Cardinals Battle Broncos Tuesday Night

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team will be back on the court for a Tuesday, Mid-American Conference matchup with Western Michigan. The Cardinals enter the game with a 12-5 overall record and are 3-1 in league play, while the Broncos a 6-11 mark and are 2-2 in conference action.

BSU students, be among the first 400 in The Nest and receive a free hot dog, a slice of pizza, a fountain drink, or a beer. Arrive early, cheer loud, and enjoy responsibly.

Last Time Out
The Cardinals are coming off a 75-61 victory over Miami. Jaylin Sellers finished with 15 points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Demarius Jacobs dropped 15 points with four assists, two rebounds, one block, and one steal. Payton Sparks recorded his fifth double-double of the season behind 14 rebounds and 12 points. Sparks added three assists and a game-high two blocks. Basheer Jihad collected a career-high three steals to go along with his 12 points and six rebounds. Jarron Coleman collected a game-high five assists with nine points and eight rebounds.

Boogie on Down
Coleman has a team-best 14.1 points per game. He leads the team with 37 made 3-pointers and is shooting 35.6 percent from behind the arc. He leads the team with 57 assists and is second in steals with 22. Coleman has added nine blocks, which is tied for third on the squad.

Sensational Sellers
Sellers is second on the team with 13.9 points per game. He is shooting 50.0 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team. He is fourth on the team with 4.4 rebounds per game. He has produced a field-goal percentage of 49.3 on the season. Sellers has collected 14 assists, 13 steals and seven blocks. He has notched four games with 20 or more points for the season.

Spark Plug
Sparks paces the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, which is tied for 66th in the country and fourth in the conference. His 3.29 offensive rebounds per contest have him ranked 27th in the nation and third in the MAC. He is third on the team averaging 13.1 points per game. He is shooting 60.5 percent from the field, which leads the team. He has five double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 60th in the country and third in the MAC. He is third on the team with 36 assists, second on the team with 15 blocks, and has added eight steals.

Spreading the Love
The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digit points. Demarius Jacobs rounds out the double-digit scorers with 12.7 points a contest. He has a team-high 28 blocks, which is tied for 63rd in the NCAA and most in the MAC lead. His 1.59 blocks per contest is 65th in the nation and first in the conference. He second on the team in assists with 53 and paces the team in steals with 24. He is averaging 3.7 boards per contest. Mickey Pearson Jr. is second on the squad with 5.2 rebounds per contest and is averaging 6.9 points a game. Pearson is shooting 52.6 from the field.

Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.5 free throws per game, which is fifth in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 17.5 free-throws made per contest, which is tied for 13th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is fifth in the nation with 133 free-throw attempts, which leads in the MAC. The Cardinals are one of 23 teams in the NCAA that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted.

Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently shooting 48.1 percent from the field, which is tied for 37th in the NCAA and is second in the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 37.7 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 41st in the country and best in the MAC.

Series History with Western Michigan
The Cardinals and Broncos will battle for the 138th time on Tuesday night. Ball State holds the series lead 70-67. BSU has won six of the last seven meetings against WMU, including a 64-63 victory at WMU last season. The Cardinals are 42-23 all-time in Muncie and are 21-9 inside Worthen Arena.

Scouting the Broncos
Western Michigan is tied for 13th in the NCAA with a rebound margin of 8.0, which leads the MAC. Markeese Hastings leads the team with 10.1 rebounds per game, which is tied for 13th in the country and second in the MAC. His 7.0 defensive rebounds per contest is second in the conference and tied for 19th in the nation. Hastings is averaging 7.4 points per game, has 32 steals, a team-best 16 steals, and a team-high nine blocks. Lamar Norman Jr. leads WMU with 17.8 points per contest. He has a team high in assists with 45 along with 14 steals and one block. Tray Maddox Jr. is the only other player averaging double figures with 11.9 points a game. He is second on the team with 16 steals and second in blocks with four.

Tale of the Tape

BSU	Category	WMU
76.5	POINTS PER GAME	72.2
67.0	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	72.9
.478	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.451
.420	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.464
.377	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.341
.348	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.376
.688	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.724
36.2	REBOUNDS PER GAME	37.9
4.0	REBOUNDING MARGIN	8.0
12.9	ASSISTS PER GAME	13.4
12.5	TURNOVERS PER GAME	12.9
-0.1	TURNOVER MARGIN	-2.5
6.2	STEALS PER GAME	5.0
4.5	BLOCKS PER GAME	2.3

MAC Conference Standings
1. Kent State – 14-3 (4-0)
2. Ball State – 12-5 (3-1)
3. Akron – 11-6 (3-1)
4. Toledo – 11-6 (2-2)
5. Bowling Green – 8-9 (2-2)
6. Buffalo – 8-9 (2-2)
7. Central Michigan – 7-10 (2-2)
8. Western Michigan – 6-11 (2-2)
9. Ohio – 9-8 (1-3)
10. Miami – 7-10 (1-3)
11. Northern Illinois – 5-12 (1-3)
12. Eastern Michigan – 4-13 (1-3)

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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Players Mentioned

Jarron Coleman

Demarius Jacobs

Basheer Jihad

Mickey Pearson Jr.

Jaylin Sellers

Payton Sparks