Ball State University
Buffalo
Cardinals Return Home After Long Road Stretch
February 01, 2021 | Men's Basketball
| Ball State (6-8, 4-5) vs. Buffalo (6-6, 4-4) | |
| Date | Tuesday, Feb. 2 |
| Time | 6 pm ET |
| Location | Worthen Arena - Muncie |
| Television | ESPN Plus (Baylen Hite, Kyle Sellers) (Watch) |
| Radio | 96.7 and 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 Starting 5Â -Â The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. CARDS AND BUFFALO - THE SERIES
Saturday's game is the 35th meeting between Ball State and Buffalo on the court and the series is tied 17-17. The series began in 1958 and they played three times before Buffalo joined the MAC in 1998. The Cardinals won the first five meetings when the Bulls joined the league. Buffalo has won the previous two meetings since BSU won over the Bulls 88-68 last year.
2. CARDS MISSING IN ACTION
Between injuries and COVID protocols, one could say Ball State has had a very fluid roster. Ball State had nine available players January 9 at Buffalo, and also had nine available this Saturday at Akron. This past weekend, BSU was missing five players who were expected to contribute, including starters K.J. Walton and Miryne Thomas. In total, Cardinal players have missed 38 games in addition to Ishmael El-Amin missing the second half of the first Buffalo game. Here's a breakdown of games missed by player:
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| Player | Games Missed |
| Reggie Jones | 14 |
| Jarron Coleman | 10 |
| Jalen Windham | Â 6 |
| Miryne Thomas | Â 3 |
| Brachen Hazen | Â 2 |
| Gunn/Walton/Huggins | Â 1 |
| Ish El-Amin | 0.5 (2nd half at Buffalo) |
3. SO, HOW'S BUFFALO?
 Buffalo paused for three weeks around the holidays and is now 4-4 in league play. UB is second in the league in scoring and grabs the most offensive rebounds per game. Four of the MAC's top 16 scorers play for Buffalo, which lost 76-75 at home to Ohio on Friday.
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4. TAMING THE BULLS IN MUNCIE
Ball State is 10-5 against Buffalo in Muncie, including 9-5 in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals played one of their best games last year in a 20-point home win over UB. Tahjai Teague had 25 points and nine rebounds in that game and Ishmael El-Amin scored 11. Seven different Cards score eight points or more has Ball State dropped 48 in the first half and cruised to the win.
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5. CONFERENCE CALL
Tuesday's game is a key standings contest, with Buffalo with a 4-4 conference record and Ball State playing at home at 4-5. With five weeks to play, Cardinals are two games up on Central Michigan for the 8th and final league tournament spot. BSU is the No. 8 team now, but just 1.5 games out of fifth place.
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