Cardinals Head to New York for Matchup with Bulls

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team returns to the hardwood for a Mid-American Conference matchup with Buffalo on Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Alumni Arena.

Last time out, Miryne Thomas led Ball State with 17 points and brought down 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the year against Central Michigan. Payton Sparks was second on the squad with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as he posted his seventh double-double for his fourth-straight game. Tyler Cochran added 15 points, while Luke Bumbalough notched 12 points, all of them came from 3-point shots. Jaylin Sellers recorded a game-high four steals to go along with his nine points, block, and an assist. Demarius Jacobs and Bumbalough tied for a team-high five assists. Jacobs and Basheer Jihad each added a block.

Sparks leads the Cardinals with 13.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Sparks leads the team and is second in the MAC with seven double-doubles. Cochran has been a force on the defensive end and leads BSU with 40 steals to go along with his 12.3 points per contest. Bumbalough paces the team with 71 assists and is averaging 11.5 points a game. Thomas rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.2 per game. Sparks and Thomas are tied for the team lead in blocks with 10 each.

In the meeting with Buffalo earlier this season, Cochran once again had a strong outing against the Bulls as he recorded a career-high 28 points and added nine rebounds. 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. Bumbalough collected double digits with 10 points to go along with two assists and a steal.

Buffalo leads the overall series with Ball State 20-16. The Bulls have won the last four meetings, including a 74-68 victory in Muncie this season. UB is 10-6 against BSU in home games.

Jeenathan Williams leads Buffalo with 18.6 points per game and is second on the team with 16 blocks. Ronaldo Segu is averaging 14.8 points per contest and has a team-best 100 assists. Josh Mballa has a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game, team-best 17 blocks, and is averaging 12.2 points a contest. Maceo Jack closes out the double-digit scorers with 10.0 points a game.

Williams led Buffalo with 20 points and added four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in the meeting against Ball State this season. David Skogman finished with a double-double, with 16 points and a team-high 11 boards. Segu added 14 points, while Jack chipped in with 10 points.

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	UB
75.3	POINTS PER GAME	79.6
77.3	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	71.2
.449	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.454
.450	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.417
.368	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.334
.364	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.297
.687	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.712
35.6	REBOUNDS PER GAME	42.3
-0.6	REBOUNDING MARGIN	7.7
13.4	ASSISTS PER GAME	15.3
13.8	TURNOVERS PER GAME	13.3
-1.8	TURNOVER MARGIN	-0.9
5.8	STEALS PER GAME	7.2
2.2	BLOCKS PER GAME	4.6

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As a reminder to all fans, face coverings are required while inside Worthen Arena.

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Players Mentioned

Luke Bumbalough

Tyler Cochran

Demarius Jacobs

Basheer Jihad

Jaylin Sellers

Payton Sparks

Miryne Thomas