Men's Basketball Hosting Eastern Michigan Tuesday Night at Worthen Arena

Tuesday, January 6

Muncie, Ind.

7 PM

Ball State University

Eastern Michigan

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Photo by: Samantha Blankenship / Ball State University

Men's Basketball Hosting Eastern Michigan Tuesday Night at Worthen Arena

January 05, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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Ball State Men's Basketball
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The Ball State men's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference play hosting Eastern Michigan on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Tuesday's contest will be the first home one of the Spring 2026 semester, and early arriving fans can get free T-shirts. Concessions vouchers will also be handed out to Ball State students in attendance.

Kelsie Kasper and David Eha are set to be on the ESPN+ broadcast, while Mick Tidrow 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 (4-10, 0-2 MAC) got a season-high 20 points from Devon Barnes and outscored Buffalo 47-44 in the second half but fell 85-72 to the Bulls on Saturday afternoon in upstate New York.

Eastern Michigan (7-8, 1-2 MAC) surrendered a five-point lead with 94 seconds to play in a 68-67 setback to Ohio on Saturday. The other two conference games for the Eagles resulted in a 93-72 loss at Akron on Dec. 19 and an 80-74 win vs UMass on Dec. 30.

Stan Heath is in his fifth season in charge of Eastern, who was picked to finish ninth in the MAC preseason poll after going 16-16 (9-9 MAC) in 2024-25.

The Eagles rank third in the league in blocks per game (3.7) and 3-point defense (31.3 percent) and fifth in rebounds per game (37.1) and scoring defense (72.3 points per game).

Redshirt freshman forward Mo Habhab leads EMU in scoring (14.1 points per game), rebounding (7.6) and assists (3.1) while ranking third in the MAC in playing time (almost 35 minutes a game) and fifth in total rebounds (106) and rebounding average.

Ball State is next set to travel to UMass for the first matchup between the two programs since the Minutemen joined the conference.

BARNES BREAKING OUT: Senior Devon Barnes posted season-bests in scoring in back-to-back games, most recently putting up 20 points at Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.

The guard out of Hinesville, Ga., went 9-for-10 at the free throw line while attempting only nine shots from the field to get to 20 a game after tallying 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in a win against Earlham. Barnes went 10-for-18 from the field, including 5-for-10 from distance, and made 12 out of 13 free throw attempts across the two games.

FINE FROM THE LINE: Led by Barnes, Ball State hit a season-best 82.6 percent (19-23) of its free throw attempts on Saturday in Buffalo.

The most recent time the Cardinals shot that well from the foul line was March 4, 2025 against Central Michigan with a 91.7 percent (11-12) mark. Ball State's last game shooting over 80 percent from the line on at least 20 attempts before Saturday was Feb. 11, 2025 in an overtime win against Eastern Michigan (89.3 percent, 25-for-28).

DEFENSIVE DOMINATION: Ball State held an opponent to 30 points or fewer for the first time in almost 80 years in the 93-30 win over Earlham on Dec. 29.

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).

YOUNG GUYS WITH CAREER HIGHS: A trio of underclassmen set career highs in the Dec. 29 win against Earlham.

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 (68.9 points per game) and third in fewest fouls committed per game (15.9) and steals per game (7.9) through the season's first 14 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.