Saturday, February 10
San Marcos, TX
5:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. CT
Ball State University
at
Texas State
Photo by: Zach Roy
Men's Basketball Heads to Texas for MAC-SBC Challenge
February 09, 2024 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals Hope to Sweep Challenge Games after Beating Old Dominion in November
The Ball State men's basketball team travels down south to take on Texas State at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) in San Marcos on Saturday as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM - 92.5FM. This will be the Ball State men's basketball program's first game in the state of Texas since 1975 (Dec. 29 at Houston Baptist).
The Cardinals (12-11, 4-7 Mid-American Conference) battle the Bobcats (10-14, 4-8 Sun Belt Conference) for the second time in series history and first time when the school has been named Texas State. Ball State faced off with the program when it was called Southwest Texas State on Dec. 28, 1988 (Cardinals won 75-59 in Muncie). Ball State is facing a team with the same nickname in back-to-back games after playing the Ohio Bobcats on Tuesday. The Cardinals topped Old Dominion 73-68 on Nov. 11 at Worthen Arena in the first game of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Jalin Anderson scored 22 points and nine rebounds while Mickey Pearson Jr. added 18 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday night against Ohio, but the Bobcats prevailed 84-79 in overtime. The hosts fought back from trailing 13-0 early and 36-27 at halftime to force the extra period.
Texas State enters Saturday's challenge game winners of three in a row, including an impressive 63-56 triumph over league-leading Appalachian State on Wednesday night. This will be the final of four straight home games to start February for the Bobcats, who also beat Southern Miss 60-55 on Feb. 3 and South Alabama 74-66 on Feb. 1. Texas State beat Miami (OH) 75-65 on Nov. 11 in Oxford in the front end of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE: The Bobcats went 16-19 (6-12 Sun Belt) last season in head coach Terrance Johnson's second year leading the program. Texas State made a run to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament by winning three games as the No. 11 seed, but ultimately fell to No. 2 seed Louisiana.
The Bobcats hang their hat on a defense that ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in both 3-point percentage defense (30.1) and scoring defense (70.1 points per game) The 3-point defense percentage ranks No. 26 in NCAA Division I.
Junior forward Brandon Love ranks in the Top 50 nationally in both total blocks (42, 40th) and blocks per game (1.83, 44th) so far this season. Freshman guard and San Marcos native Kaden Gumbs ranks No. 5 in the Sun Belt in assists per game (3.6) and No. 9 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41).
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
TEXAS TIME: The Ball State men's basketball program has played teams from Texas a total of eight times and sports a 5-3 record against schools from the Lonestar State.
The Cardinals are 4-0 at home against Texas teams and are looking for their first road win in Texas (1-1 in neutral site games). Ball State beat Texas Southern 64-53 on Nov. 29, 2011 in the most recent game against a team hailing from the state.
ROAD COOKING: The Cardinals have won three straight road games by double figures to improve their record in true road games to 4-5.
Ball State is the lone MAC team to win three conference road games by double figures this season.
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 other teams with a Croatian (Detroit Mercy, Little Rock and Toledo).
HANDLING THE HUSKIES: Ball State topped Northern Illinois for the eighth time in the last nine games between the two MAC foes with the 81-71 win on Jan. 27.
The men's basketball team has won by double-figures over the Huskies five times in that span and bettered record to 62-40 in the series, including 37-13 in Muncie.
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.
DB FOR THREE: Junior guard Davion Bailey leads the Cardinals in 3-pointers made (44) and 3-point shooting (43.1 percent) so far this season, and his 2.32 triples made per game ranks third in the MAC.
The Indianapolis native paces the MAC in 3-point percentage among players who've made at least 40 trifectas, ranking third overall.
FREE THROWS FALLING: Redshirt junior Mickey Pearson Jr. ranks second in the Mid-American Conference and No. 42 nationally among qualifiers in free throw shooting percentage at 87.8 (65 of 74), and first in conference games at 94.4 percent (34 of 36).
Bailey (85.2 percent, 23-27) and Trent Middleton Jr. (81.5 percent, 44-54) have also been efficient at the foul line, while the Cardinals as a whole lead the MAC and are No. 32 in NCAA Division I in free throw shooting at 76.0 percent.
BANKING ON BASHEER: Jihad leads the team in scoring (19.3 ppg), rebounding (7.6 per game) and field goal percentage (48.3) 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. The Jackson, Tenn., native leads the MAC in steals (25) in conference play and is second overall at 40 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.
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 (103), rebounds (62), assists (16), blocks (18) and steals (four) in a season through the schedule's first 23 games. The big man has seen increased playing time over his last 17 contests, averaging 19.1 minutes per game after playing 6.8 per in the first four games.
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
MILESTONE WATCH: Anderson is 34 points away from scoring 1,000 in his career. The junior had 604 of those while playing for LMU.
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.
Up Next
Ball State gets a bye week before playing at Miami (OH) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.
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The game will be streamed on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM - 92.5FM. This will be the Ball State men's basketball program's first game in the state of Texas since 1975 (Dec. 29 at Houston Baptist).
