Ball State University Athletics
Tuesday, February 17
Athens, Ohio
7 PM
Ball State University
at
Ohio
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
Men's Basketball Heading to Ohio for Tuesday Night Game vs Bobcats
February 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball
The Ball State men's basketball team is back on the road for a 7 p.m. game at Ohio on Tuesday night.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, 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 (8-17, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) rallied in the second half and was within one point with under five minutes to play but fell 75-68 to Kent State at home on Saturday afternoon.
Ohio (13-13, 7-6 MAC) fell 90-74 at Miami on Friday night after a 78-72 setback at Old Dominion the previous Saturday for a two-game losing streak. The Bobcats stand in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings entering this contest.
Jeff Boals is in his seventh season as the head coach at Ohio, who was picked to finish fourth in the MAC preseason poll.
The Bobcats are eighth in the league in scoring offense (77.6 points per game) and 11th in scoring defense (77.8 points per game) as we enter the late stages of February.
Senior guard Jackson Paveletzke is ninth in the MAC in scoring at 16.8 points per game and third in assists per game (5.2) while averaging more than 36 minutes played per contest, which is the second-highest in the MAC and No. 18 in NCAA Division I. Forwards Javan Simmons (14.0 points per game) and Aidan Hadaway (13.9) are each in the Top 20 in the conference in scoring.
Ball State will next return home to host Akron on Friday night.
FAMILIAR FOE: Senior Elmore James IV will play in a familiar venue on Tuesday night as he spent three seasons at Ohio before coming to Ball State ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
The guard scored five points and collected two rebounds back on Jan. 16 in the first game against his former team.
MILESTONES MET: Senior guards Devon Barnes and Juwan Maxey hit career scoring milestones in their respective NCAA Division I careers on Saturday against Kent State.
Barnes joined the 1,000-point club on a free throw late in the first half, and Maxey made a layup early in the second half to hit the 500-point mark.
BATTLING THE BOBCATS: Tuesday night's game at Ohio will be a rematch of the Jan. 16 contest at Worthen Arena that Ball State won 76-71.
The triumph snapped an eight-game winning streak in the series for the Bobcats. Ball State looks for its first win at the Convocation Center in Athens since Jan. 9, 2018 (75-68).
MAXEY MAKING SHOTS: Juwan Maxey made two 3-pointers and scored eight points on Saturday against Kent State, draining multiple triples in three consecutive games for his second such stretch of the season.
The guard made two in the Feb. 7 win at Louisiana Monroe and three last Wednesday vs Buffalo. Maxey had three straight games with 3+ triples at the Lafayette Classic in late November.
FISH FINDING HIS WAY: Forward Kayden Fish went for a team and career high 17 points and collected six rebounds in the 73-68 win at Louisiana Monroe.
The redshirt sophomore shot 6-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 on free throws while playing in a season-most 30 minutes. Fish bumped his season averages to 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds a game with the performance.
BENCH GETTING BUCKETS: Led by Fish's 17 points at Louisiana Monroe, the Ball State bench scored more than half the team's points with 38 in the win against the Warhawks.
Davion Hill added 14, and Juwan Maxey chipped in seven for the team averaging the fourth-most bench points per game in the MAC (26.4).
SUCCESS OVER THE SUN BELT: Ball State's win at Louisiana Monroe on Feb. 7 clinched the Cardinals' first sweep of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, which is in its third season.
A 75-64 win over Louisiana in the season opener was the first leg in the two-game event. Ball State is now 3-0 at home and 1-2 on the road in the Challenge and was one of only three MAC teams to win on Saturday against Sun Belt opponents.
The Cardinals became the first team in the series history with the Warhawks to win on the road, as both teams entered the contest 2-0 at home for a 2-2 split.
LOT OF LEADING SCORERS: Only three teams in NCAA Division I (George Washington, Tarleton State and VCU) feature more different leading scorers in games this season than Ball State's eight.
