Cardinals Return to Ohio for Matchup with Bobcats

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team is back on the road for a Tuesday matchup against Ohio. The Cardinals enter the contest with an overall record of 11-4 and a Mid-American Conference mark of 2-0, while the Bobcats boast an 8-7 record and are 0-2 in the conference.

Ball State is one of just two universities in the MAC to have its men's and women's basketball teams start 2-0 in conference play. Head Coach Michael Lewis is the first, first-year head coach to produce a seven-game winning streak. He is the second coach in BSU history to win the regular season opener and the MAC opener in their first season as a head coach. He joins Rick Majerus in achieving the feat.

Last Time Out
Jarron Coleman and Payton Sparks tied for a team-high 15 points as Ball State defeated Akron, 70-63, for its seventh-straight win. Sparks brought down a team-high eight rebounds. He made seven free throws and added two assists, a steal, and a block. Coleman scored in double-figures in 14-straight contests. He collected six rebounds and produced one steal. Jaylin Sellers led the team with three blocks and tallied 13 points along with two rebounds. Basheer Jihad finished in double figures with 11 points with four rebounds and one assist. Demarius Jacobs dished out a team-high four assists and tied for a team-high two steals. He added eight points, three rebounds, and two blocks. Darian Owens-White tied for a team-best two steals.

Sensational Sellers
Sellers has a team-best 14.5 points per game. He is shooting 56.5 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team. He is fourth on the team with 4.6 rebounds per game. He has produced a field-goal percentage of 50.8 on the season. Sellers has collected 12 assists, 11 steals and five blocks. He has notched four games with 20 or more points for the season.

Spark Plug
Sparks paces the team with 7.9 rebounds per game, which is tied for 83rd in the country and fourth in the conference. His 3.40 offensive rebounds per contest has him ranked 26th in the nation and third in the MAC. He is third on the team averaging 13.2 points per game. He is shooting 61.6 percent from the field, which leads the team. He has four double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 76th in the country and is third in the MAC. He is third on the team with 32 assists, second on the team with 13 blocks, and has added seven steals.

Spreading the Love
The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digit points. Coleman is second on the squad with 14.3 points per game. He leads the team with 33 made 3-pointers and is shooting 37.1 percent from behind the arc. He is second on the team with 48 assists and is second in steals with 20. Coleman has added nine blocks, which is third on the squad. Jacobs closes out the double-digit scorers with 12.7 points a contest. He has a team-high 26 blocks, which is tied for 53rd in the NCAA and tied for the MAC lead. His 1.73 blocks per contest are tied for 51st in the nation and tied for first in the conference. He also leads the team in assists with 49 and steals with 23. He is averaging 4.0 boards per contest. Mickey Pearson Jr. is second on the squad with 5.1 rebounds per contest and is averaging 6.7 points a game. Pearson is second on the team shooting 56.3 from the field.

Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.6 free throws per game, which is tied for sixth in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 17.7 free-throws made per contest, which is 13th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is tied for eighth in the nation with 115 free-throw attempts, which is second in the MAC. The Cardinals are one of 27 teams in the NCAA that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted.

Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently shooting 48.3 percent from the field, which is tied for 29th in the NCAA and is second in the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 38.2 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 28th in the country and second in the MAC.

Series History with Ohio
The Cardinals and Bobcats will meet for the 89th time on Tuesday. Ohio has the series advantage, 53-35, including a 77-66 victory in the last meeting, which was in the MAC Tournament last season. The Bobcats have won four straight against the Cardinals. BSU is 11-30 at OU, with its last win in Athens on January 9, 2018.

Scouting the Bobcats
Ohio is led by Dwight Wilson III with 13.3 points per game along with a team-best 10.0 rebounds a game. He has added 15 assists, five steals, and four blocked shots. Wilson is tied for 13th in the NCAA in rebounds per game and is third in the MAC. AJ Brown is second on the squad with 11.9 points per game to go along with 2.1 rebounds per game, 11 assists, five steals, and three blocks. Miles Brown rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.7 points a contest. He has 3.1 rebounds a game, 27 assists, 17 steals, and four blocks. AJ Clayton has a team-best 15 blocks. Jaylin Hunter leads the Bobcats with 67 assists and 19 steals.

Tale of the Tape

BSU	Category	OU
76.9	POINTS PER GAME	77.2
66.8	OPP. POINTS PER GAME	71.7
.483	FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.455
.418	OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.420
.382	3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.365
.351	OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.348
.690	FREE THROW PERCENTAGE	.717
35.9	REBOUNDS PER GAME	39.8
4.0	REBOUNDING MARGIN	3.9
13.1	ASSISTS PER GAME	14.0
12.3	TURNOVERS PER GAME	11.9
0.3	TURNOVER MARGIN	-0.2
6.3	STEALS PER GAME	6.2
4.7	BLOCKS PER GAME	2.7

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

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

Darian Owens-White

Mickey Pearson Jr.

Jaylin Sellers

Payton Sparks