Men's Basketball Announces 2023-24 Schedule

MUNCIE, Ind. – Bolstered by the most home games on a Ball State men's basketball schedule in six years (since 2017-18), the Cardinals will play a 2023-24 slate that includes a neutral-site game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, a visit to historic Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota, and home-and-road bouts in a newly created challenge series between the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.

Second-year coach Michael Lewis will lead the Cardinals through 12 non-conference games before beginning an 18-game MAC schedule on Jan. 2 at Kent State. The rugged MAC schedule is interrupted just once, on Feb. 10, when Ball State visits a Sun Belt foe in the second half of the MAC/SBC Challenge. The Cardinals host Old Dominion on Nov. 11 to tip off that series as every team in the MAC battles an evenly matched opponent in the Sun Belt.

"We're excited to announce our schedule for the upcoming season," said Lewis. "We are particularly thrilled to have 16 home games inside Worthen Arena in front of our fans and especially 'The Nest' as we look to build upon the momentum established last season."

After an exhibition date with Rose-Hulman, the 31-game regular season begins Nov. 7 when Goshen College appears at Worthen Arena. The MAC/SBC tilt with ODU is followed by a home date with Oakland City on Nov. 14 as the Cardinals host three straight to begin the season.

The first road bout pits Ball State against in-state rival Evansville. Following non-conference games vs. USC Upstate, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Bellarmine, Detroit Mercy and SIU-Edwardsville, another in-state test features the Cardinals against Indiana State as part of the second annual Indy Classic, which also features a Top-20 matchup between Purdue and Arizona.

Before a holiday break and the opening of conference play, Ball State ventures to Minneapolis to face the Big Ten Gophers. Having faced each other just twice, the Cardinals capped a home-and-road series with the Gophers in 1987 and 1988 with a 63-57 win at Williams Arena on Nov. 26, 1988.

After the MAC tip-off against the Golden Flashes, the opening weekend of MAC play features a Worthen Arena Saturday vs. Central Michigan on Jan. 6, then another home date on Tuesday, Jan. 9 vs. Akron. The Cardinals play three of the next four on the road, with road games at Toledo (Jan. 13), Eastern Michigan (Jan. 16) and Buffalo (Jan. 23) sandwiching a Saturday, Jan. 20 engagement with Miami.

The first half of the MAC schedule ends with home games against Northern Illinois (Jan. 27) and Bowling Green (Jan. 30), and a road date at Western Michigan (Feb. 3). The MAC second half begins at home against Ohio (Feb. 6) before a three-game road swing that begins with a road date in the MAC/SBC Challenge. Trips to Miami (Feb. 17) and Northern Illinois (Feb. 20) follow.

Ball State caps its MAC schedule with three of five contests at Worthen Arena. EMU comes to Worthen on Feb. 24 and the Cardinals visit CMU on Feb. 27 before a pair of home games against WMU (March 2) and Kent State (March 5) to begin the final stretch. The regular season concludes with a trip to Bowling Green on March 8.

The annual Mid-American Conference Tournament takes place at Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland, March 14-16.

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