Friday, March 7
Oxford, Ohio
6 PM
Ball State University
at
Miami (OH)
Photo by: Bobby Ellis (Ball State Creative Services)
Men's Basketball Playing at Miami Friday Night on ESPNU
March 06, 2025 | Men's Basketball
The Ball State men's basketball team is set to take on Miami (OH) in the regular season finale at 6 p.m. on Friday at Millett Hall.
The matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU with Noah Reed and Tim Welsh on the call, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.
Miami leads the head-to-head series 69-43 including a 39-12 edge in games played in Oxford. The RedHawks won 80-72 on Jan. 7 at Worthen Arena in Ball State's MAC home opener.
Ball State (14-16, 7-10 MAC) enters Friday needing a win to have a chance to make the conference tournament which begins next Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cardinals fell 69-67 to Central Michigan on Tuesday night on a last-minute field goal for the Chippewas.
Miami (22-8, 13-4 MAC) has clinched the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament after winning 84-69 at Buffalo on Tuesday. The RedHawks exceeded expectations after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason head coaches poll.
Miami has an efficient offense, leading the MAC in field goal percentage (48.7, No. 17 in NCAA Division I), 3-point percentage (39.5, No. 5) and effective field goal percentage (57.3, No. 8). The RedHawks also pace the conference in steals per game (8.4), turnovers forced per game (14.6) and turnover margin (+2.3).
Kam Craft is the MAC leader in 3-point percentage among qualifiers at 41.5 percent, which is 29th nationally. Junior guard Peter Suder (13.7 points per game) and Kraft (13.0) pace a Miami offense that has nine players averaging at least 5.7 points per game.
MAC TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS: Ball State must win Friday night at Miami and have Bowling Green and Central Michigan lose to clinch a spot in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Falcons host Western Michigan while the Chippewas host Northern Illinois. Both games begin as 7 p.m., so if Ball State wins the Cardinals likely won't know their fate until about an hour after the game concludes with a 6 p.m. start time in Oxford. This is the only scenario for Ball State to make the tournament, and it would be as the No. 8 seed against No. 1 seed Akron.
REVENGE WITH THE RIVAL: The Cardinals will be looking to beat Miami in Oxford for the first time since 2016, though the two teams have only played at Millett Hall four times since then.
Ball State beat Miami 73-56 on Feb. 16 of that year. This year's RedHawks have clinched the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament with a 13-4 conference record.
BATTLE OF THE SHARPSHOOTERS: Ball State junior guard Juanse Gorosito and Miami's redshirt sophomore Kam Craft are two of the top 3-point shooters in the league.
Gorosito enters Friday's game sixth in the Ball State record books for most triples in a single season (72), while Craft's 78 3-pointers make him third in Miami's program history.
SEASON HIGHS FOR FATT AND MICKEY: Both Jermahri Hill (26 points) and Pearson Jr. (24) set season bests in scoring on Feb. 25 against Akron.
Hill had put up 25 points twice earlier this season (Dayton on Nov. 13 and Anderson on Dec. 31), while Pearson Jr., had his previous season high of 21 points on Feb. 8 vs Southern Miss. Pearson Jr., also tied his career-best with four 3-pointers and finished one point shy of his career-high in scoring (25 at Central Michigan on Feb. 27, 2024).
TJ TIME: True freshman guard TJ Burch has provided a spark off the bench in each of the last three games, putting up at least five points and two assists against Akron, Bowling Green and Central Michigan.
Burch had the best plus/minus (+8) on the team against the Zips and helped the Cardinals rally back from a 13-point deficit when he first checked in to get as close as three points in the closing seconds of the game. The freshman played his most minutes at Bowling Green (14) and scored his most points (seven against Akron) in a MAC game during the stretch.
LOCKING DOWN THE PERIMETER: The Cardinals have been successful in limiting opponents' shooting from distance to the tune of a Mid-American Conference best 3-point defense percentage of 30.8.
Ball State is even better in conference play percentage-wise at 30.3 which is second in the MAC (Akron at 30.1). The Cardinals also have performed well on the offensive end from distance, ranking second in the MAC in league games with a 36.7 3-point percentage.
CAREER HIGH FOR THE CANADIAN: Hendriks scored a career-best 14 points in the 80-66 triumph over Buffalo on Feb. 22.
Hendriks was efficient in doing so, going 6-for-8 from the field and making both free throw attempts in 11 minutes of playing time.
GORO-THREE-TO: Gorosito hit his 200th career 3-pointer early in the second half of the Feb. 25 game against Akron.
Gorosito has now made multiple triples in 21 games this season and ranks fourth in the conference in 3-pointers made (71) and second in shooting percentage (41.1) from distance among those who've made at least two per game.
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 on Feb. 11 vs Eastern Michigan.
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 (760 career rebounds at Ball State) passed Franko House (741) on Feb. 22 against Buffalo to move up eighth in the Ball State record book for career boards.
Bonzi Wells (843 career rebounds) is 7th on the list. Sparks is currently 5th on the career free throws made list (385) and 24th in scoring (1,212).
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Sparks (199) and Hill (198) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
Sparks ranks No. 23 nationally in free throw attempts, while Hill is No. 25 in NCAA Division I. The two are third (Hill with 135) and fourth (Sparks with 128) in the MAC in free throws made.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (25.6) and free throws made per game (18.1) through the season's first 30 games.
Ball State ranks No. 8 and No. 9 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (768 attempts and 542 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 140 attempts and 80 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.
