Tuesday, February 4
Akron, Ohio
7 PM
Ball State University
at
Akron
Photo by: Heather Parker
Men's Basketball Set to Play at League-Leading Akron Tuesday Night
February 03, 2025 | Men's Basketball
The Ball State men's basketball team stays on the road to play at league-leading Akron at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.
Akron leads the head-to-head series 30-19, including a 17-6 advantage in home games. The Zips won 80-76 last season on Jan. 9 in Muncie in the lone contest between the two teams on the schedule that campaign.
The Cardinals (10-11, 4-5 Mid-American Conference) rallied from an early 10-point deficit to prevail 89-76 at Buffalo on Saturday. Ball State scored 30 of the final 37 points of the first half, and Payton Sparks scored a career-best 27 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the visitors to victory.
The Zips (16-5, 9-0 MAC) have won nine in a row, most recently beating Kent State 85-71 on Friday night on the road and Northern Illinois 80-70 last Tuesday in DeKalb. Akron enters Tuesday's contest with a 10-0 record at home this season.
Akron paces the MAC in 3-pointers made (11.5) and attempted (31.6) per game (both No. 3 in NCAA Division I), points per game (84.0, No. 12 nationally), scoring margin (+11.1), rebounds per game (41.1, No. 8), rebounding margin (+5.1), assists per game (18.4, No. 7), bench points per game (33.0, No. 10) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46).
Redshirt junior guard Nate Johnson leads the Zips in scoring (13.7 points per game) while ranking third in the MAC in steals per game (1.95). Senior forward James Okonkwo averages 7.5 points and 7.8 rebounds (second-most in the league) per game.
Ball State begins a three-game homestand with a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge game against Southern Miss at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
BIG WEEK FOR THE BIG MAN: Senior center Payton Sparks averaged 23.0 points and 15.5 rebounds in two games last week to earn a Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week honor and increase his season averages to 12.8 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game.
In MAC play, Sparks is tied for the team lead at 16.0 points per game with an 11.6 rebounds per game average.
COMPELLING CONTESTS WITH THE ZIPS: Akron enters the matchup unbeaten in MAC play (9-0), but the Cardinals and Zips have a track record of close games in the last two seasons.
Ball State won 70-63 on Jan. 6, 2023 at home before Akron claimed four-point victories on Feb. 28, 2023 in Akron (87-83) and Jan. 9, 2024 in Muncie (80-76).
DOING WORK ON THE GLASS: Ball State ranks third in the MAC in both rebounding margin (+3.7) and defensive rebounds per game (25.8) in league play.
The Cardinals have won the rebounding battle in six MAC games so far this conference season.
COMEBACK CARDS: Ball State rallied from a 10-point deficit on Saturday at Buffalo for its second double-digit comeback of the year.
The Cardinals trailed 25-15 midway through the first half but used a 30-7 scoring run to claim a 45-32 lead at halftime. The biggest comeback of the year was from 13 points down at Central Michigan on Jan. 21.
CLUTCH ON THE ROAD: Mickey Pearson Jr. averages 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in nine true road games this year, which are higher than his home averages of 10.2 and 4.6 per game.
The forward's two highest scoring outputs of the year have occured on the road (19 at Buffalo on Saturday and Ohio on Jan. 14). Pearson has scored in double figures in six straight road games
ROAD SWING: Ball State plays in a different state in each of a five-game stretch that features four road contests.
After playing at Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, at home against Western Michigan in Indiana and Saturday at Buffalo, the Cardinals conclude the state-to-state swing at Akron on Tuesday.
SPREAD OUT THE SCORING: Six Cardinals scored in double figures in Ball State's 82-80 triumph at Central Michigan on Jan. 21: Mickey Pearson Jr. (16 points), Jeremiah Hernandez (15), Jermahri Hill (14), Payton Sparks (14), Ethan Brittain-Watts (13), and Juanse Gorosito (10).
It was the second time in four games six Cardinals have scored in double figures (Jan. 11 vs Bowling Green). Ball State had five in double digits in the scoring column on Jan. 18 against Toledo and on Jan. 25 at NIU.
PAYTON POUNDING THE GLASS: Sparks pulled down 14 rebounds along with putting up a career-high 27 points in Saturday's win at Buffalo.
The Winchester, Ind., native leads the league in rebounding overall (8.1 per game) and in conference games (11.6).
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Junior guard Jermahri Hill (148) and Sparks (147) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
The two are No. 1 and No. 3 in the conference in free throws made, with 99 for Hill and 88 for Sparks, while Pearson Jr. (72) is sixth in the MAC.
MILESTONE WATCH: After Sparks (currently 1,149 points) reached the milestone on New Year's Eve, Hernandez (982) and Pearson Jr. (972) are each closing in on scoring 1,000 points in his Division I career.
Sparks (702 rebounds) is currently No. 11 in Ball State program history for a career.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (26.8) and free throws made per game (18.4) through the season's first 21 games.
Ball State ranks No. 6 and No. 10 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (562 attempts and 386 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 106 attempts and 49 makes.
GORO-THREE-TO: Junior guard Juanse Gorosito had made multiple 3-pointers in 15 games this season, including a season-best seven on Dec. 14 at Bellarmine to lead the Cardinals to an 86-82 win and eventually being named the MAC Player of the Week for the performance.
