Cardinals Hosting Undefeated Miami on Saturday Afternoon in MAC Opener

Saturday, December 20

Muncie, Ind.

2 PM

Ball State University

Miami (OH)

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Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics

Cardinals Hosting Undefeated Miami on Saturday Afternoon in MAC Opener

December 19, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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The Ball State men's basketball team is set to begin Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon against undefeated Miami at Worthen Arena.

The game will be the second of the day, as the Ball State women play Eastern Michigan at 11 a.m., followed by the men's contest at 2 p.m. Saturday's promotion is Community Day at Worthen Arena, which features free parking and giveaways throughout the day.

Mick Tidrow and David Eha are on the ESPN+ broadcast, while Mark Foerster and Scot Bunnell handle the radio call on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app. Links to both broadcasts, tickets and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.

Ball State (3-8) led 62-60 with under two minutes to play on Sunday afternoon at Campbell but fell 69-64. Joey Hart paced the Cardinals in scoring (15 points) for the second straight game in just his third contest of the season.

Miami (11-0) topped Wright State 83-76 in Dayton on Tuesday night and set a new program record for the best start to the season. The RedHawks are two wins clear of Buffalo (9-2) and Kent State (9-2) as the league enters conference play. Miami received four votes in this week's AP poll.

Travis Steele is in his fourth season leading the RedHawks, who were picked second in the MAC preseason poll. The 2024-25 team went 25-9 (14-4 MAC) and fell 76-74 in the MAC Tournament Championship game to top seed Akron.

Miami runs an efficient offense to the tune of MAC highs in field goal percentage (52.8, No. 6 in NCAA Division I), 3-point percentage (40.5, No. 8), effective field goal percentage (61.8, No. 3) and scoring margin (+22.6 points per game, No. 8).

Four RedHawks average at least 12 points per game, led by junior guard Evan Ipsaro (14.8). Ipsaro has the fourth-best field goal percentage (57.3) among MAC qualifiers. Miami's backcourt features three of the top six assist-to-turnover ratios in the MAC: sophomore Luke Skaljac (3.31), Ipsaro (3.0) and senior Peter Suder (2.92).

Ball State hosts Earlham on Monday, Dec. 29 in its final game of the 2025 calendar year.

MACTION VS MIAMI: Ball State gets the RedHawks for its home conference opener for the second consecutive season after the programs faced off on Jan. 7, 2025 at Worthen Arena.

This will be the first MAC opener against Miami since Dec. 4, 2004. Saturday's game will also be the earliest on conference game on a schedule by date since that 2004 contest vs the RedHawks.

FISH FINDING HIS WAY: Redshirt sophomore Kayden Fish has posted double digit points in three games in a row to begin the month of December.

The forward had 10 points at Evansville (Dec. 3), 12 points and nine rebounds vs South Dakota State (Dec. 9) and 11 points, four rebounds and four steals at Campbell (Dec. 14).

HART AND HUSTLE: Junior Joey Hart posted a team-best in points for the second straight game when he had 15 on Sunday at Campbell after scoring a game-high 18 points on Dec. 9 against South Dakota State in his first start of the season.

The guard needed only nine field goal attempts against the Jackrabbits to reach the 18 points and also contributed three rebounds and an assist in his home season debut. Hart played eight minutes at Evansville the previous Wednesday in his season debut.

DOUBLE DIGIT STEALS: Ball State collected 10 steals on Dec. 9 against South Dakota State, making it the fourth time this season the Cardinals have had 10+ steals in a game.

Ball State also had double figures in that category against Mansfield (11) and Little Rock (10) in November and on Dec. 3 at Evansville. This is the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Cardinals have had four non-conference games with 10+ steals.

COPELAND CAN REBOUND: Freshman Preston Copeland tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in only 19 minutes at Campbell on Sunday in a return to his home state of North Carolina.

The forward grabbed 16 rebounds against Le Moyne on Nov. 30 to go along with 10 points for his first collegiate double-double. He became only the second freshman at Ball State since at least the 2009-10 season to record 15+ rebounds in a game (Payton Sparks with 16 on Jan. 14, 2022 vs Buffalo).

BIG GAME FROM MAXEY: Senior guard Juwan Maxey went 7-for-14 on 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points in Ball State's 96-85 win over Le Moyne at the Lafayette Classic.

The Detroit native had the 16th game by a Ball State men's basketball player with at least seven triples. Maxey also added five assists in the contest.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS: The 96 points the Cardinals scored against Le Moyne were the most in a single game since the 2023-24 season opener against Goshen (101).

The offensive output was the highest for Ball State against an NCAA Division I opponent since a 97-75 victory over Indiana State on Nov. 27, 2021.

BALANCED BOX SCORES: Ball State has eight players averaging between 6 and 12 points per game: Hart (12.0), Davion Hill (11.2), Armoni Zeigler (10.2), Devon Barnes (7.6), Maxey (7.5), Elmore James IV (6.6), Cam Denson (6.3) and Fish (6.2).

Five Cardinals are between 4 and 5 rebounds per contest: Copeland (5.0), Zeigler (4.7), Mason Jones (4.7), Cam Denson (4.3), and Hill (4.1).

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State is second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (69.4 points per game), third in fewest fouls committed per game (16.2) and fifth in 3-point percentage defense (32.5) through the season's first 11 contests.

Junior forward Mason Jones is third in the league in total steals (21) and steals per game (1.9).

CAREER HIGHS FOR JONES: 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. Jones followed that up with another four-steal performance on Nov. 22 at Indiana 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.