Early League Opener Next For Cardinals

Ball State (1-2, 0-0) at Northern Illinois (0-3, 0-0)
Date	Tuesday, Dec. 8
Time	7 p.m. ET (6 CT)
Location	Convocation Center – DeKalb, Ill.
Live Video	ESPN 3 (Andy Garcia, Mark Lindo)
Radio	Ball State Network 96.7 / 104.9 (Joel Godett, David Eha) (Listen Live)
Tickets	NONE AVAILABLE
Game Notes	Ball State \| NIU
Live Stats	Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The Starting 5 - The Top 5 Storylines For This Game

1. LEAGUE OPENER
Every team wants to be 1-0 in conference play, especially when conference games come early in the schedule. Ball State has won its conference opener in five of the last six years, including the last three in a row. BSU is 8-2 in MAC openers dating back to the 2010-11 season, including 5-2 under James Whitford. This NIU game, scheduled for December 29 originally before being moved up, is the earliest conference play start since 1979, when Ball State played at Bowling Green on Dec. 8, 1979.

2. ANYONE PLAYING BETTER THAN K.J. WALTON?
It's early still, but the MAC's leading scorer is K.J. Walton. The veteran guard is scoring 24.3 points per game and he's also grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game (9th in the league). The Indianapolis native scored a career-high 28 in the opener at Northern Kentucky, put up 20 points and Michigan and then scored 25 in the win over UIC. Walton is shooting .571 on the year and .583 on 2-point field goals. He uses strength to create his own shot in the paint and mid-range areas and his athleticism to crash the board for second-chance opportunities. He scored 16 on 6-for-8 shooting in the second half vs. UIC and his six points in the final 1:40 of the game helped BSU clinch its first win of the season.

3. LEADING FROM THE BACKCOURT
It's no surprise a strength for Ball State is its veteran backcourt. K.J. Walton is leading the team in scoring and rebounding and fellow senior Ishmael El-Amin, a preseason all-conference pick, is coming off his best game of the season. El-Amin scored 22 points with six rebounds and four assists in Saturday's win, including 11-for-12 shooting at the foul line. Walton and El-Amin are combining to average 40.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

4. NOT PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK OF CARDS
Ball State has been bitten by the injury bug in the preseason. Notably, 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year Jarron Coleman is out after having foot surgery in October. Transfer Reggie Jones, who scored 723 career points at Western Michigan and Tulsa, is also out with a lower body injury. Additionally, many players have missed practice time for various reasons in a very disjointed offseason.

5. IMPROVEMENT ON DEFENSE
James Whitford praised his team's improved execution on defense in Saturday's win over UIC. The Cards allowed season lows in points allowed (66), assists (9), offensive rebounds (6) while also tying a season best by forcing 13 turnovers. The coach attributed the improvement to better pick-and-roll defense and cohesion.

The Starting 5 - The Top 5 Storylines For This Game

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Players Mentioned

Jarron Coleman

Ishmael El-Amin

Reggie Jones

K.J. Walton