Men's Basketball Set for Saturday Afternoon Battle at Buffalo for MAC Road Opener

Saturday, January 3

Buffalo, N.Y.

2 PM

Ball State University

Buffalo

Photo by: Samantha Blankenship

Men's Basketball Set for Saturday Afternoon Battle at Buffalo for MAC Road Opener

January 01, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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The Ball State men's basketball team begins the 2026 portion of its schedule and resumes Mid-American Conference play with a Saturday afternoon game at Buffalo at 2 p.m.

Paul Peck and Pete Lonergan are set to be on the ESPN+ broadcast, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio call on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app. Links to both broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.

Ball State (4-9, 0-1 MAC) beat Earlham 93-30 on Monday night in a historic defensive effort. The Cardinals limited an opponent to 30 points or fewer for the first time in nearly 80 years, while Preston Copeland (18 points) and Devon Barnes (17) paced a Ball State offense that shot 63.8 percent from the field for the game.

Buffalo (12-2, 2-0 MAC) has won three in a row including most recently beating Northern Illinois 81-67 on New Year's Eve. Both of the Bulls' first two conference games have come on the road, as they also topped Western Michigan 88-71 on Dec. 20 in Kalamazoo.

George Halcovage III is in his third season in charge of Buffalo, who finished the 2024-25 season with a 9-22 record (4-14 MAC) to place 11^th in the 12-team league.

The Bulls rank second in the conference in 3-point shooting (39.1 percent, No. 18 in NCAA Division I), fewest turnovers per game (10.1, No. 33), free throw attempts per game (25.1) and free throws made per game (18.6).

Sophomore guard Daniel Freitag paces Division I with 98 free throws made and 119 attempts while pacing the MAC in total points (287) and points per game (20.5). Junior guard Ryan Sabol is sixth in the MAC in scoring (16.7 points per game) and leads the league in 3-pointers made (44, No. 22 in NCAA Division I).

Ball State is next set to host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

DEFENSIVE DOMINATION: Ball State held an opponent to 30 points or fewer for the first time in almost 80 years in Monday night's 93-30 win over Earlham.

The last time the Cardinals limited a team to that low of a scoring output was in a Jan. 14, 1946 win at Wabash (37-30). Ball State's most recent home game preventing a team from surpassing the 30-point threshold was on Jan. 20, 1945 in a 47-24 decision against Anderson.

Earlham's eight points in the first half were the fewest by any team, in any classification, against an NCAA Division I opponent this season. Kennesaw State and Hofstra held opponents to 10 points in the opening period of games earlier this season.

8 – Earlham at Ball State, 12/29/25
10 – SUNY-Old Westbury at Hofstra, 12/10/25
10 – Paine at Kennesaw State, 11/3/25

The 30 total points allowed are tied for the fourth-fewest by any team, in any classification, against a Division I opponent this season.

23 – Rosemont at Navy, 12/21/25 (Half: 35-12; Final: 70-23)
23 – SUNY-Old Westbury at Hofstra, 12/10/25 (Half: 47-10; Final: 92-23)
29 – Maryland-Eastern Shore at Georgia, 11/5/25 (Half: 43-17; Final: 94-29)
30 – Earlham at Ball State, 12/29/25 (Half: 48-8; Final: 93-30)
30 – College of Biblical Studies at UTSA, 11/5/25 (Half: 56-18; Final: 97-30)
30 – Paine at Kennesaw State, 11/3/25 (Half: 60-10; Final: 105-30)

MORE FROM MONDAY: Ball State's 63-point margin of victory over the Quakers was the highest since a 70-point decision on Nov. 7, 2022 against Earlham as well (109-39).

It was the fourth margin of victory of at least 60 points in the Mid-American Conference this season:

81 - Bowling Green 131, Aquinas 50
80 - Miami (OH) 129, Trinity Christian 49
64 - Kent State 123, Penn State Shenango 59
63 - Ball State 93, Earlham 30

The 48-8 halftime lead for the Cardinals was also the fourth lead of at least 40 points at the break in the MAC this year:

45 – Bowling Green 71, Aquinas 26
43 – Kent State 60, Penn State Shanango 17
40 – Ball State 40, Earlham 8
40 – Northern Illinois 60, Benedictine 20

Earlham's 19.1% field-goal shooting (9 of 47) was the lowest by any team, in any classification, against a MAC opponent this season. It was the 11th lowest of any team, in any classification, against a Division I opponent this season. The Quakers shot just 2-of-26 from the field in the first half.

YOUNG GUYS WITH CAREER HIGHS: A trio of underclassmen set career highs in Monday night's win.

Freshman Preston Copeland went for 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field, while sophomore Kody Clancy posted collegiate bests in points (11) and assists (five). Freshman forward Easton Foster tallied six points and four rebounds in a career-high 12 minutes of playing time.

EFFICIENT ELMORE: Senior Elmore James IV had his best offensive output as a Cardinal in Ball State's MAC opener against Miami on Dec. 20.

The guard scored 20 points in just 26 minutes, going 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 at the foul line.

BENCH SCORING IN BUNCHES: Ball State's bench scored a season-high 48 points against the RedHawks, surpassing the 40-point mark in bench scoring for the second time this season (44 vs Le Moyne). The Cardinals' bench did this a third time when it produced 44 points on Monday vs Earlham.

James IV (20 points) scored nearly half of those against Miami followed by Kayden Fish (10), Armoni Zeigler (7), Juwan Maxey (7) and Jai Anthoni Bearden (4).

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.

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State is second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (67.6 points per game) and third in fewest fouls committed per game (16.0) and turnovers forced per game (13.9) through the season's first 13 contests.

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.