Saturday, January 20
Muncie, IN
2:00 p.m.
Ball State University
vs
Miami
Photo by: Samantha Blankenship / Ball State University
Men's Basketball Hosting Miami (OH) on Saturday
January 19, 2024 | Men's Basketball
The Ball State men's basketball team returns home to host rival Miami (OH) at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Worthen Arena.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with Jack McMullen and David Eha on the call. Mick Tidrow and Scot Bunnell handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM - 92.5FM.
The Cardinals (9-8, 1-4 MAC) and RedHawks (8-9, 2-3 MAC) meet for the 110th time in series history. Last season, Ball State won the only game between the opponents, a 75-61 decision at Worthen.
Ball State ran away from Eastern Michigan with a 76-62 victory on Tuesday night in Ypsilanti to snap a six-game losing streak. Davion Bailey went for a game-best 23 points and added seven rebounds and two steals to lead the Cardinals to their first conference win of the year.
Miami is coming off a 78-73 setback to Bowling Green last Tuesday after winning back-to-back games at Buffalo (86-65 on Jan. 9) and against Eastern Michigan (71-54 on Jan. 13). In addition to the Eagles, Ball State and Miami have also played common opponents at Evansville and Toledo, who the RedHawks lost to 72-64 on Nov. 6 and 68-64 on Jan. 5, respectively.
SCOUTING MIAMI (OH): The RedHawks went 12-20 (6-12 MAC) last season in head coach Travis Steele's 1st leading the program. Miami finished eighth in the league regular season standings before losing to top seed Toledo in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament.
The RedHawks pace the MAC in assists per game (16.1, No. 40 in NCAA Division I), bench points per game (29.6, No. 23), 3-point shooting (37.9 percent, No. 30) and 3-point defense (28.9 percent, No. 23).
Senior center Anderson Mirambeaux missed the first month and a half of the season, but has averaged 13.6 points in just 19.1 minutes per game off the bench since returning to action.
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
The Indianapolis native ranks ninth in the league for scoring in MAC games with 16.4 points per game, while his 16 triples made in conference contests is second.
FREE THROWS FALLING: Redshirt junior Mickey Pearson Jr. leads the Mid-American Conference in free throw shooting percentage at 87.9 (51 of 58).
Ben Hendriks has made 85.7 percent (18-21) of his attempts at the charity stripe so far this season, while the Cardinals as a whole rank third in the MAC in free throw shooting at 75.8 percent.
PRODUCTIVE PAIR: Juniors Basheer Jihad (18.4 points per game) and Jalin Anderson (16.3) rank fourth and eighth in the MAC in average scoring, respectively.
The duo joins Toledo's Ra'Heim Moss (16.4 ppg, seventh) and Dante Maddox Jr. (15.5, tenth) as the only two tandems in the league to rank in the Top 10 in scoring.
TOP OF THE MAC: Ball State's first four games on its Mid-American Conference schedule included games against the three teams who finished at the top of the MAC in 2022-23.
The Cardinals played at Kent State, who was voted second in the MAC preseason coaches poll, on Jan. 2 and preseason league favorite Akron on Tuesday. Ball State's matchup on Saturday, Toledo, won the MAC regular season crown in 2022-23.
BANKING ON BASHEER: Jihad leads the team in scoring, rebounding (7.6 per game) and field goal percentage (48.6) among Cardinals averaging at least four field goal attempts this season. Jihad has established or tied career highs in scoring five times already this season, including in the Dec. 10 win vs SIUE (27 points).
The Detroit native's scoring average has nearly tripled over last year (7.1), while his rebounding average has doubled (3.6). Jihad started only one game in his first two seasons at Ball State, but has been a mainstay in the starting lineup as an upperclassman now.
JALIN JAMS: Anderson, a transfer out of Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, leads the Ball State backcourt in scoring and the team in assists (4.6 per game) as the Cardinals' lead guard.
The Jackson, Tenn., native boasts Ball State's highest offensive output (29 points against Old Dominion) so far and is on pace to set career bests for points while already establishing his career high for single season assists, rebounds and steals. Anderson has shown a penchant for explosive offensive performances, posting six 20+ point games so far this season.
EMERGENCE OF BIG BEN: Redshirt junior center Ben Hendriks had started each of the last six games before missing the Dec. 21 game at Minnesota, totaling career-highs of 11 points and seven rebounds in the Dec. 2 win over Bellarmine and 32 minutes played in the Dec. 10 win against SIUE.