Armoni Zeigler (eight), Davion Hill (five), Devon Barnes (three), Kayden Fish (two), Joey Hart (two), Elmore James IV (two), Juwan Maxey (two), and Preston Copeland (one) have all led the Cardinals in scoring in at least one game this season.
WINNING WITH DEFENSE: Ball State's 58-53 win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 24 was the first time the Cardinals have won a game scoring fewer than 60 points since Dec. 21, 2022 against Georgia Southern (58-54).
The last time the program had won a conference game without reaching the 60-point mark was Feb. 16, 2019 vs Akron (57-56).
HILL TO THE HOOP: Guard Davion Hill scored or assisted on the final 11 points in Ball State's win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 24, finishing the game with team bests in points (18), rebounds (eight) and assists (three).
The strong finish came a game after the Williamsport, Pa., native drove to the lane and finished through contact for the game-winning and-one in Ball State's 68-67 win at Central Michigan on Jan. 21.
Hill now leads the team in average points overall (12.4 per game) while ranking second in MAC play (14.4) for the Cardinals.
TURNOVER TALK: Ball State committed only eight turnovers in the Jan. 24 triumph vs Northern Illinois a game after limiting giveaways to a season-low five in the win at Central Michigan.
Seven giveaways was the previous season-low on four separate occasions before the game with the Chippewas, and Ball State is the top conference team in turnover margin (+2.8) and taking care of the ball (9.7 turnovers per game) against MAC foes. The Cardinals also give away the second-fewest turnovers per game in the league overall for the full season (10.8).
Ball State kept control of the ball at Bowling Green, giving up only 10 turnovers to a team that averaged more than 16 turnovers forced per game entering the contest for the sixth-most in NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have had 12 games so far this season with 10 or fewer giveaways.
TV CHANGES GAME DAY: Ball State's home game against Akron originally scheduled for Feb. 21 has been picked up by CBS Sports Network and will now be played at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20 at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals topped Ohio 76-71 on Jan. 16 in another Friday night conference contest aired on CBSSN in Muncie.
CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (70.0 points per game) and ranks second in fewest fouls committed per game (15.6) and steals per game (7.8) through the season's first 25 contests.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, 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 (8-17, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) rallied in the second half and was within one point with under five minutes to play but fell 75-68 to Kent State at home on Saturday afternoon.
Ohio (13-13, 7-6 MAC) fell 90-74 at Miami on Friday night after a 78-72 setback at Old Dominion the previous Saturday for a two-game losing streak. The Bobcats stand in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings entering this contest.
Jeff Boals is in his seventh season as the head coach at Ohio, who was picked to finish fourth in the MAC preseason poll.
The Bobcats are eighth in the league in scoring offense (77.6 points per game) and 11th in scoring defense (77.8 points per game) as we enter the late stages of February.
Senior guard Jackson Paveletzke is ninth in the MAC in scoring at 16.8 points per game and third in assists per game (5.2) while averaging more than 36 minutes played per contest, which is the second-highest in the MAC and No. 18 in NCAA Division I. Forwards Javan Simmons (14.0 points per game) and Aidan Hadaway (13.9) are each in the Top 20 in the conference in scoring.
Ball State will next return home to host Akron on Friday night.
FAMILIAR FOE: Senior Elmore James IV will play in a familiar venue on Tuesday night as he spent three seasons at Ohio before coming to Ball State ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
The guard scored five points and collected two rebounds back on Jan. 16 in the first game against his former team.
MILESTONES MET: Senior guards Devon Barnes and Juwan Maxey hit career scoring milestones in their respective NCAA Division I careers on Saturday against Kent State.
Barnes joined the 1,000-point club on a free throw late in the first half, and Maxey made a layup early in the second half to hit the 500-point mark.
BATTLING THE BOBCATS: Tuesday night's game at Ohio will be a rematch of the Jan. 16 contest at Worthen Arena that Ball State won 76-71.
The triumph snapped an eight-game winning streak in the series for the Bobcats. Ball State looks for its first win at the Convocation Center in Athens since Jan. 9, 2018 (75-68).
