Ball State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 21
Muncie, Ind.
7 p.m.
Ball State University
vs
Georgia Southern
Photo by: Chad Smith
Ball State Welcomes Georgia Southern to Worthen Arena
December 20, 2022 | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Worthen Arena for a midweek matchup with Georgia Southern on Wednesday. The Cardinals enter with a 7-4 record, while the Eagles have a 7-5 mark.
All spectators for Wednesday night's contest can enjoy free parking.
MAC Player of the Week
Sellers poured in a career-high 24 points, his fourth 20-or-more point effort this season, to pace all scorers inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse last Saturday. Over 35 minutes of action, Sellers went 7-for-12 from the field, including draining all three of his three-point attempts. He also went 7-for-8 from the free throw line, while adding four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Last Time Out
BSU has had five players finish in double-digit points in three of the last four games. Sellers dropped a game-high 24 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Jarron Coleman has scored in double figures for 10 straight as he notched a 16-point effort. He produced a game-high seven assists along with five rebounds, one steal, and one block. Demarius Jacobs collected 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His three blocks tied a career high and were a game high. Jacobs has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. Payton Sparks closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. He added a team-high six rebounds and one assist.
Spark Plug
Sparks leads the team with 14.5 points a contest and 8.1 rebounds per game through 11 games. He is shooting 62.5 percent from the field, which is tied for 28th in the NCAA and is at the top of the MAC. His 3.36 offensive rebounds per game have him tied for 28th in the country and second in the conference. Sparks is tied for 83rd in the nation with 8.1 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the MAC. His four double-doubles are tied for 25th in the NCAA and tied for the most in the MAC. He is second on the squad with nine blocks, third on the team with 23 assists, and he has added six steals.
Spreading the Love
The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digit points through 10 games of the season. Sellers is second on the team with 14.2 points per game. He is shooting 63.0 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team, and he is 55.0 percent from the field. Sellers has brought down 4.3 rebounds per game to go along with five steals and five assists. Coleman is third on the team with 13.2 points per game. He leads the team with 41 assists. He is second on the team with 5.2 boards per contest and in steals with 18. Coleman has eight blocked shots for the year. Jacobs is averaging 12.3 points per contest to close out the double-digit scorers. He leads the team with 19 steals and 16 blocks. His 16 blocks are tied for 95th in the country and are tied for the MAC lead. He is averaging 1.45 blocks per game, which is tied for 93rd in the NCAA and tied for first in the conference. His 37 assists are second on the team. Jacobs has collected 3.8 rebounds per game. Jalen Windham is just outside of averaging double digits with 8.9 points a contest and is third on the team with 12 steals. He has produced 16 assists and one block. Pearson is third on the team with 5.0 rebounds a game and is averaging 7.9 points a contest.
Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.1 free throws per game, which is tied for 14th in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 17.6 free-throws made per contest, which is 15th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is tied for 17th in the nation with 80 free-throw attempts, which is second in the MAC. The Cardinals are one of just nine teams in the NCAA that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted. Ball State is joined by Creighton, Dayton, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Purdue, Rice, and VCU as programs that have made more free throws than opponents have attempted.
Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently tied for 25th in the NCAA as the team is shooting 49.3 percent from the field, which leads the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 39.4 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 24th in the country and the best in the MAC.
Series History with Georgia Southern
The Cardinals and Eagles will meet for just the fifth time on Wednesday. Georgia Southern has a 3-1 advantage in the series, including an 82-71 victory last season. Ball State won the first ever meeting in 1955, 93-87, on a neutral court. BSU is 0-1 against GSU in Muncie.
Scouting the Eagles
The Eagles are led by Andrei Savrasov with 13.3 points per game. He is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, which is second on the team. Jalen Finch closes out the double-digit scorers with 10.4 a game. Finch has added a team-high 22 steals and team-best 42 assists. Carlos Curry leads Georgia Southern with 7.4 rebounds per game to go along with 9.1 points a contest. Kamari Brown has a team-best 11 blocks. Brown is tied for second on the team with 16 steals.
Tale of the Tape
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.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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All spectators for Wednesday night's contest can enjoy free parking.
