Men's Basketball Back at Worthen on Saturday Afternoon

The Ball State men's basketball team returns home to host a game at Worthen Arena for the first time in more than two weeks when the Cardinals play Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Noah Reed and David Eha on the call, while Mick Tidrow and Scot Bunnell handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM - 92.5FM. This will be the 115^th meeting in the series between the Cardinals and Eagles.

Ball State (13-13, 5-8 Mid-American Conference) handled EMU (10-16, 3-10 MAC) on Jan. 16 in Ypsilanti, pulling away for a 76-62 road win thanks to a season-best 23 points and seven rebounds from Davion Bailey.

The Cardinals faced a nine-point deficit with 8:46 to play Tuesday night at Northern Illinois but fought back for a 70-63 win. Jalin Anderson tallied 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and eclipsed 1,000 career points on a free throw in the final minute.

Eastern Michigan has gone 2-7 since the mid-January matchup with Ball State, beating Buffalo on Jan. 27 and Bowling Green last Saturday. With a win, the Cardinals would clinch the tiebreaker between the two teams and have a three-game edge in the MAC standings.

SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles went 8-23 (5-13 MAC) last season in head coach Stan Heath's first leading the program. Heath has head coaching experience at Kent State, Arkansas, South Florida and, most recently, the G League Lakeland Magic.

The Eagles rank No. 4 in the league in 3-point defense (32.9 percent) and No. 5 in fewest turnovers per game (11.8).

Junior guard Tyson Acuff paces the MAC and ranks in the Top 10 nationally in points per game (22.0, 7^th), field goals made (205, 7^th) and minutes per game (38.2, 3^rd).

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS

Jihad leads the Cardinals in scoring (19.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.7) averages. The junior forward out of Detroit has led the Cardinals in scoring 16 games so far, scoring in double-figures 25 times, including 11 games with 20+ points. The big man's total points (497) ranks third in the Mid-American Conference, while his rebounding and scoring averages ar fourth. Jihad leads the MAC in free throw attempts (201) and makes (148), ranking No. 16 in those categories, respectively.
The Cardinals lead the MAC and rank in 3-point shooting (37.7 percent, No. 18), free throw shooting (76.0 percent, No. 33) and free throws made per game (16.2, No. 40).
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 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.

1,000 Points: Junior guard Jalin Anderson hit the 1,000-point mark in his career with a last-minute free throw at Northern Illinois on Feb. 20.

The Jackson, Tenn., native scored 604 of those before transferring to Ball State, where he's averaged 15.3 points per game in 26 games (397 total).

DB FOR THREE: Junior guard Davion Bailey leads the Cardinals in 3-pointers made (55) and 3-point shooting (44.0 percent) so far this season, and the shooting efficiency leads the MAC and ranks No. 6 in NCAA Division I.

The Indianapolis native's 2.5 triples made per game ranks second in the MAC, while his total 3-pointers made in conference games (36) is just one behind Northern Illinois' David Coit, who's attempted 35 more than Bailey.

HANDLING THE HUSKIES: Ball State swept the season series with Northern Illinois and has now won 9 of the last 10 games against the Huskies thanks to the 70-63 decision on Tuesday in DeKalb.

The men's basketball team has won by double-figures over the Huskies five times in that span and bettered its record to 63-40 in the series, including 26-23 on the road.

FRESHMAN MAKING MOVES: Freshman guard Trent Middleton Jr. has scored in double figures in 5 of the last 8 games after doing so twice in the first 16 games of his collegiate career.

The Philadelphia native has averaged 9.1 rebounds, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 rebounds during the span.

SECOND TRIP AROUND THE MAC: Ball State began its back end of double play opponents on Feb. 17 after playing each of the other 11 Mid-American Conference teams in first 11 league games of the year.

Ball State's regular season series against Akron, Buffalo, Ohio and Toledo have wrapped up with those schools being single-play opponents for the 2024 schedule.

CROATIAN DESTINATION: Ball State is the only Division I school featuring Croatia natives on both its men's basketball (Jurica Zagorsak) and women's basketball (Hana Muhl) teams.

Zagorsak is one of only nine Croatians currently on Division I men's basketball rosters. Ball State has played three of the other teams with a Croatian (Detroit Mercy, Little Rock and Toledo).

BUFFALO BLOWOUT: The 28-point winning margin on Jan. 23 at Buffalo was Ball State's largest of the season against a Division I opponent and second-largest overall behind a 101-40 rout of Goshen in the Nov. 7 season opener.

The loss for the Bulls was their second-most lopsided in MAC play to date and third-worst overall.

FREE THROWS FALLING: Redshirt junior Mickey Pearson Jr. ranks second in the Mid-American Conference among qualifiers in free throw shooting percentage at 85.9 (73 of 85).

Bailey (86.2 percent, 25-29) and Middleton Jr. (81.7 percent, 49-60) have also been efficient at the foul line, while the Cardinals as a whole lead the MAC in free throw shooting at 76.0 percent, which ranks No. 33 nationally.

BANKING ON BASHEER: Jihad leads the team in scoring (19.1 ppg), rebounding (7.7 per game) and field goal percentage (46.4) among Cardinals averaging at least four field goal attempts this season. Jihad has established or tied career highs in scoring six times already this season, including on Jan. 20 against Miami (29 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: Jalin Anderson, a transfer out of Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, leads the Ball State backcourt in scoring and the team in assists (4.4 per game) as the Cardinals' lead guard. Anderson leads the MAC in steals (26) in conference play and is fourth overall at 42 total steals so far.

The Jackson, Tenn., native boasts Ball State's highest offensive output (29 points against Old Dominion) so far and has already established his career high for single season points, assists, rebounds and steals. Anderson has shown a penchant for explosive offensive performances, posting eight 20+ point games so far this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK X3: Jihad was named the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 29 after taking home the honor on Dec. 4 and Dec. 11.

Jihad averaged 24.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.5 per game in wins at Buffalo and vs Northern Illinois, including a 28-point, 14-rebound double-double on Jan. 27 against the Huskies.

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

Up Next
Ball State plays at Central Michigan at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in its fourth and final game in the state this season.

Men's Basketball Back at Worthen on Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Jalin Anderson

Davion Bailey

Ethan Brittain-Watts

Joey Brown

Zane Doughty

Mason Jones

Trent Middleton Jr.

Mickey Pearson Jr.

Jurica Zagorsak