MAXEY MAKING SHOTS: Juwan Maxey made two 3-pointers and scored eight points on Saturday against Kent State, draining multiple triples in three consecutive games for his second such stretch of the season.
The guard made two in the Feb. 7 win at Louisiana Monroe and three last Wednesday vs Buffalo. Maxey had three straight games with 3+ triples at the Lafayette Classic in late November.
FISH FINDING HIS WAY: Forward Kayden Fish went for a team and career high 17 points and collected six rebounds in the 73-68 win at Louisiana Monroe.
The redshirt sophomore shot 6-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 on free throws while playing in a season-most 30 minutes. Fish bumped his season averages to 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds a game with the performance.
BENCH GETTING BUCKETS: Led by Fish's 17 points at Louisiana Monroe, the Ball State bench scored more than half the team's points with 38 in the win against the Warhawks.
Davion Hill added 14, and Juwan Maxey chipped in seven for the team averaging the fourth-most bench points per game in the MAC (26.4).
SUCCESS OVER THE SUN BELT: Ball State's win at Louisiana Monroe on Feb. 7 clinched the Cardinals' first sweep of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, which is in its third season.
A 75-64 win over Louisiana in the season opener was the first leg in the two-game event. Ball State is now 3-0 at home and 1-2 on the road in the Challenge and was one of only three MAC teams to win on Saturday against Sun Belt opponents.
The Cardinals became the first team in the series history with the Warhawks to win on the road, as both teams entered the contest 2-0 at home for a 2-2 split.
LOT OF LEADING SCORERS: Only three teams in NCAA Division I (George Washington, Tarleton State and VCU) feature more different leading scorers in games this season than Ball State's eight.
Armoni Zeigler (eight), Davion Hill (five), Devon Barnes (three), Kayden Fish (two), Joey Hart (two), Elmore James IV (two), Juwan Maxey (two), and Preston Copeland (one) have all led the Cardinals in scoring in at least one game this season.
WINNING WITH DEFENSE: Ball State's 58-53 win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 24 was the first time the Cardinals have won a game scoring fewer than 60 points since Dec. 21, 2022 against Georgia Southern (58-54).
The last time the program had won a conference game without reaching the 60-point mark was Feb. 16, 2019 vs Akron (57-56).
HILL TO THE HOOP: Guard Davion Hill scored or assisted on the final 11 points in Ball State's win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 24, finishing the game with team bests in points (18), rebounds (eight) and assists (three).
The strong finish came a game after the Williamsport, Pa., native drove to the lane and finished through contact for the game-winning and-one in Ball State's 68-67 win at Central Michigan on Jan. 21.
Hill now leads the team in average points overall (12.4 per game) while ranking second in MAC play (14.4) for the Cardinals.
TURNOVER TALK: Ball State committed only eight turnovers in the Jan. 24 triumph vs Northern Illinois a game after limiting giveaways to a season-low five in the win at Central Michigan.
Seven giveaways was the previous season-low on four separate occasions before the game with the Chippewas, and Ball State is the top conference team in turnover margin (+2.8) and taking care of the ball (9.7 turnovers per game) against MAC foes. The Cardinals also give away the second-fewest turnovers per game in the league overall for the full season (10.8).
Ball State kept control of the ball at Bowling Green, giving up only 10 turnovers to a team that averaged more than 16 turnovers forced per game entering the contest for the sixth-most in NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have had 12 games so far this season with 10 or fewer giveaways.
TV CHANGES GAME DAY: Ball State's home game against Akron originally scheduled for Feb. 21 has been picked up by CBS Sports Network and will now be played at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20 at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals topped Ohio 76-71 on Jan. 16 in another Friday night conference contest aired on CBSSN in Muncie.
CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (70.0 points per game) and ranks second in fewest fouls committed per game (15.6) and steals per game (7.8) through the season's first 25 contests.
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/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball // Post Game Press Conference vs Kent State
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