MAC Player of the Week
Sellers poured in a career-high 24 points, his fourth 20-or-more point effort this season, to pace all scorers inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse last Saturday. Over 35 minutes of action, Sellers went 7-for-12 from the field, including draining all three of his three-point attempts. He also went 7-for-8 from the free throw line, while adding four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Last Time Out
BSU has had five players finish in double-digit points in three of the last four games. Sellers dropped a game-high 24 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Jarron Coleman has scored in double figures for 10 straight as he notched a 16-point effort. He produced a game-high seven assists along with five rebounds, one steal, and one block. Demarius Jacobs collected 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His three blocks tied a career high and were a game high. Jacobs has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. Payton Sparks closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. He added a team-high six rebounds and one assist.
Spark Plug
Sparks leads the team with 14.5 points a contest and 8.1 rebounds per game through 11 games. He is shooting 62.5 percent from the field, which is tied for 28th in the NCAA and is at the top of the MAC. His 3.36 offensive rebounds per game have him tied for 28th in the country and second in the conference. Sparks is tied for 83rd in the nation with 8.1 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the MAC. His four double-doubles are tied for 25th in the NCAA and tied for the most in the MAC. He is second on the squad with nine blocks, third on the team with 23 assists, and he has added six steals.
Spreading the Love
The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digit points through 10 games of the season. Sellers is second on the team with 14.2 points per game. He is shooting 63.0 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team, and he is 55.0 percent from the field. Sellers has brought down 4.3 rebounds per game to go along with five steals and five assists. Coleman is third on the team with 13.2 points per game. He leads the team with 41 assists. He is second on the team with 5.2 boards per contest and in steals with 18. Coleman has eight blocked shots for the year. Jacobs is averaging 12.3 points per contest to close out the double-digit scorers. He leads the team with 19 steals and 16 blocks. His 16 blocks are tied for 95th in the country and are tied for the MAC lead. He is averaging 1.45 blocks per game, which is tied for 93rd in the NCAA and tied for first in the conference. His 37 assists are second on the team. Jacobs has collected 3.8 rebounds per game. Jalen Windham is just outside of averaging double digits with 8.9 points a contest and is third on the team with 12 steals. He has produced 16 assists and one block. Pearson is third on the team with 5.0 rebounds a game and is averaging 7.9 points a contest.
Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.1 free throws per game, which is tied for 14th in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 17.6 free-throws made per contest, which is 15th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is tied for 17th in the nation with 80 free-throw attempts, which is second in the MAC. The Cardinals are one of just nine teams in the NCAA that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted. Ball State is joined by Creighton, Dayton, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Purdue, Rice, and VCU as programs that have made more free throws than opponents have attempted.
Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently tied for 25th in the NCAA as the team is shooting 49.3 percent from the field, which leads the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 39.4 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 24th in the country and the best in the MAC.
Series History with Georgia Southern
The Cardinals and Eagles will meet for just the fifth time on Wednesday. Georgia Southern has a 3-1 advantage in the series, including an 82-71 victory last season. Ball State won the first ever meeting in 1955, 93-87, on a neutral court. BSU is 0-1 against GSU in Muncie.
Scouting the Eagles
The Eagles are led by Andrei Savrasov with 13.3 points per game. He is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, which is second on the team. Jalen Finch closes out the double-digit scorers with 10.4 a game. Finch has added a team-high 22 steals and team-best 42 assists. Carlos Curry leads Georgia Southern with 7.4 rebounds per game to go along with 9.1 points a contest. Kamari Brown has a team-best 11 blocks. Brown is tied for second on the team with 16 steals.
Tale of the Tape
| BSU | Category | GSU |
| 78.7 | POINTS PER GAME | 69.2 |
| 67.2 | OPP. POINTS PER GAME | 64.1 |
| .493 | FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .453 |
| .423 | OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .434 |
| .394 | 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .286 |
| .364 | OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .335 |
| .703 | FREE THROW PERCENTAGE | .657 |
| 35.5 | REBOUNDS PER GAME | 34.4 |
| 3.6 | REBOUNDING MARGIN | 1.3 |
| 14.1 | ASSISTS PER GAME | 11.2 |
| 12.7 | TURNOVERS PER GAME | 11.7 |
| 0.8 | TURNOVER MARGIN | 3.8 |
| 6.9 | STEALS PER GAME | 9.0 |
| 4.3 | BLOCKS PER GAME | 3.3 |
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.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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