Â
The matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU with Noah Reed and Tim Welsh on the call, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.
Miami leads the head-to-head series 69-43 including a 39-12 edge in games played in Oxford. The RedHawks won 80-72 on Jan. 7 at Worthen Arena in Ball State's MAC home opener.
Ball State (14-16, 7-10 MAC) enters Friday needing a win to have a chance to make the conference tournament which begins next Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cardinals fell 69-67 to Central Michigan on Tuesday night on a last-minute field goal for the Chippewas.
Miami (22-8, 13-4 MAC) has clinched the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament after winning 84-69 at Buffalo on Tuesday. The RedHawks exceeded expectations after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason head coaches poll.
Miami has an efficient offense, leading the MAC in field goal percentage (48.7, No. 17 in NCAA Division I), 3-point percentage (39.5, No. 5) and effective field goal percentage (57.3, No. 8). The RedHawks also pace the conference in steals per game (8.4), turnovers forced per game (14.6) and turnover margin (+2.3).
Kam Craft is the MAC leader in 3-point percentage among qualifiers at 41.5 percent, which is 29th nationally. Junior guard Peter Suder (13.7 points per game) and Kraft (13.0) pace a Miami offense that has nine players averaging at least 5.7 points per game.
MAC TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS: Ball State must win Friday night at Miami and have Bowling Green and Central Michigan lose to clinch a spot in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Falcons host Western Michigan while the Chippewas host Northern Illinois. Both games begin as 7 p.m., so if Ball State wins the Cardinals likely won't know their fate until about an hour after the game concludes with a 6 p.m. start time in Oxford. This is the only scenario for Ball State to make the tournament, and it would be as the No. 8 seed against No. 1 seed Akron.
REVENGE WITH THE RIVAL: The Cardinals will be looking to beat Miami in Oxford for the first time since 2016, though the two teams have only played at Millett Hall four times since then.
Ball State beat Miami 73-56 on Feb. 16 of that year. This year's RedHawks have clinched the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament with a 13-4 conference record.
BATTLE OF THE SHARPSHOOTERS: Ball State junior guard Juanse Gorosito and Miami's redshirt sophomore Kam Craft are two of the top 3-point shooters in the league.
Gorosito enters Friday's game sixth in the Ball State record books for most triples in a single season (72), while Craft's 78 3-pointers make him third in Miami's program history.
SEASON HIGHS FOR FATT AND MICKEY: Both Jermahri Hill (26 points) and Pearson Jr. (24) set season bests in scoring on Feb. 25 against Akron.
Hill had put up 25 points twice earlier this season (Dayton on Nov. 13 and Anderson on Dec. 31), while Pearson Jr., had his previous season high of 21 points on Feb. 8 vs Southern Miss. Pearson Jr., also tied his career-best with four 3-pointers and finished one point shy of his career-high in scoring (25 at Central Michigan on Feb. 27, 2024).
TJ TIME: True freshman guard TJ Burch has provided a spark off the bench in each of the last three games, putting up at least five points and two assists against Akron, Bowling Green and Central Michigan.
Burch had the best plus/minus (+8) on the team against the Zips and helped the Cardinals rally back from a 13-point deficit when he first checked in to get as close as three points in the closing seconds of the game. The freshman played his most minutes at Bowling Green (14) and scored his most points (seven against Akron) in a MAC game during the stretch.
LOCKING DOWN THE PERIMETER: The Cardinals have been successful in limiting opponents' shooting from distance to the tune of a Mid-American Conference best 3-point defense percentage of 30.8.
Ball State is even better in conference play percentage-wise at 30.3 which is second in the MAC (Akron at 30.1). The Cardinals also have performed well on the offensive end from distance, ranking second in the MAC in league games with a 36.7 3-point percentage.
CAREER HIGH FOR THE CANADIAN: Hendriks scored a career-best 14 points in the 80-66 triumph over Buffalo on Feb. 22.
Hendriks was efficient in doing so, going 6-for-8 from the field and making both free throw attempts in 11 minutes of playing time.
GORO-THREE-TO: Gorosito hit his 200th career 3-pointer early in the second half of the Feb. 25 game against Akron.
Gorosito has now made multiple triples in 21 games this season and ranks fourth in the conference in 3-pointers made (71) and second in shooting percentage (41.1) from distance among those who've made at least two per game.
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 on Feb. 11 vs Eastern Michigan.
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 (760 career rebounds at Ball State) passed Franko House (741) on Feb. 22 against Buffalo to move up eighth in the Ball State record book for career boards.
Bonzi Wells (843 career rebounds) is 7th on the list. Sparks is currently 5th on the career free throws made list (385) and 24th in scoring (1,212).
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Sparks (199) and Hill (198) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
Sparks ranks No. 23 nationally in free throw attempts, while Hill is No. 25 in NCAA Division I. The two are third (Hill with 135) and fourth (Sparks with 128) in the MAC in free throws made.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (25.6) and free throws made per game (18.1) through the season's first 30 games.
Ball State ranks No. 8 and No. 9 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (768 attempts and 542 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 140 attempts and 80 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.
Â
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Armoni Zeigler
Wednesday, September 10
Men's Basketball // Armoni Zeigler - Heart of the Cardinal Podcast
Tuesday, September 09
Men's Basketball // Jai Anthoni Bearden
Wednesday, August 20
Men's Basketball // Jai Anthoni Bearden - Heart of the Cardinal Podcast
Wednesday, August 20