Tuesday, February 18
Toledo, Ohio
7 PM
Ball State University
at
Toledo
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
Men's Basketball Riding Three-Game Winning Streak into Tuesday Night Game at Toledo
February 17, 2025 | Men's Basketball
The Ball State men's basketball team rides a three-game winning streak into a game at Toledo at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.
The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.
Toledo leads the head-to-head series with the Cardinals 56-50 including a 34-16 advantage in home games. The Rockets won the first matchup of the season between the two teams 93-75 on Jan. 18 in Muncie.
Ball State (13-12, 6-6 Mid-American Conference) is set to play in its first road game in two weeks after taking three straight at home, most recently topping Northern Illinois 89-83 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
Toledo (15-10, 8-4 MAC) dropped games at Miami (92-80) last Tuesday and at Eastern Michigan (80-73) on Saturday after winning five in a row. The Rockets are third in the league standings after being projected to finish fourth in the preseason poll.
Toledo paces the MAC in fewest turnovers per game (9.4, No. 11 in NCAA Division I) and fouls per game (15.6). The Rockets have the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference (1.45).
Sophomore forward Javan Simmons averages a league-best 2.9 offensive rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Sonny Wilson's 52.4 percent shooting from the field is the best among MAC qualifiers. Wilson (15.7 points per game) and fellow sophomore guard Sam Lewis (15.4) are sixth and ninth in the league in scoring, respectively.
Ball State will next return home to host Buffalo at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
THREE STRAIGHT THRILLERS: Ball State beat Southern Miss by one point on Feb. 8 (77-76) before claiming overtime victories over Eastern Michigan (86-84) on Tuesday and Northern Illinois (89-83) on Saturday of last week.
The men's basketball team last played back-to-back overtime games in late January of 2018 at Kent State and vs Akron. The most recent time Ball State has won two straight games that both went to overtime was in 2017 when the Cardinals won 81-72 at Northern Illinois on Feb. 14 and 109-100 at Central Michigan on Feb. 18.
GORO-THREE-TO: Junior guard Juanse Gorosito put up a season-best 24 points, making 5 of 8 3-pointers, in Ball State's 89-83 overtime win over Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
Gorosito has now made multiple triples in 17 games this season and ranks fourth in the conference in 3-pointers made (62) and second in shooting percentage (41.3) from distance among those who've made at least two per game.
LOVING THE LINE: The Cardinals had season-bests in both free throws made (34) and attempted (50) on Saturday vs NIU.
The previous season highs for Ball State at the line occurred on Nov. 16 against Indiana State when the Cardinals went 33-for-46 on free throws.
FATT WITH THE FLUSH: Junior guard Jermahri Hill had a highlight reel game-winning two-hand slam dunk with 2.8 seconds on the clock in Ball State's 86-84 overtime win over Eastern Michigan last Tuesday night at Worthen Arena.
Hill took the ball coast-to-coast for the jam which was featured as the No. 6 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 segment. The Bessemer, Ala., native led the Cardinals with 21 points, eight rebounds and a season-best seven assists.
TRIO OF 1,000 POINT SCORERS: Jeremiah Hernandez became the third Ball State men's basketball player of the season to amass 1,000 career points when he hit the milestone early in the second half last Tuesday night.
Payton Sparks secured his 1,000th point on New Year's Eve before Mickey Pearson Jr., hit the mark on Feb. 8.
MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOK: Sparks (725 career rebounds at Ball State) is seven away from from moving into the Top 10 in the Ball State record book.
Mike Readnour (732) is currently 10th, while Franko House (741) is also in striking distance for Sparks at 9th.
CARDIAC CARDS: Ball State's 86-84 win on Tuesday night was its fifth of the season by four points or fewer and second straight.
The Cardinals also had thrilling wins vs Southern Miss last Saturday (77-76), at Central Michigan (82-80), Bellarmine (86-82) and vs Eastern Kentucky (63-61) earlier in the schedule.
HUGE NIGHT FOR HERNANDEZ: Jeremiah Hernandez scored a season-best 18 points in Ball State's 86-84 win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
The graduate student out of Chicago's previous season-best was 15 points at Central Michigan. Hernandez is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game.
