Men's Basketball in Kalamazoo for Tuesday Night Game at WMU

Tuesday, March 3

Kalamazoo, Mich.

7 PM

Ball State University

Western Michigan

Photo by: Samantha (Blankenship) Ellis/Ball State University

Men's Basketball in Kalamazoo for Tuesday Night Game at WMU

March 02, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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The Ball State men's basketball team begins the final week of the regular season with a 7 p.m. game Tuesday night at Western Michigan.

The contest 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 (10-19, 5-11 Mid-American Conference) dominated the second half on its way to a 79-43 win at Northern Illinois on Saturday for its second straight win.

Western Michigan (10-19, 4-12 MAC) lost 69-67 on a last-second shot from No. 21 Miami on Friday night after beating Bowling Green on the road last Tuesday.

Dwayne Stephens is in his fourth season as the head coach in Kalamazoo.

The Broncos get production from their bench (28.9 points per game, second in the league) and in transition (12.6 fastbreak points per game, fourth in the MAC) while securing the fourth-most rebounds per contest in the conference (36.4).

Indianapolis native and senior guard Jayden Brewer paces WMU in scoring (12.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.8 per game). Junior guard Jalen Griffith averages 12.2 points a contest and a team high 3.4 assists per game.

The Cardinals will next conclude the regular season at home on Friday night against Central Michigan. Ball State is still in contention for a No. 7 or No. 8 seed in next week's MAC Tournament.

HAVEN'T BEEN TO KALAMAZOO IN AWHILE: Tuesday's game in Kalamazoo will be the first between the Ball State and Western Michigan men's basketball programs at University Arena in exactly 25 months (Feb. 3, 2024)

The Cardinals won that game 77-67 on a Saturday afternoon. Ball State last faced WMU in Muncie on Jan. 28, 2025 and has played 40 games overall and 26 conference contests since the last time matching up with the Broncos.

HOUNDING THE HUSKIES: Ball State's 43 points allowed in the 79-43 win at Northern Illinois were the fewest the men's basketball team has allowed against a Mid-American Conference opponent since March 11, 2019 in a 61-43 win against Eastern Michigan.

The 36-point margin of victory was the largest against a MAC foe for the Cardinals since a 115-79 decision vs EMU on Feb. 27, 2016.

Ball State gave up only 96 total points to the Huskies in the two-game season series including a 58-53 win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 24. That was the first time the Cardinals had 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).

STRONG START TO THE SECOND HALF: Ball State started the second half of Saturday's win over Northern Illinois on a 21-0 scoring run to take a 57-29 lead with 13 minutes to play.

The stretch was Ball State's best against an NCAA Division I foe this season following a 15-0 run at Central Michigan on Jan. 20. The Cardinals started the game against Earlham on Dec. 29 up 33-0.

HILL TO THE HOOP: Guard Davion Hill led the Cardinals in points (17), rebounds (six) and assists (season best seven) at NIU a game after going for a season high 26 points in last Tuesday night's 74-73 overtime win against UMass.

The 26-point performance included an 11-for-11 showing at the free throw line, which was the first 100 percent effort at the foul line for a Cardinal this season shooting more than six free throws. Hill has now scored in double figures in eight straight games and 13 of the last 14 and leads the team in average points overall (13.5 per game) and in MAC play (15.6).

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME FOR OVERTIME: The Ball State men's basketball program went 33 games between overtime contests before last Tuesday's 74-73 win over UMass featuring an extra session.

The Cardinals' last overtime game before that was an 89-83 win against Northern Illinois on Feb. 15, 2025.

FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Ball State got five scorers in double figures for the second straight game in Saturday's win at NIU.

Hill paced the Cardinals with 17 points followed by Armoni Zeigler (13 points), Elmore James IV (12), Kayden Fish (12) and Devon Barnes (11).

Four Cardinals scored 10 points each in the overtime win over UMass last Tuesday to join Hill (26) in double figures.

MILESTONES MET: Senior guards Devon Barnes and Juwan Maxey hit career scoring milestones in their respective NCAA Division I careers on Feb. 14 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.

BENCH GETTING BUCKETS: Led by Kayden 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 (25.9).

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 five teams in NCAA Division I (George Washington, Tarleton State, Illinois State, VCU and USC) feature more different leading scorers in games this season than Ball State's eight.

Davion Hill (10), Armoni Zeigler (eight), Devon Barnes (four), 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.

TURNOVER TALK: Ball State committed only seven turnovers in Saturday's win at Northern Illinois, which was the fifth game this season giving away seven or fewer turnovers (season low five at Central Michigan on Jan. 20).

Ball State is the top conference team in taking care of the ball (9.9 turnovers per game) and second in turnover margin (+2.1) against MAC foes.

Ball State kept control of the ball at Bowling Green on Feb. 3, 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 15 games so far this season with 10 or fewer giveaways.

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (69.4 points per game) and ranks second in fewest fouls committed per game (15.2) and fourth in steals per game (7.6) through the season's first 29 contests.

DIALED IN FROM LONG RANGE: The Cardinals drained 13 3-pointers on Feb. 20 against Akron, which was the second-most Ball State has made this season behind 14 in a win over Le Moyne back on Nov. 30.

Eight of those triples were hit in the first half, and the 46.4 percent (13-28) mark from distance was the third-best in a game this season for the Cardinals.