Ball State University Athletics
Saturday, December 18
Normal, Ill.
4 p.m.
Ball State University
at
Illinois State
Photo by: Ball State University
Cardinals Head to Normal for Showdown with Redbirds
December 16, 2021 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team makes another trip to Illinois, this time for a matchup against Illinois State in Normal on Saturday. The Cardinals and Redbirds will meet for the 22nd time beginning with a 4 p.m. ET tip.
Last time out, Tyler Cochran led the way with 19 points and added a game-high two steals to go along with his two rebounds and two assists against IU Kokomo. Cochran has now scored in double figures in four of the last five games. Miryne Thomas posted a 13-point performance and chipped in with three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Luke Bumbalough added 12 points, tied for a team-high five assists and one steal. Bumbalough has now scored in double figures in six straight contests. Payton Sparks was the final player in double digits with 12. He led the team with a game-high seven rebounds, tied for the team lead with five assists and had the team's only other block.
The Cardinals are led by Bumbalough and Cochran as the only two players averaging double digits with 13.1 points per game and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Sparks continues to pave the way on the glass with 5.8 rebounds per contest. Cochran is a key cog in the Ball State defense and leads the team with 16 steals. Thomas and Basheer Jihad have been tough defenders and are tops on the team with five and four blocks, respectively. Bumbalough, Cochran, and Demarius Jacobs have been the facilitators, and all have 20 or more assists.
The Cardinals enter Saturday with a 4-5 record, while the Redbirds are 6-5. This meeting will mark the 22nd and Ball State holds a slim 11-10 series advantage. BSU won the last meeting 82-66 on December 12, 2020. Illinois State is 7-3 at home against Ball State.
ISU is led by Antonio Reeves with 21.1 points per game. Sy Chatman and Josiah Strong are averaging 14.5 and 12.0 points per game, respectively. Mark Freeman is the final Redbird averaging double figures with 10.8 points per game. Chatman paces ISU on the glass with 7.2 rebounds per game. Howard Fleming Jr. has a team-high 17 steals. Freeman leads the team in assists with 39.
All of BSU's games are presented on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network as well as 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
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*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
Last time out, Tyler Cochran led the way with 19 points and added a game-high two steals to go along with his two rebounds and two assists against IU Kokomo. Cochran has now scored in double figures in four of the last five games. Miryne Thomas posted a 13-point performance and chipped in with three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Luke Bumbalough added 12 points, tied for a team-high five assists and one steal. Bumbalough has now scored in double figures in six straight contests. Payton Sparks was the final player in double digits with 12. He led the team with a game-high seven rebounds, tied for the team lead with five assists and had the team's only other block.
The Cardinals are led by Bumbalough and Cochran as the only two players averaging double digits with 13.1 points per game and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Sparks continues to pave the way on the glass with 5.8 rebounds per contest. Cochran is a key cog in the Ball State defense and leads the team with 16 steals. Thomas and Basheer Jihad have been tough defenders and are tops on the team with five and four blocks, respectively. Bumbalough, Cochran, and Demarius Jacobs have been the facilitators, and all have 20 or more assists.
The Cardinals enter Saturday with a 4-5 record, while the Redbirds are 6-5. This meeting will mark the 22nd and Ball State holds a slim 11-10 series advantage. BSU won the last meeting 82-66 on December 12, 2020. Illinois State is 7-3 at home against Ball State.
ISU is led by Antonio Reeves with 21.1 points per game. Sy Chatman and Josiah Strong are averaging 14.5 and 12.0 points per game, respectively. Mark Freeman is the final Redbird averaging double figures with 10.8 points per game. Chatman paces ISU on the glass with 7.2 rebounds per game. Howard Fleming Jr. has a team-high 17 steals. Freeman leads the team in assists with 39.
All of BSU's games are presented on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network as well as 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
| BSU | Category | ISU |
| 75.4 | POINTS PER GAME | 79.9 |
| 79.7 | OPP. POINTS PER GAME | 79.2 |
| .443 | FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .449 |
| .458 | OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .432 |
| .396 | 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .375 |
| .381 | OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .379 |
| .671 | FREE THROW PERCENTAGE | .747 |
| 35.1 | REBOUNDS PER GAME | 36.5 |
| -2.5 | REBOUNDING MARGIN | -1.5 |
| 13.9 | ASSISTS PER GAME | 11.6 |
| 14.2 | TURNOVERS PER GAME | 15.0 |
| -1.8 | TURNOVER MARGIN | -1.2 |
| 6.6 | STEALS PER GAME | 6.9 |
| 1.7 | BLOCKS PER GAME | 6.6 |
Follow the Cardinals
*For tickets call 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474, or click here.
Players Mentioned
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