BIG GAME FOR MICKEY: Pearson Jr., scored a season-best 21 points, including 19 in the second half, in Ball State's win over Southern Miss on Feb. 8.
The forward reached the 1,000 career points mark in the second half after securing his 500th rebound at Ball State in the first half.
PAYTON POUNDING THE GLASS: Sparks pulled down 14 rebounds along with putting up a career-high 27 points in the Jan. 28 win at Buffalo.
The Winchester, Ind., native leads the league in rebounding in conference games (9.6 per game) while ranking second overall (7.7). Sparks is the 10th Ball State men's basketball player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds for the Cardinals.
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Sparks (178) and Hill (173) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
The two also go 1-2 in the conference in free throws made, with 115 for Hill and 111 for Sparks. Sparks ranks No. 17 nationally in free throw attempts, while Hill is No. 21 in NCAA Division I.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (27.0) and free throws made per game (18.7) through the season's first 25 games.
Ball State ranks No. 4 and No. 8 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (675 attempts and 468 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 134 attempts and 70 makes.
HOME STATE HEROES: Brittain-Watts (2019), Zane Doughty, Joey Hart and Mason Jones (2023) were each named Indiana High School All-Stars, while three more Cardinals also had ties to the state before arriving in Muncie.
Ball State has the second-most players from Indiana high schools among Indiana-based Division I teams behind Purdue.
WORLD FLYERS: The 2024-25 Ball State roster consists of student-athletes from three different countries in addition to the United States of America.
Gorosito (Argentina), Hendriks (Canada) and Jurica Zagorsak (Croatia) are international Cardinals this season. Interestingly, Juanse, Ben and Jurica were born on different continents, so Ball State has student-athletes from North America, South America and Europe on the team.
TRANSFERS FROM ALL OVER: Each of Ball State's seven student-athletes who have transferred into the program have come from different college basketball conferences.
The list includes Ethan Brittain-Watts (Patriot League, Boston), Gorosito (West Coast Conference, Portland), Hart (SEC, Kentucky), Hernandez (Ohio Valley Conference, USI), Pearson Jr. (Big 12, TCU), Sparks (Big Ten, Indiana) and Hill who played junior college ball at South Plains in Levelland, Texas.
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The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.
Toledo leads the head-to-head series with the Cardinals 56-50 including a 34-16 advantage in home games. The Rockets won the first matchup of the season between the two teams 93-75 on Jan. 18 in Muncie.
Ball State (13-12, 6-6 Mid-American Conference) is set to play in its first road game in two weeks after taking three straight at home, most recently topping Northern Illinois 89-83 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
Toledo (15-10, 8-4 MAC) dropped games at Miami (92-80) last Tuesday and at Eastern Michigan (80-73) on Saturday after winning five in a row. The Rockets are third in the league standings after being projected to finish fourth in the preseason poll.
Toledo paces the MAC in fewest turnovers per game (9.4, No. 11 in NCAA Division I) and fouls per game (15.6). The Rockets have the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference (1.45).
Sophomore forward Javan Simmons averages a league-best 2.9 offensive rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Sonny Wilson's 52.4 percent shooting from the field is the best among MAC qualifiers. Wilson (15.7 points per game) and fellow sophomore guard Sam Lewis (15.4) are sixth and ninth in the league in scoring, respectively.
Ball State will next return home to host Buffalo at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
THREE STRAIGHT THRILLERS: Ball State beat Southern Miss by one point on Feb. 8 (77-76) before claiming overtime victories over Eastern Michigan (86-84) on Tuesday and Northern Illinois (89-83) on Saturday of last week.
The men's basketball team last played back-to-back overtime games in late January of 2018 at Kent State and vs Akron. The most recent time Ball State has won two straight games that both went to overtime was in 2017 when the Cardinals won 81-72 at Northern Illinois on Feb. 14 and 109-100 at Central Michigan on Feb. 18.
GORO-THREE-TO: Junior guard Juanse Gorosito put up a season-best 24 points, making 5 of 8 3-pointers, in Ball State's 89-83 overtime win over Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
Gorosito has now made multiple triples in 17 games this season and ranks fourth in the conference in 3-pointers made (62) and second in shooting percentage (41.3) from distance among those who've made at least two per game.
