MBB to Host Old Dominion in MAC-SBC Challenge

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The Ball State men's basketball team hosts Old Dominion at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the MAC-SBC Challenge at Worthen Arena.

The matchup between the Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt Conference foes will be one of two interconference battles for both schools this season, as teams in each conference will play teams in the other conference once at home and once on the road. Ball State is scheduled to travel to a yet-to-be-determined Sun Belt school for a game on Feb. 10.

In the season opener on Tuesday against Goshen College, the Cardinals rode a 27-0 scoring run to end the first half to a 101-40 win. Basheer Jihad (21 points, four rebounds, three blocks) and Micah Bell (14 points) led a balanced offensive attack to defeat the Maple Leafs.

Old Dominion comes to town with a 1-0 record after beating Virginia Wesleyan 71-57 on Monday. The Monarchs took down Virginia State 80-59 on Oct. 25 in an exhibition.

Ball State recorded a 20-12 record (11-7 Mid-American Conference) in 2022-23 to earn the No. 4 seed in the MAC Tournament. Head coach Michael Lewis enters his second season leading the Cardinals after recent stops as an assistant at UCLA, Nebraska and Butler.

Juniors Mickey Pearson Jr. and Jihad headline the returners, as they averaged 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds and 7.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, respectively, in 2022-23. Three transfers and five true freshmen bolster Ball State's 2023-24 team.

SCOUTING OLD DOMINION: The Monarchs went 19-12 (11-7 Sun Belt) last season in head coach Jeff Jones' 10^th leading the program. ODU was voted to finish third in the SBC preseason coaches poll with 154 points behind only James Madison (176) and Appalachian State (159), and the Monarch got one first place vote.

Junior guard Chaunce Jenkins was voted First Team All-Conference in the SBC preseason poll after earning a Third Team honor following the 2022-23 season. Jenkins led the team with 16 points in the season-opening win, while senior guard Tyrone Williams (15 points) and sophomore guard Bryce Baker (12) joined him in double figures scoring.

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS

Ball State's 20 wins last year were its most since 2016-17 when that team won 21. This season's Cardinals will look for back-to-back 20-win schedules for the first time since that 2016-17 season.
The Cardinals are a young group, as the roster includes only one senior or graduate student (Ethan Brittain-Watts). Ball State returns only 21.5 percent of minutes played and 19.6 percent of points scored from last year's team.
Brittain-Watts (Boston University), Jalin Anderson (Loyola Marymount) and Davion Bailey (Southeastern CC) form Ball State's trio of transfers.
Joey Brown (Indianapolis), Zane Doughty (Indianapolis), Mason Jones (Valparaiso, Ind.), Trent Middleton Jr. (Philadelphia) and Jurica Zagorsak (Zadar, Croatia) are the Cardinals' quintet of true freshmen.
The Cardinals recently signed 6-foot-4 guard Jermarhi "Fatt" Hill and 6-foot-7 forward Jai Anthoni Bearden to their 2024 recruiting class.

Up Next
The Cardinals stay at home to play Oakland City University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Worthen Arena.

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Players Mentioned

Jalin Anderson

Davion Bailey

Micah Bell

Ethan Brittain-Watts

Joey Brown

Zane Doughty

Basheer Jihad

Mason Jones

Trent Middleton Jr.

Mickey Pearson Jr.

Jurica Zagorsak