously 0-11. Despite Thompson's performance, BSU outrebounded EMU 38-32 in a losing effort.

Cardinals Close Regular Season Friday with #MuncieOut, Senior Night versus NIU

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Players Mentioned

Franko House

Trey Moses

Austin Nehls

Tayler Persons

Sean Sellers