LOVING THE LINE: The Cardinals had season-bests in both free throws made (34) and attempted (50) on Saturday vs NIU.
The previous season highs for Ball State at the line occurred on Nov. 16 against Indiana State when the Cardinals went 33-for-46 on free throws.
FATT WITH THE FLUSH: Junior guard Jermahri Hill had a highlight reel game-winning two-hand slam dunk with 2.8 seconds on the clock in Ball State's 86-84 overtime win over Eastern Michigan last Tuesday night at Worthen Arena.
Hill took the ball coast-to-coast for the jam which was featured as the No. 6 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 segment. The Bessemer, Ala., native led the Cardinals with 21 points, eight rebounds and a season-best seven assists.
TRIO OF 1,000 POINT SCORERS: Jeremiah Hernandez became the third Ball State men's basketball player of the season to amass 1,000 career points when he hit the milestone early in the second half last Tuesday night.
Payton Sparks secured his 1,000th point on New Year's Eve before Mickey Pearson Jr., hit the mark on Feb. 8.
MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOK: Sparks (725 career rebounds at Ball State) is seven away from from moving into the Top 10 in the Ball State record book.
Mike Readnour (732) is currently 10th, while Franko House (741) is also in striking distance for Sparks at 9th.
CARDIAC CARDS: Ball State's 86-84 win on Tuesday night was its fifth of the season by four points or fewer and second straight.
The Cardinals also had thrilling wins vs Southern Miss last Saturday (77-76), at Central Michigan (82-80), Bellarmine (86-82) and vs Eastern Kentucky (63-61) earlier in the schedule.
HUGE NIGHT FOR HERNANDEZ: Jeremiah Hernandez scored a season-best 18 points in Ball State's 86-84 win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
The graduate student out of Chicago's previous season-best was 15 points at Central Michigan. Hernandez is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game.
BIG GAME FOR MICKEY: Pearson Jr., scored a season-best 21 points, including 19 in the second half, in Ball State's win over Southern Miss on Feb. 8.
The forward reached the 1,000 career points mark in the second half after securing his 500th rebound at Ball State in the first half.
PAYTON POUNDING THE GLASS: Sparks pulled down 14 rebounds along with putting up a career-high 27 points in the Jan. 28 win at Buffalo.
The Winchester, Ind., native leads the league in rebounding in conference games (9.6 per game) while ranking second overall (7.7). Sparks is the 10th Ball State men's basketball player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds for the Cardinals.
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Sparks (178) and Hill (173) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
The two also go 1-2 in the conference in free throws made, with 115 for Hill and 111 for Sparks. Sparks ranks No. 17 nationally in free throw attempts, while Hill is No. 21 in NCAA Division I.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (27.0) and free throws made per game (18.7) through the season's first 25 games.
Ball State ranks No. 4 and No. 8 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (675 attempts and 468 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 134 attempts and 70 makes.
HOME STATE HEROES: Brittain-Watts (2019), Zane Doughty, Joey Hart and Mason Jones (2023) were each named Indiana High School All-Stars, while three more Cardinals also had ties to the state before arriving in Muncie.
Ball State has the second-most players from Indiana high schools among Indiana-based Division I teams behind Purdue.
WORLD FLYERS: The 2024-25 Ball State roster consists of student-athletes from three different countries in addition to the United States of America.
Gorosito (Argentina), Hendriks (Canada) and Jurica Zagorsak (Croatia) are international Cardinals this season. Interestingly, Juanse, Ben and Jurica were born on different continents, so Ball State has student-athletes from North America, South America and Europe on the team.
TRANSFERS FROM ALL OVER: Each of Ball State's seven student-athletes who have transferred into the program have come from different college basketball conferences.
The list includes Ethan Brittain-Watts (Patriot League, Boston), Gorosito (West Coast Conference, Portland), Hart (SEC, Kentucky), Hernandez (Ohio Valley Conference, USI), Pearson Jr. (Big 12, TCU), Sparks (Big Ten, Indiana) and Hill who played junior college ball at South Plains in Levelland, Texas.
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