Men’s Hoops to Face Kent State in Late Thursday MAC Quarterfinal

Thursday, March 12

Cleveland, Ohio

Approx. 9:00 PM ET

Ball State University

Kent State

Photo by: Kyle Crawford

Men’s Hoops to Face Kent State in Late Thursday MAC Quarterfinal

March 10, 2020 | Men's Basketball

BSU MAC Tournament Notes Tournament Central 2020 MAC Tournament Bracket Ticket/Pre-Game Gathering Info Tournament Program

Cardinals head to Cleveland as No. 3 seed, the best for the program since 2009

Game 32
MAC Tournament Quarterfinals
(3) Ball State (18-13, 11-7 MAC) vs. (6) Kent State (20-12, 9-9 MAC)
Thursday, March 12 (Approx. 9 p.m.)
Cleveland, Ohio (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 96./104.9 | Live Stats

The MAC announced Tuesday evening a decision to enact a restricted attendance policy for the tournament in consultation and guidance with local governmental and public health and medical officials to limit large gatherings due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Only credentialed institutional personnel, student-athlete family members, credentialed media, television and radio crews, and official team party members will be permitted for attendance for the tournaments. The tournament will be closed to the general public.

Setting the Stage
• Ball State meets No. 6 seed Kent State in the last MAC Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday. The third-seeded Cardinals clinched a share of the MAC West Division championship and a first-round tournament bye with a 75-54 win at Northern Illinois in the regular season finale. The Golden Flashes defeated Eastern Michigan 86-76 in a first-round game Monday night in Kent.

• The BSU-KSU winner will advance to meet either No. 2 seed Bowling Green or No. 7 seed Toledo in the semifinals Friday at approximately 9:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network). The championship game is Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2).

The Matchup
• Ball State enters the tournament with wins in four of its past five games, including a 17-point win over Central Michigan and a 21-point win over Northern Illinois in its final two regular season outings.

• Ball State and Kent State met once during the regular season with the Cardinals winning 62-54 in Kent, Ohio. Kyle Mallers led the way with 16 points, while Tahjai Teague had 12 points and a then-career-high 17 rebounds. It was Ball State's first win at Kent State since 1999, snapping an 11-game losing streak at the M.A.C. Center.

• The Cardinals and Golden Flashes have split six previous tournament meetings. The most recent of those matchups came two years ago, also in the quarterfinals, with Kent State winning a tight, 76-73 battle. Teague, then a sophomore, had a double-double in that game for BSU with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

• Kent State owns the best field goal percentage in the league at 45.0 percent during conference play, while Ball State owns the top field goal defense, allowing only 40.2 percent. The Cardinals held the Flashes to 38.3 percent in the first meeting, including 1-of-20 from 3-point range.

• Kent State features two of the top 15 scorers in the MAC in senior guard Antonio Williams (14.7 ppg, 12th) and junior forward Danny Pippen (14.3 ppg, 15th). Senior big man Philip Whittington ranks fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.543), while senior guard Troy Simons ranks third in 3-pointers (93).

BSU in the MAC Tournament
• Ball State is appearing in Cleveland for the fourth straight season, earning a bye for the third time during the stretch. BSU earned byes as the No. 4 seed in 2017 (reached semifinals) and 2018 (fell in quarters).

• The last time the Cardinals were seeded better than this year's No. 3 was when they were the No. 2 in 2009. Back then, division champions were guaranteed one of the top two seeds. The Cardinals shared the West title at 7-9 that year and won the No. 2 seed on tiebreakers. Before that, the last time Ball State was seeded better was 2002 (also No. 2).

• This season marks the 21st year Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will host the MAC Tournament. BSU won the first tournament in Cleveland in 2000. It remains the most recent time the Cardinals have won it.

• Ball State owns the most MAC Tournament championships in league history with seven. Ohio and Kent State both have six titles. The 2000 tournament title was also the program's most recent appearance in the championship game. BSU has advanced to the semifinals 21 times in its 38 previous tournament appearances, most recently in 2017.

What's Trending
• Ball State shared the MAC West Division championship with Northern Illinois, beating the Huskies twice in the process. It is the Cardinals' third division title in the past five years (also 2016 and 2017).

• Ball State enters the tournament as the top defensive team in the MAC. During league play, the Cardinals ranked first in the MAC in scoring defense (63.5), field goal percentage defense (.402) and 3-point percentage defense (.291). For the full season, BSU's scoring defense (62.5) ranks 17th in the country. The Cardinals held conference opponents to fewer than 60 points seven times. The Cardinals forced league foes into less than 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc 10 times.

• Ball State got an average of 24.5 points from its bench over the last four regular season games. BSU averaged 10.6 bench points through its first 14 league games. The Cardinals' bench point totals in their final two contests -- 27 versus Central Michigan and 26 at Buffalo -- were their two highest totals in MAC play.

• Miryne Thomas emerged late off the bench, earning more minutes over the final 10 games of the regular season and exploding over the last two. Thomas scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the final two games of the regular season, including a season-high 14 points in the finale at Northern Illinois.

• Ball State's 21-point margin of victory in the regular season finale over Northern Illinois was its largest in a MAC game this season and its largest in a league road game since Jan. 18, 2012 at Central Michigan (also 21 points).

• The Cardinals held NIU to 28.1 percent shooting in the regular season finale. It was the lowest shooting percentage for a BSU opponent since Dec. 31, 2015 when Chicago State shot 27.7 percent.