Cardinals Host Cougars for Final Contest of 2022

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team wraps up 2022 with a home matchup with Chicago State on Wednesday. The Cardinals enter with an 8-4 record, while the Cougars are 3-12. Jump is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Wednesday's game is part of "Take a Kid to a Game" days at Worthen Arena with Ball State Basketball presented by The Cardinal Fanstore in The Village. With one paid adult ticket purchased, two kids 13 and under will receive a complimentary ticket along with a commemorative gift pack from The Cardinal Fanstore in The Village.

All spectators for Wednesday night's contest can enjoy free parking.

Last Time Out
The Cardinals soared back from being down 14 points to claim a 58-54 victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles. Jaylin Sellers led all scorers with 17 and tied for a team-high seven rebounds for BSU. He added an assist and a steal. Jarron Coleman chipped in with 12 points with three rebounds and three assists. Basheer Jihad finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and one block. Demarius Jacobs recorded a career-high four blocks to go along with his 11 points, six rebounds, and game-high four assists. Payton Sparks and Mickey Pearson Jr. each brought down seven boards.

Sensational Sellers
Sellers leads the team with 14.5 points per game and has led the squad in scoring in the last three contests. He paces the team shooting 59.4 percent from 3-point range. He is shooting 53.3 percent from the field, which is fourth on the team. He has recorded 20 or more points in four games this season. He has collected 4.5 boards per game. Sellers has added nine assists, seven steals, and one block.

Spark Plug
Sparks leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game. He is second on the team averaging 13.7 points a game. He is shooting 61.9 percent from the field, which is tied for 26th in the NCAA and leads the MAC. His 3.25 offensive rebounds per game have him tied for 35th in the country and are third in the conference. Sparks is tied for 84th in the nation with 8.0 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the MAC. His four double-doubles are tied for 37th in the NCAA and second 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 11 games of the season. Coleman is third on the team with 13.1 points per game. He leads the team with 44 assists. He is third on the team with 5.0 boards per contest and is second on the squad in steals with 18. Coleman has eight blocked shots for the year. Jacobs is averaging 12.2 points per contest to close out the double-digit scorers. He leads the team with 20 blocks and 19 steals. His 20 blocks are tied for 59th in the country and leads the MAC. He is averaging 1.67 blocks per game, which is tied for 55th in the NCAA and is the best in the conference. His 41 assists are second on the team. Jacobs has collected 4.0 rebounds per game. Mickey Pearson Jr. is second on the team with 5.2 rebounds a game and is averaging 7.4 points a contest.

Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.2 free throws per game, which is 12th in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 17.6 free-throws made per contest, which is tied for 14th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is tied for 12th in the nation with 90 free-throw attempts, which is second in the MAC. The Cardinals are one of just 10 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, VCU, and Virginia as programs that have made more free throws than opponents have attempted.

Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently tied for 38th in the NCAA as the team is shooting 48.4 percent from the field, which leads the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 38.6 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 27th in the country and the best in the MAC.

Series History with the Cougars
Wednesday will be the sixth meeting between Ball State and Chicago State. The Cardinals are a perfect 5-0 against the Cougars. BSU is 4-0 at home and 3-0 inside Worthen Arena. Ball State won the last meeting 73-48 on December 31, 2015.

Scouting Chicago State
Wesley Cardet Jr. leads the Cougars with 15.4 points per game. He is tied for eighth in the NCAA with 69 free-throws made. Cardet has a team-high 11 blocks and team-best 43 assists. He is third on the team with 15 steals. Jahsean Corbett leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 13.4 points per game. He is tied for 21st in the NCAA with five double-doubles. He is tied for 19th in the country with 122 rebounds. Corbett is second on the squad with 10 blocked shots to go along with 16 assists and six steals. Elijah Weaver rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.9 a contest. Weaver is averaging 4.1 rebounds a game, is second on the team with 16 steals, second on the squad with 36 assists, and has six blocks. Brent Davis has a team-best 19 steals.

Tale of the Tape

BSU	Category	CSU
77.0	POINTS PER GAME	65.3
66.1	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	73.6
.484	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.410
.415	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.454
.386	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.322
.351	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.330
.696	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.748
35.8	REBOUNDS PER GAME	33.1
3.5	REBOUNDING MARGIN	-2.0
13.8	ASSISTS PER GAME	11.0
13.1	TURNOVERS PER GAME	14.6
0.0	TURNOVER MARGIN	-2.9
6.5	STEALS PER GAME	5.8
4.4	BLOCKS PER GAME	3.1

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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Players Mentioned

Jarron Coleman

Demarius Jacobs

Basheer Jihad

Mickey Pearson Jr.

Jaylin Sellers

Payton Sparks