The Cardinals (12-11, 4-7 Mid-American Conference) battle the Bobcats (10-14, 4-8 Sun Belt Conference) for the second time in series history and first time when the school has been named Texas State. Ball State faced off with the program when it was called Southwest Texas State on Dec. 28, 1988 (Cardinals won 75-59 in Muncie). Ball State is facing a team with the same nickname in back-to-back games after playing the Ohio Bobcats on Tuesday. The Cardinals topped Old Dominion 73-68 on Nov. 11 at Worthen Arena in the first game of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Jalin Anderson scored 22 points and nine rebounds while Mickey Pearson Jr. added 18 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday night against Ohio, but the Bobcats prevailed 84-79 in overtime. The hosts fought back from trailing 13-0 early and 36-27 at halftime to force the extra period.
Texas State enters Saturday's challenge game winners of three in a row, including an impressive 63-56 triumph over league-leading Appalachian State on Wednesday night. This will be the final of four straight home games to start February for the Bobcats, who also beat Southern Miss 60-55 on Feb. 3 and South Alabama 74-66 on Feb. 1. Texas State beat Miami (OH) 75-65 on Nov. 11 in Oxford in the front end of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE: The Bobcats went 16-19 (6-12 Sun Belt) last season in head coach Terrance Johnson's second year leading the program. Texas State made a run to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament by winning three games as the No. 11 seed, but ultimately fell to No. 2 seed Louisiana.
The Bobcats hang their hat on a defense that ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in both 3-point percentage defense (30.1) and scoring defense (70.1 points per game) The 3-point defense percentage ranks No. 26 in NCAA Division I.
Junior forward Brandon Love ranks in the Top 50 nationally in both total blocks (42, 40th) and blocks per game (1.83, 44th) so far this season. Freshman guard and San Marcos native Kaden Gumbs ranks No. 5 in the Sun Belt in assists per game (3.6) and No. 9 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41).
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
- Jihad leads the Cardinals in scoring (19.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.6) averages. The junior forward out of Detroit has led the Cardinals in scoring 14 games so far, scoring in double-figures 22 times, including 11 games with 20+ points. The big man's total points (443) and scoring average rank third in the Mid-American Conference, while his rebounding average is fourth.
- The Cardinals lead the MAC and rank in the Top 40 nationally in free throw percentage (76.0, No. 32) and 3-point percentage (37.5, No. 27). Ball State also makes the most free throws per game (16.5) in the league (No. 34 nationally).
- 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.
TEXAS TIME: The Ball State men's basketball program has played teams from Texas a total of eight times and sports a 5-3 record against schools from the Lonestar State.
The Cardinals are 4-0 at home against Texas teams and are looking for their first road win in Texas (1-1 in neutral site games). Ball State beat Texas Southern 64-53 on Nov. 29, 2011 in the most recent game against a team hailing from the state.
ROAD COOKING: The Cardinals have won three straight road games by double figures to improve their record in true road games to 4-5.
Ball State is the lone MAC team to win three conference road games by double figures this season.
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 other teams with a Croatian (Detroit Mercy, Little Rock and Toledo).
HANDLING THE HUSKIES: Ball State topped Northern Illinois for the eighth time in the last nine games between the two MAC foes with the 81-71 win on Jan. 27.
The men's basketball team has won by double-figures over the Huskies five times in that span and bettered record to 62-40 in the series, including 37-13 in Muncie.
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.
DB FOR THREE: Junior guard Davion Bailey leads the Cardinals in 3-pointers made (44) and 3-point shooting (43.1 percent) so far this season, and his 2.32 triples made per game ranks third in the MAC.
The Indianapolis native paces the MAC in 3-point percentage among players who've made at least 40 trifectas, ranking third overall.
FREE THROWS FALLING: Redshirt junior Mickey Pearson Jr. ranks second in the Mid-American Conference and No. 42 nationally among qualifiers in free throw shooting percentage at 87.8 (65 of 74), and first in conference games at 94.4 percent (34 of 36).
Bailey (85.2 percent, 23-27) and Trent Middleton Jr. (81.5 percent, 44-54) have also been efficient at the foul line, while the Cardinals as a whole lead the MAC and are No. 32 in NCAA Division I in free throw shooting at 76.0 percent.
BANKING ON BASHEER: Jihad leads the team in scoring (19.3 ppg), rebounding (7.6 per game) and field goal percentage (48.3) 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. The Jackson, Tenn., native leads the MAC in steals (25) in conference play and is second overall at 40 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.
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 (103), rebounds (62), assists (16), blocks (18) and steals (four) in a season through the schedule's first 23 games. The big man has seen increased playing time over his last 17 contests, averaging 19.1 minutes per game after playing 6.8 per in the first four games.
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
MILESTONE WATCH: Anderson is 34 points away from scoring 1,000 in his career. The junior had 604 of those while playing for LMU.
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.
Up Next
Ball State gets a bye week before playing at Miami (OH) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.
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