Ball State Takes to the Road for Showdown with Kent State

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team returns to action for a nationally televised showdown with Kent State on Friday. The Cardinals and Golden Flashes are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip on CBS Sports Network inside the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.

For the first time since the 2010-11 season, Ball State has started a campaign with a 13-5 record.

Last Time Out
The Cardinals are coming off a 71-70 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos. Jarron Coleman scored in double digits in 16th game of the season after his 22-point effort. He added a game-high seven assists, a game-high four steals, tied for a team-high eight rebounds, and did not have any turnovers. Payton Sparks dropped 14 points with eight rebounds and one block. Demarius Jacobs recorded 10 points, three assists, one block, and one steal. Basheer Jihad also tied for a team-high eight rebounds.

Boogie on Down
Coleman is averaging a team-best 14.6 points per game. He leads the team with 39 made 3-pointers and is shooting 35.1 percent from behind the arc. He leads the team with 64 assists and in steals with 26. Coleman has added nine blocks, which is tied for third on the squad.

Sensational Sellers
Sellers is second on the team with 13.6 points per game. He is shooting 50.0 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team. He is fourth on the team with 4.3 rebounds per game. He has produced a field-goal percentage of 49.7 on the season. Sellers has collected 14 assists, 13 steals and eight 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 69th in the country and fourth in the conference. His 3.28 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 60.4 percent from the field, which leads the team. He has five double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 64th in the country and third in the MAC. He is third on the team with 36 assists, second on the team with 16 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 12.3 points a contest. He has a team-high 29 blocks, which is tied for 64th in the NCAA and most in the MAC lead. His 1.61 blocks per contest is 70th in the nation and first in the conference. He second on the team in assists with 56 and is second on the team in steals with 25. He is averaging 3.5 boards per contest. Mickey Pearson Jr. is second on the squad with 5.2 rebounds per contest and is averaging 7.0 points a game. Pearson is shooting 50.6 from the field.

Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.3 free throws per game, which is third in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 17.3 free-throws made per contest, which is tied for 13th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is fifth in the nation with 139 free-throw attempts, which leads in the MAC. The Cardinals are one of 21 teams in the NCAA that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted.

Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently shooting 47.7 percent from the field, which is tied for 35th in the NCAA and is second in the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 37.2 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 44th in the country and best in the MAC.

Series History with Kent State
Friday will be the 90th meeting between Ball State and Kent State. The Golden Flashes hold a 48-41 advantage in the series. The two sides have split the last four meetings. However, Kent State won the two meetings last season. The Cardinals are 11-31 against the Golden Flashes on the road.

Scouting the Golden Flashes
As a team, the Golden Flashes are tied for 18th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense, holding opposing teams to 39.0 percent. They are ninth in the country with 10.0 steals per contest. Sincere Carry paces Kent State with 16.9 points per game along with a team-best 87 assists. His 4.8 assists per game are tied for 45th in the nation and are second in the MAC. Malique Jacobs leads the nation with 3.06 steals per game. His 52 steals are second in the NCAA. He is second on the team averaging 12.7 points per game. Jacobs has added 52 assists along with 11 blocks. Miryne Thomas rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.8 per contest. He is tied for a team lead with 14 blocks and leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game. He has added 25 steals and 11 assists. Cli'Ron Hornbeak also has 14 blocks on the season.

Tale of the Tape

BSU	Category	KSU
76.2	POINTS PER GAME	74.6
67.2	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	62.2
.477	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.438
.418	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.390
.372	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.336
.356	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.302
.684	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.754
36.1	REBOUNDS PER GAME	35.2
3.5	REBOUNDING MARGIN	-1.7
12.8	ASSISTS PER GAME	12.1
12.4	TURNOVERS PER GAME	11.6
0.2	TURNOVER MARGIN	5.6
6.3	STEALS PER GAME	10.0
4.5	BLOCKS PER GAME	3.3

MAC Conference Standings
1. Kent State – 15-3 (5-0)
2. Ball State – 13-5 (4-1)
3. Akron – 12-6 (4-1)
4. Toledo – 12-6 (3-2)
5. Buffalo – 9-9 (3-2)
6. Bowling Green – 8-10 (2-3)
7. Central Michigan – 7-11 (2-3)
8. Northern Illinois – 6-12 (2-3)
9. Western Michigan – 6-12 (2-3)
10. Ohio – 9-9 (1-4)
11. Miami – 7-11 (1-4)
12. Eastern Michigan – 4-14 (1-4)

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.

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Ball State Takes to the Road for Showdown with Kent State

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Players Mentioned

Jarron Coleman

Demarius Jacobs

Basheer Jihad

Mickey Pearson Jr.

Payton Sparks

Miryne Thomas