Ball State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 1
Macomb, Ill.
7 p.m.
Ball State University
at
Western Illinois
Photo by: Chad Smith
Ball State Hits the Road for Mid-Week Matchup with Western Illinois
November 30, 2021 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team returns to the court Wednesday as it travels to Macomb, Illinois for a matchup with Western Illinois. The Cardinals and Leathernecks will meet for the eighth time. Ball State comes into the matchup with a 3-3 record, while Western Illinois enters the game with a 5-2 record.
The Cardinals are riding a two-game win streak after a 97-75 victory over Indiana State Saturday. Ball State secured its first 20-plus point victory since March 2, 2021, when they defeated EMU by 35 points, 100-65. BSU recorded its first game with five players in double digits since December 7, 2019.
Tyler Cochran finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and a team-high two steals. Miryne Thomas recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He was Ball State's first double-double since Tahjai Teague on March 3, 2020. Thomas also led the team with two blocked shots. Luke Bumbalough notched 14 points and tied for a team-high five assists. Payton Sparks added 12 points and three rebounds. Demarius Jacobs closed out the double-digit scoring with 11 points.
Bumbalough enters Wednesday leading the team with 13.2 points per game and has a team-high 24 assists. Windham and Cochran are averaging 11.0 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Sparks leads the squad with 6.5 rebounds per game. Cochran leads the team with nine steals.
Ball State holds a 4-3 series lead against Western Illinois. The Leathernecks won the last meeting, 69-62, in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals are 1-1 against the Leathernecks in Macomb. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Will Carius leads WIU with 16.8 points per game. Luka Barisic is second on the squad averaging 15.1 points per game and leads the team in blocks with four. Colton Sandage is third on the team averaging 13.4 points per game. Trenton Massner rounds out the Leathernecks with double-digit points at 13.0 points per game and leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
All of BSU's games are on Woof Boom Radio's 96.7 FM, 102.9 FM, 104.9 FM, WLBC HD2, and the stream of 967BlakeFM.com as well as WERKFM.net.
Tale of the Tape
Ball State CATEGORY WIU
77.3 .............................. POINTS PER GAME..................................... 79.9
78.3 .......................... OPP. POINTS PER GAME................................ 72.0
.452 ........................ FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE.............................. .428
.450 .................... OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE......................... .418
.414 ................. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE...................... .364
.351 ............. OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE................. .336
.655 ....................... FREE THROW PERCENTAGE............................ .667
35.5 ........................... REBOUNDS PER GAME................................. 44.7
-1.5 ............................ REBOUNDING MARGIN..................................+9.3
15.5 .............................. ASSISTS PER GAME................................... 12.3
13.3 .......................... TURNOVERS PER GAME................................ 13.3
-1.5 .............................. TURNOVER MARGIN.................................... -1.2
5.7 ................................ STEALS PER GAME...................................... 5.6
1.8 ................................ BLOCKS PER GAME..................................... 2.4
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*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
The Cardinals are riding a two-game win streak after a 97-75 victory over Indiana State Saturday. Ball State secured its first 20-plus point victory since March 2, 2021, when they defeated EMU by 35 points, 100-65. BSU recorded its first game with five players in double digits since December 7, 2019.
Tyler Cochran finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and a team-high two steals. Miryne Thomas recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He was Ball State's first double-double since Tahjai Teague on March 3, 2020. Thomas also led the team with two blocked shots. Luke Bumbalough notched 14 points and tied for a team-high five assists. Payton Sparks added 12 points and three rebounds. Demarius Jacobs closed out the double-digit scoring with 11 points.
Bumbalough enters Wednesday leading the team with 13.2 points per game and has a team-high 24 assists. Windham and Cochran are averaging 11.0 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Sparks leads the squad with 6.5 rebounds per game. Cochran leads the team with nine steals.
Ball State holds a 4-3 series lead against Western Illinois. The Leathernecks won the last meeting, 69-62, in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals are 1-1 against the Leathernecks in Macomb. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Will Carius leads WIU with 16.8 points per game. Luka Barisic is second on the squad averaging 15.1 points per game and leads the team in blocks with four. Colton Sandage is third on the team averaging 13.4 points per game. Trenton Massner rounds out the Leathernecks with double-digit points at 13.0 points per game and leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
All of BSU's games are on Woof Boom Radio's 96.7 FM, 102.9 FM, 104.9 FM, WLBC HD2, and the stream of 967BlakeFM.com as well as WERKFM.net.
Tale of the Tape
Ball State CATEGORY WIU
77.3 .............................. POINTS PER GAME..................................... 79.9
78.3 .......................... OPP. POINTS PER GAME................................ 72.0
.452 ........................ FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE.............................. .428
.450 .................... OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE......................... .418
.414 ................. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE...................... .364
.351 ............. OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE................. .336
.655 ....................... FREE THROW PERCENTAGE............................ .667
35.5 ........................... REBOUNDS PER GAME................................. 44.7
-1.5 ............................ REBOUNDING MARGIN..................................+9.3
15.5 .............................. ASSISTS PER GAME................................... 12.3
13.3 .......................... TURNOVERS PER GAME................................ 13.3
-1.5 .............................. TURNOVER MARGIN.................................... -1.2
5.7 ................................ STEALS PER GAME...................................... 5.6
1.8 ................................ BLOCKS PER GAME..................................... 2.4
Follow the Cardinals
*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
Players Mentioned
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