Cardinals Travel to Athens for MAC Matchup with Bobcats

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team takes to the road for a Mid-American Conference matchup with Ohio in Athens, Ohio. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Cardinals enter Tuesday with a 10-10 overall record and a 5-4 mark in MAC play, while the Bobcats boast a 16-3 overall record and are 7-1 in the conference.

Last time out, BSU defeated WMU 83-72. Miryne Thomas led the way with 18 points, for his sixth-consecutive game in double figures. Tyler Cochran tallied his fifth-straight game in double digits behind a 13-point effort. Luke Bumbalough added 13 points, while Demarius Jacobs went for 11 points. Payton Sparks picked up his fourth double-double, behind 11 points and 10 rebounds. Bumbalough and Cochran tied for a game-high three assists and a game-high two steals. Cochran, Thomas, and Basheer Jihad all tied for second on the team with four rebounds. For the second time this season the Cardinals finished a game with five players in double figures.

Sparks leads the team with 12.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. He is tied for a team-high nine blocks with Thomas. Cochran is second on the team averaging 12.5 points per game and second on the squad with 5.6 rebounds per contest. Cochran has a team-best 36 steals. Bumbalough is third on BSU with 11.7 points per game and leads the team with 64 assists. Thomas closes out the double-digit scorers with 11.3 a game and is averaging 5.0 boards per contest. Sparks is currently tied for 30th in the NCAA and leads the MAC with 117 free-throw attempts.

The Bobcats lead the overall series 51-35. Ohio is on a two-game winning streak and have won four of the last five meetings, including an 85-77 victory in Athens on January 23, 2021. The Cardinals are 11-29 in games played in Athens.

Ohio is led by the reigning MAC Co-Player of the Week Mark Sears. Sears averaged 26.5 points a game, while shooting .533 (16-of-30) from the field, 3-of-9 (.333) from three and 18-of-20 (.900) from the line. He added 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, while recording 2.0 steals a game while averaging 40.0 minutes on the floor. Sears leads the team with 19.9 points per game and has a team-best 35 steals. Jason Carter is second on the team with 14.4 points a contest, leads OU with 7.2 rebounds per game and paces the team with 19 blocks. Ben Vander Plas rounds out the double-digit scorers with 12.8 a game. Vander Plas has made a team-high 39 3-pointers.

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	OU
74.6	POINTS PER GAME	73.9
76.0	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	66.2
.449	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.434
.447	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.436
.364	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.329
.358	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.310
.685	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.760
35.5	REBOUNDS PER GAME	34.5
-0.5	REBOUNDING MARGIN	0.3
13.2	ASSISTS PER GAME	12.7
14.2	TURNOVERS PER GAME	10.9
-1.7	TURNOVER MARGIN	3.6
5.9	STEALS PER GAME	7.8
2.2	BLOCKS PER GAME	2.6

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Cardinals Travel to Athens for MAC Matchup with Bobcats

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Players Mentioned

Luke Bumbalough

Tyler Cochran

Demarius Jacobs

Basheer Jihad

Payton Sparks

Miryne Thomas