Ball State Travels to Ohio for Matchup with Xavier

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday as it takes to the road for Cincinnati, Ohio, and a midweek matchup with Xavier. The Cardinals enter the contest with a 3-4 record, while the Musketeers come into the game with a 7-1 mark.

Ball State is coming off of a tough 93-80 loss against Western Illinois. Luke Bumbalough finished in double digits for the fourth-straight game with a team-high 17 points and led the team with a game-high nine rebounds. Miryne Thomas posted a 14-point performance for back-to-back games in double figures. Jaylin Sellers recorded a career-high 11 points. Demarius Jacobs made it four players in double digits with 10 points, which is two-consecutive games in double figures.

Bumbalough is averaging 13.7 points per game to lead the team. He also is averaging a team-high 3.4 assists per game. Jalen Windham is second on the squad averaging 10.0 points per game. On the glass, Payton Sparks leads the Cardinals with 6.0 rebounds per game, while Tyler Cochran is second with 5.4 a game. Cochran paces the Cardinals with 10 steals. Thomas has been a force on the defensive end and leads BSU with four blocks. Jacobs is shooting 53.3 percent from behind the arc.

This will be the ninth meeting between the two squads. Xavier holds a 5-3 series lead over Ball State. The Musketeers are 4-1 against the Cardinals in Cincinnati. Ball State and Xavier are 2-2 in the last four matchups. The Cardinals won the last meeting, 75-63, in Muncie on November 25, 2003.

Xavier enters Wednesday's matchup receiving votes for the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. The Musketeers have a ranking of 31 in the NET Rankings, Basketball Power Index, and kenpom Ratings.

Nate Johnson leads Xavier with 14.6 points per game and in 3-point shooting percentage with a mark of 48.0 percent. Colby Jones is second on the team with 12.7 points a game, while Paul Scruggs is averaging 12.0 points per game. Jack Nunge rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.3 points a game. Jones heads the team with 9.7 rebounds per game. Scruggs is averaging a team-high 4.0 assists per game. Nunge and Dieonte Miles are in double figures in blocks with 16 and 11, respectively.

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	XU
77.7	POINTS PER GAME	72.4
80.4	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	61.0
.457	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.443
.452	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.382
.419	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.323
.368	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.316
.667	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.673
35.7	REBOUNDS PER GAME	40.4
-1.0	REBOUNDING MARGIN	+7.6
14.1	ASSISTS PER GAME	14.1
13.9	TURNOVERS PER GAME	15.0
-2.6	TURNOVER MARGIN	-1.1
5.7	STEALS PER GAME	8.3
1.7	BLOCKS PER GAME	5.8

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Players Mentioned

Luke Bumbalough

Tyler Cochran

Demarius Jacobs

Jaylin Sellers

Payton Sparks

Miryne Thomas

Jalen Windham