Cardinals Return to the Road for MACtion Against Rockets

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team returns to the hardwood for a Mid-American Conference contest at Toledo on Tuesday. The Cardinals and Rockets will meet for the 101st time inside Savage Arena at 7 p.m. BSU enters the game with a 7-9 overall record and a 2-3 mark in conference play, while UT comes into Tuesday with a 13-4 mark and 5-1 conference record.

Tyler Cochran once again had a strong outing as he recorded a career-high 28 points and added nine rebounds last time out against Buffalo. Payton Sparks continued where he left off against Akron, as he posted his second-straight game with a double-double, behind 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Sparks also notched a steal and a block. Luke Bumbalough collected double digits with 10 points to go along with two assists and a steal.

Sparks had the best week of his young career as he posted two double-doubles and averaged 20.5 points per game and 13.0 rebounds per contest. He was the most dominant player in the MAC on the glass over the week, with 26 total rebounds. In the game at Akron, Sparks produced a career-high 23 points and added 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. Sparks produced another outstanding game on Friday against Buffalo, where he notched back-to-back games with a double-double. He recorded 18 points with a career-high 16 rebounds. His 16 rebounds are the third most by of any player in the MAC this season.

The Cardinals have three players averaging double digits, Bumbalough (12.6), Cochran (12.3), and Sparks (11.8). Sparks is starting to make his presence known on the glass with 113 total rebounds and 7.1 per contest, which is 10th in the MAC. Bumbalough has a team-high 51 assists, while Demarius Jacobs and Cochran have 39 and 32, respectively. Cochran continues to play strong defense and has a team-best 29 steals. Sparks and Basheer Jihad each have seven blocks to pace BSU.

The Rockets hold a 52-48 advantage over the Cardinals. Toledo has won the last two contests, including a 91-89 overtime victory in the first round of the MAC Tournament on March 11, 2021. UT is 32-15 against BSU in home contests.

Toledo is led by Ryan Rollins with 19.1 points per game. JT Shumate is second on the team with 15.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 7.1 a contest and has a team-best 14 blocks. Setric Millner Jr. and RayJ Dennis round out the double-digit scorers with 14.0 and 11.6 points per game, respectively. Rollins leads the Rockets with 33 steals. Dennis has dished out a team-high 60 assists.

All of BSU's games are presented on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network on Woof Boom stations 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	UT
74.0	POINTS PER GAME	79.2
77.1	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	67.2
.438	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.463
.451	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.397
.358	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.358
.358	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.290
.680	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.782
35.1	REBOUNDS PER GAME	41.1
-2.5	REBOUNDING MARGIN	6.3
13.1	ASSISTS PER GAME	14.2
14.2	TURNOVERS PER GAME	11.6
-1.3	TURNOVER MARGIN	0.5
6.2	STEALS PER GAME	5.9
2.1	BLOCKS PER GAME	2.2

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Cardinals Return to the Road for MACtion Against Rockets

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Players Mentioned

Luke Bumbalough

Tyler Cochran

Demarius Jacobs

Basheer Jihad

Payton Sparks