Cardinals Set for Saturday Night Showdown at Indiana State

Saturday, November 22

Terre Haute, Ind.

7 PM

Ball State University

Indiana State

Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics

Cardinals Set for Saturday Night Showdown at Indiana State

November 21, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Watch Listen Live Stats

The Ball State men's basketball returns to the road to play at Indiana State on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Links to the ESPN+ stream, radio broadcast and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page. Mark Foerster and Scot Bunnell handle the radio call on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app.

The Cardinals (2-2) last played last Saturday against Little Rock. Armoni Zeigler led Ball State in scoring (15 points) and rebounding (five) in the 68-62 setback to the Trojans at Worthen Arena.

Indiana State (3-2) most recently beat Louisiana Tech 60-51 at home on Wednesday night. The Sycamores fell 100-62 at No. 4 Duke the previous Friday and took wins over Illinois Tech (104-73 on Nov. 6) and at SIUE (64-55 on Nov. 10) in the two contests before that. The team from Terre Haute began the season with a 92-76 loss at Charlotte.

Matthew Graves is in his second season as the head coach at Indiana State, but he is on a leave of absence due to heart surgery. Associate head coach Mark Slessinger is filling in at the top spot for the Sycamores, who went 14-18 (8-12 Missouri Valley) in 2024-25.

Indiana State ranks second in the MVC in 3-point attempts per game (27.0) while ranking third in steals per game (8.5) and 3-pointers made per game (8.0).

Senior guard Xavier Hall paces the league and ranks third in NCAA Division I with 37 total assists so far this season. Graduate forward Ian Scott averages team-bests in points (13.6 per game) and rebounds (9.0) while leading the Missouri Valley and ranking 20^th nationally in field goal percentage (68.4).

Next up for the Cardinals is the Lafayette Classic, where they will play three games in three days in the Philadelphia, Pa., area starting with Monmouth on Friday, Nov. 28.

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in turnovers forced per game (17.8, No. 18 in NCAA Division I), fewest fouls per game (14.8, No. 26) and scoring defense (68.0 points per game) through the season's first four games.

The Cardinals are third in the league in steals per game (9.0).

Graduate forward Cam Denson leads the MAC in blocks per game (2.0) while ranking second in total blocks (eight). Armoni Zeigler (2.25 steals per game) and Mason Jones (2.0) are third and fourth in the league in that category as well.

IN-STATE MATCHUP: Saturday night's contest will be the 140th meeting between the Ball State and Indiana State men's basketball programs and the 71st in Terre Haute.

This is Ball State's second-most commonly played opponent in program history behind only Western Michigan (142 games).

CAREER HIGHS FOR JONES: Junior forward Mason Jones set career bests in 3-pointers made (three) and steals (four) on Nov. 11 at Wisconsin.

The Valparaiso, Ind., native tallied three of those steals in the first half and went 3-for-3 from distance in the second period.

DYNAMIC DUO: Guards Davion Hill and Armoni Zeigler traded off leading the team in points and rebounds in the first two games of the season, with the other pacing the Cardinals in assists.

Hill went for 16 points, eight boards and four assists in the Nov. 3 season-opening win over Louisiana, while Zeigler chipped in 13 points, three rebounds and a team-best five assists. Zeigler tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and five steals on Nov. 7 against Mansfield as Hill had 16 points, six rebounds and four helpers.

FINISHING STRONG: Ball State controlled the closing minutes in the 75-64 win over the Ragin' Cajuns and 84-54 decision vs the Mountaineers.

The Cardinals scored the final 12 points of the game and 36 of the last 44 overall against Mansfield on Nov. 7. Ball State used an 11-2 run with under five minutes on the clock vs Louisiana the previous Monday to create separation in the season opener.

SUCCESS VS SUN BELT: The Nov. 3 win over Louisiana in the season opener was Ball State's third in as many tries in home games of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.

Ball State topped Old Dominion 73-68 on Nov. 11, 2023 and Southern Miss 77-76 on Feb. 8, 2025 in the two previous installments of the challenge at Worthen Arena.

I'VE SEEN YOU BEFORE: Senior guard Elmore James IV is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference having played three seasons at Ohio before coming to Ball State.

The Cleveland, Ohio native has made 24 starts in 50 career MAC games, scoring 339 points. James averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds overall last season for the Bobcats while shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range.

FAMILIAR NAME: Junior guard Armoni Zeigler, a transfer from Saint Peter's, is the brother of former Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler.

Armoni averaged 11.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Peacocks last season while leading the team in field goals made (114) and steals (43).

BIG GAME POTENTIAL: Guards Devon Barnes, Juwan Maxey and Davion Hill have shown the ability to put up big scoring games in their collegiate careers.

The senior Barnes put up 40 points in a game as a freshman at Triton Community College and 33 against California Baptist as a sophomore at Tarleton State. Fellow senior Maxey scored 29 points against Milwaukee last season when he went to Youngstown State and 23 points vs Robert Morris in the Horizon League championship game. Hill, a redshirt sophomore, tallied double figures in points on 22 occasions including a season-high 38 points last season at Northwest Florida State College.

FLYING FISH: Redshirt sophomore forward Kayden Fish comes to Muncie with NCAA Tournament experience after scoring an and-one and registering a block and a steal last March in Iowa State's first round win over Lipscomb.

The Kansas City, Mo., was awarded a medical redshirt his freshman year with the Cyclones and played in nine games last season before transferring to Ball State.

TV GAME AT WORTHEN ARENA: The game against Ohio originally scheduled for Jan. 17 in Muncie has been moved to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16 due to it being aired on CBS Sports Network.

Ball State's most recent home MAC game on a Friday was back on March 3, 2023 against Toledo in a game that was also broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

WELCOME TO THE MAC: Ball State plays league newcomer UMass twice in the regular season in the first season in the league for the Minutemen.

The Cardinals play at UMass on Jan. 10 before hosting the Minutemen on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The two teams have faced off only once prior, in an 89-86 Ball State win on Nov. 21, 2021 in St. Petersburg, Fla.