Cardinals Head to NIU with Division Title, Tournament Bye in Sights

Game 31
Ball State (17-13, 10-7 MAC) at Northern Illinois (18-12, 11-6 MAC)
Friday, March 6 (7 p.m. CT/8 ET)
DeKalb, Ill. (NIU Convocation Center)
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: 96.7/104.9 | Live Stats

Setting the Stage
• Ball State closes the regular season at MAC West Division leader Northern Illinois with a chance to sweep the season series with the Huskies and earn a share of the MAC West Division championship. It would be the Cardinals' third division title in five years. BSU also finished atop the West in 2016 and 2017. Both teams enter Friday's matchup having won three of their past four games.

• A win would also clinch a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament for BSU, which would leapfrog NIU and become the No. 3 seed based on beating the Huskies twice. (Akron and Bowling Green will be the top two seeds). A loss Friday would leave Ball State as either the No. 4 seed (also a first-round bye) or the No. 5 seed (hosting a first-round game Monday) depending on Friday's other results in the league (more on this below).

The Matchup
• Ball State is coming off an 85-68 Senior Night victory over Central Michigan. The Cardinals' 85 points were their second-most in MAC play and their most since an 88-68 win Jan. 7 over Buffalo.

• Ball State is getting an average of 24 points from its bench over the past three games. The Cardinals' 27 bench points Tuesday against Central Michigan were its most in MAC play. Miryne Thomas had season highs with nine points and eight rebounds off the bench against CMU.

• Northern Illinois rolled past Toledo 71-50 on Tuesday. The Huskies have secured a MAC Tournament bye and will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed depending on Friday's outcome.

• Ball State won this season's first meeting in Muncie 63-59 behind Ishmael El-Amin's 22 points, his most ever in a MAC game. It was the Cardinals' fifth win in the past seven meetings with NIU, though the teams split their two matchups in both 2018 and 2019.

• The Cardinals will be tasked with defending the MAC's top scorer in NIU guard Eugene German who is averaging 20.5 points per game. German scored 18 points in this year's first meeting, but Ball State held him to 7-of-20 shooting, including 2-of-11 from 3-point range.

• Ball State continues to feature the top scoring defense in the MAC (62.8 ppg). The Cardinals held Central Michigan, the MAC's highest-scoring team, to 68 points, nearly 11 below its average in Tuesday's victory.

MAC Tournament Scenarios
• Ball State controls its own destiny for a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament. A win Friday at Northern Illinois would earn the Cardinals the No. 3 seed and a trip straight to the quarterfinals in Cleveland. BSU could also still be the No. 4 seed (earning a bye) or the No. 5 seed (hosting a first-round game Monday). These are the potential scenarios ...

Friday Result … Seed/tournament situation
Ball St. win … #3 seed/Rd. 1 bye
Ball St. loss, Buffalo loss, Kent St. win … #4 seed/Rd. 1 bye
Ball St. loss, Buffalo win … #5 seed/host Rd. 1 game Monday
Ball St. loss, Buffalo loss, Kent St. loss … #5 seed/host Rd. 1 game Monday

What's Trending
• Tahjai Teague needs 12 rebounds to average a double-double for the MAC season and become the first BSU player to do so since Theron Smith (20.2 ppg, 11.1 rpg) in 2001-02.

• Ishmael El-Amin ranks third on BSU's single-season 3-point chart with 75, passing Francis Kiapway (2015-16) against CMU. The top two are both of from the 2001-02 season -- Chris Williams (90) and Patrick Jackson (81).

• BSU finished 8-1 at home in the MAC for the first time since 2001-02. The Cardinals were last perfect in MAC home games in 1996-97 (9-0) ... BSU's average home attendance of 4,439 for the season leads the MAC. The last time BSU led the league was 2005-06 (5,076 average).

Cardinals Head to NIU with Division Title, Tournament Bye in Sights

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Players Mentioned

Ishmael El-Amin

Tahjai Teague

Miryne Thomas