Hendriks already surpassed his career-bests for points (78), rebounds (54), assists (14), blocks (15) and steals (four) in a season through the schedule's first 17 games while shooting an impressive 85.7 percent at the free throw line. The big man has seen increased playing time over his last 12 contests, averaging 20.2 minutes per game after playing 6.8 per in the first four games.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK X2: Jihad was named the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on both Dec. 4 and Dec. 11.
Jihad averaged 24.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, setting career highs in scoring three times over the four-game stretch to lead Ball State to a 3-1 record.
WINNING IN WORTHEN: The Cardinals clinched an undefeated home nonconference slate for the fourth straight season with the Dec. 10 decision over the Cougars.
Ball State has won 19 consecutive nonconference contests at Worthen Arena, with its last loss being on Dec. 3, 2019 to Loyola (Chicago).
1,300 WINS: The Ball State men's basketball team recorded win No. 1,300 in program history with the Dec. 2 decision against Bellarmine. The Cardinals are the tenth current MAC men's basketball team to reach that milestone.
MAC Program Wins (as of Dec. 4, 2023)
Akron - 1,697
Ball State - 1,300
Buffalo - 1,279
Bowling Green - 1,452
Central Michigan - 1,356
Eastern Michigan - 1,292
Kent State - 1,332
Miami (OH) - 1,436
Northern Illinois - 1,315
Ohio - 1,614
Toledo - 1,551
Western Michigan - 1,372
MILESTONE WATCH: Jihad and Pearson Jr. both scored their 500th career points in the second half on Dec. 16 against Indiana St, with Jihad hitting the figure with a 3-pointer and Pearson Jr. getting to the total on a layup.
Pearson Jr. tallied 23 of those points playing at TCU, while Anderson (881) boasts the most career points in NCAA Division I on the current roster.
Up Next
The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Buffalo at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with Jack McMullen and David Eha on the call. Mick Tidrow and Scot Bunnell handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM - 92.5FM.
The Cardinals (9-8, 1-4 MAC) and RedHawks (8-9, 2-3 MAC) meet for the 110th time in series history. Last season, Ball State won the only game between the opponents, a 75-61 decision at Worthen.
Ball State ran away from Eastern Michigan with a 76-62 victory on Tuesday night in Ypsilanti to snap a six-game losing streak. Davion Bailey went for a game-best 23 points and added seven rebounds and two steals to lead the Cardinals to their first conference win of the year.
Miami is coming off a 78-73 setback to Bowling Green last Tuesday after winning back-to-back games at Buffalo (86-65 on Jan. 9) and against Eastern Michigan (71-54 on Jan. 13). In addition to the Eagles, Ball State and Miami have also played common opponents at Evansville and Toledo, who the RedHawks lost to 72-64 on Nov. 6 and 68-64 on Jan. 5, respectively.
SCOUTING MIAMI (OH): The RedHawks went 12-20 (6-12 MAC) last season in head coach Travis Steele's 1st leading the program. Miami finished eighth in the league regular season standings before losing to top seed Toledo in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament.
The RedHawks pace the MAC in assists per game (16.1, No. 40 in NCAA Division I), bench points per game (29.6, No. 23), 3-point shooting (37.9 percent, No. 30) and 3-point defense (28.9 percent, No. 23).
Senior center Anderson Mirambeaux missed the first month and a half of the season, but has averaged 13.6 points in just 19.1 minutes per game off the bench since returning to action.
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
- Basheer Jihad leads the Cardinals in scoring (18.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.6) averages. The junior forward out of Detroit has led the Cardinals in scoring 10 games so far, scoring in double-figures 16 times, including seven games with 20+ points. The big man's total points (313) and scoring average both rank fourth in the Mid-American Conference, while his rebounding average is fifth.
- The Cardinals lead the MAC and rank No. 36 nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (14.8), while being third in the league in 3-point shooting (36.6 percent), free throw shooting (75.8 percent) and scoring defense (69.6 points per game).
- 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.
- Ball State recently signed forward Jai Anthoni Bearden (Phoenix, Ariz.) and guard Jermarhi "Fatt" Hill (Bessemer, Ala.) to national letters of intent to form the Cardinals' 2024 recruiting class.