Gorosito is third in the conference in 3-pointers made (54) and second in shooting percentage (41.5) from distance.
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.
Akron leads the head-to-head series 30-19, including a 17-6 advantage in home games. The Zips won 80-76 last season on Jan. 9 in Muncie in the lone contest between the two teams on the schedule that campaign.
The Cardinals (10-11, 4-5 Mid-American Conference) rallied from an early 10-point deficit to prevail 89-76 at Buffalo on Saturday. Ball State scored 30 of the final 37 points of the first half, and Payton Sparks scored a career-best 27 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the visitors to victory.
The Zips (16-5, 9-0 MAC) have won nine in a row, most recently beating Kent State 85-71 on Friday night on the road and Northern Illinois 80-70 last Tuesday in DeKalb. Akron enters Tuesday's contest with a 10-0 record at home this season.
Akron paces the MAC in 3-pointers made (11.5) and attempted (31.6) per game (both No. 3 in NCAA Division I), points per game (84.0, No. 12 nationally), scoring margin (+11.1), rebounds per game (41.1, No. 8), rebounding margin (+5.1), assists per game (18.4, No. 7), bench points per game (33.0, No. 10) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46).
Redshirt junior guard Nate Johnson leads the Zips in scoring (13.7 points per game) while ranking third in the MAC in steals per game (1.95). Senior forward James Okonkwo averages 7.5 points and 7.8 rebounds (second-most in the league) per game.
Ball State begins a three-game homestand with a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge game against Southern Miss at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
BIG WEEK FOR THE BIG MAN: Senior center Payton Sparks averaged 23.0 points and 15.5 rebounds in two games last week to earn a Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week honor and increase his season averages to 12.8 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game.
In MAC play, Sparks is tied for the team lead at 16.0 points per game with an 11.6 rebounds per game average.
COMPELLING CONTESTS WITH THE ZIPS: Akron enters the matchup unbeaten in MAC play (9-0), but the Cardinals and Zips have a track record of close games in the last two seasons.
Ball State won 70-63 on Jan. 6, 2023 at home before Akron claimed four-point victories on Feb. 28, 2023 in Akron (87-83) and Jan. 9, 2024 in Muncie (80-76).
DOING WORK ON THE GLASS: Ball State ranks third in the MAC in both rebounding margin (+3.7) and defensive rebounds per game (25.8) in league play.
The Cardinals have won the rebounding battle in six MAC games so far this conference season.
COMEBACK CARDS: Ball State rallied from a 10-point deficit on Saturday at Buffalo for its second double-digit comeback of the year.
The Cardinals trailed 25-15 midway through the first half but used a 30-7 scoring run to claim a 45-32 lead at halftime. The biggest comeback of the year was from 13 points down at Central Michigan on Jan. 21.
CLUTCH ON THE ROAD: Mickey Pearson Jr. averages 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in nine true road games this year, which are higher than his home averages of 10.2 and 4.6 per game.
The forward's two highest scoring outputs of the year have occured on the road (19 at Buffalo on Saturday and Ohio on Jan. 14). Pearson has scored in double figures in six straight road games
ROAD SWING: Ball State plays in a different state in each of a five-game stretch that features four road contests.
After playing at Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, at home against Western Michigan in Indiana and Saturday at Buffalo, the Cardinals conclude the state-to-state swing at Akron on Tuesday.
SPREAD OUT THE SCORING: Six Cardinals scored in double figures in Ball State's 82-80 triumph at Central Michigan on Jan. 21: Mickey Pearson Jr. (16 points), Jeremiah Hernandez (15), Jermahri Hill (14), Payton Sparks (14), Ethan Brittain-Watts (13), and Juanse Gorosito (10).
It was the second time in four games six Cardinals have scored in double figures (Jan. 11 vs Bowling Green). Ball State had five in double digits in the scoring column on Jan. 18 against Toledo and on Jan. 25 at NIU.
PAYTON POUNDING THE GLASS: Sparks pulled down 14 rebounds along with putting up a career-high 27 points in Saturday's win at Buffalo.
The Winchester, Ind., native leads the league in rebounding overall (8.1 per game) and in conference games (11.6).
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Junior guard Jermahri Hill (148) and Sparks (147) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
The two are No. 1 and No. 3 in the conference in free throws made, with 99 for Hill and 88 for Sparks, while Pearson Jr. (72) is sixth in the MAC.
MILESTONE WATCH: After Sparks (currently 1,149 points) reached the milestone on New Year's Eve, Hernandez (982) and Pearson Jr. (972) are each closing in on scoring 1,000 points in his Division I career.
Sparks (702 rebounds) is currently No. 11 in Ball State program history for a career.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (26.8) and free throws made per game (18.4) through the season's first 21 games.
Ball State ranks No. 6 and No. 10 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (562 attempts and 386 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 106 attempts and 49 makes.
GORO-THREE-TO: Junior guard Juanse Gorosito had made multiple 3-pointers in 15 games this season, including a season-best seven on Dec. 14 at Bellarmine to lead the Cardinals to an 86-82 win and eventually being named the MAC Player of the Week for the performance.
Gorosito is third in the conference in 3-pointers made (54) and second in shooting percentage (41.5) from distance.
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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