Ball State University
Buffalo
Cardinals Back In Action Saturday At Buffalo
January 07, 2021 | Men's Basketball
| Ball State (4-4, 2-1) at Buffalo (3-3, 1-1) | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 9 |
| Time | 5 pm ET |
| Location | Alumni Arena - Buffalo, N.Y. |
| Live Video | ESPN3 (Paul Peck, Matt Mattia) (WATCH) |
| Radio | 96.7 / 104.9 FM (Joel Godett, David Eha) (LISTEN) |
| Tickets | NONE AVAILABLE |
| Game Notes | Ball State  |  Buffalo |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter   |   Instagram |
The Ball State men's basketball team is back in action Saturday evening after an idle mid-week. The Cardinals play at Buffalo Saturday for a chance at a 3-1 league start. The Cardinals are also shooting for their third MAC road victory of the young season. Buffalo is playing for the first time since Dec. 19.Â
The Starting 5Â -Â The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. RETURN TO ACTION
After postponing Wednesday's contest vs. Western Michigan, the Cards are back on the road the next two games beginning Saturday. A win give the Cardinals a 3-1 start in league play for the second straight year. Last year's team started 4-1 in MAC play en route to an 11-7 record and a MAC West division crown.
2. CARDS AND BULLS - THE SERIES
Ball State owns a 17-16 edge in the all-time series against Buffalo, which dates back to 1958. The two teams have played every year since Buffalo joined the MAC in 1998. Last year, the two team split a pair of meetings with the home team winning each time. BSU defeated Buffalo 88-68 at Worthen last January behind 25 points from Tahjai Teague. Buffalo answered with a 72-59 win over the Cardinals in February.Â
3. SHOOTING INTO FORM
The Cardinals' last two games have been their best shooting performances of the year. After shooting .410 with 6.5 made treys per game in the season's first six games, the Cards are shooting .491 over the last two games with 18 made 3-pointers (nine in each game). Ishmael El-Amin and Miryne Thomas combined for seven made 3-pointers against Ohio.Â
4. SHARING THE SUGAR
Four Cardinals had 4+ assists in the loss to Ohio on Saturday. Luke Bumbalough led the team with five assists, and Miryne Thomas, Ish El-Amin and K.J. Walton each had four. It was the first time four different Ball State players had 4+ assists in the same game since a win over North Florida on Dec. 19, 2017 (Trey Moses, Tayler Persons, Jontrell Walker, Francis Kiapway).
5. SOME CARDS MISSING FROM THE DECK
The deck of cards for Ball State is getting closer to being full after BSU was bitten by the injury bug in the preseason. Notably, 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year Jarron Coleman is still out after having foot surgery in October, but is making progress and may return in the upcoming weeks. Transfer Reggie Jones, who scored 723 career points at Western Michigan and Tulsa, is also out with a lower body injury. Blake Huggins missed Saturday's game with a finger injury but is said to be able to return soon. Additionally, many players have missed practice time for various reasons in a very disjointed offseason. Â
100 YEARS OF CARDINALS HOOPS
100 YEARS OF CARDINALS HOOPS!
— Ball State Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 6, 2021
2019 @Hoophall inductee and one of the sport's greatest characters, Rick Majerus, coached our program for 2 seasons to a 43-17 record. We went 29-3 in 1989 and won the league and a @marchmadness game!#CenturyCards pic.twitter.com/6B2Y0QoGtc