The Indianapolis native ranks ninth in the league for scoring in MAC games with 16.4 points per game, while his 16 triples made in conference contests is second.
FREE THROWS FALLING: Redshirt junior Mickey Pearson Jr. leads the Mid-American Conference in free throw shooting percentage at 87.9 (51 of 58).
Ben Hendriks has made 85.7 percent (18-21) of his attempts at the charity stripe so far this season, while the Cardinals as a whole rank third in the MAC in free throw shooting at 75.8 percent.
PRODUCTIVE PAIR: Juniors Basheer Jihad (18.4 points per game) and Jalin Anderson (16.3) rank fourth and eighth in the MAC in average scoring, respectively.
The duo joins Toledo's Ra'Heim Moss (16.4 ppg, seventh) and Dante Maddox Jr. (15.5, tenth) as the only two tandems in the league to rank in the Top 10 in scoring.
TOP OF THE MAC: Ball State's first four games on its Mid-American Conference schedule included games against the three teams who finished at the top of the MAC in 2022-23.
The Cardinals played at Kent State, who was voted second in the MAC preseason coaches poll, on Jan. 2 and preseason league favorite Akron on Tuesday. Ball State's matchup on Saturday, Toledo, won the MAC regular season crown in 2022-23.
BANKING ON BASHEER: Jihad leads the team in scoring, rebounding (7.6 per game) and field goal percentage (48.6) among Cardinals averaging at least four field goal attempts this season. Jihad has established or tied career highs in scoring five times already this season, including in the Dec. 10 win vs SIUE (27 points).
The Detroit native's scoring average has nearly tripled over last year (7.1), while his rebounding average has doubled (3.6). Jihad started only one game in his first two seasons at Ball State, but has been a mainstay in the starting lineup as an upperclassman now.
JALIN JAMS: Anderson, a transfer out of Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, leads the Ball State backcourt in scoring and the team in assists (4.6 per game) as the Cardinals' lead guard.
The Jackson, Tenn., native boasts Ball State's highest offensive output (29 points against Old Dominion) so far and is on pace to set career bests for points while already establishing his career high for single season assists, rebounds and steals. Anderson has shown a penchant for explosive offensive performances, posting six 20+ point games so far this season.
EMERGENCE OF BIG BEN: Redshirt junior center Ben Hendriks had started each of the last six games before missing the Dec. 21 game at Minnesota, totaling career-highs of 11 points and seven rebounds in the Dec. 2 win over Bellarmine and 32 minutes played in the Dec. 10 win against SIUE.
Hendriks already surpassed his career-bests for points (78), rebounds (54), assists (14), blocks (15) and steals (four) in a season through the schedule's first 17 games while shooting an impressive 85.7 percent at the free throw line. The big man has seen increased playing time over his last 12 contests, averaging 20.2 minutes per game after playing 6.8 per in the first four games.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK X2: Jihad was named the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on both Dec. 4 and Dec. 11.
Jihad averaged 24.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, setting career highs in scoring three times over the four-game stretch to lead Ball State to a 3-1 record.
WINNING IN WORTHEN: The Cardinals clinched an undefeated home nonconference slate for the fourth straight season with the Dec. 10 decision over the Cougars.
Ball State has won 19 consecutive nonconference contests at Worthen Arena, with its last loss being on Dec. 3, 2019 to Loyola (Chicago).
1,300 WINS: The Ball State men's basketball team recorded win No. 1,300 in program history with the Dec. 2 decision against Bellarmine. The Cardinals are the tenth current MAC men's basketball team to reach that milestone.
MAC Program Wins (as of Dec. 4, 2023)
Akron - 1,697
Ball State - 1,300
Buffalo - 1,279
Bowling Green - 1,452
Central Michigan - 1,356
Eastern Michigan - 1,292
Kent State - 1,332
Miami (OH) - 1,436
Northern Illinois - 1,315
Ohio - 1,614
Toledo - 1,551
Western Michigan - 1,372
MILESTONE WATCH: Jihad and Pearson Jr. both scored their 500th career points in the second half on Dec. 16 against Indiana St, with Jihad hitting the figure with a 3-pointer and Pearson Jr. getting to the total on a layup.
Pearson Jr. tallied 23 of those points playing at TCU, while Anderson (881) boasts the most career points in NCAA Division I on the current roster.
Up Next
The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Buffalo at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
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