MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men’s basketball team makes the short trip south to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the Inaugural Indy Classic powered by Sports Tech HQ on Saturday. The coverage of the Cardinals is sponsored by Gainbridge. Ball State takes on Illinois State with first tip at 3:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Cardinals improved to 6-4 overall after an 88-69 win over the Evansville Aces. Jaylin Sellers led the way with 20 points and added four rebounds and an assist. Payton Sparks finished with his fourth double-double in five games. Sparks went for 18 points and brought down a game-high 12 rebounds. He also added an assist and a block. Jarron Coleman tallied 15 points for his ninth-straight contest in double digits. He added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Basheer Jihad collected 12 points, his first double-digit effort of the season, to go along with a career-high seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Coleman and Mickey Pearson Jr. tied for a game-high two blocks. Coleman along with Demarius Jacobs tied for a game-high three steals.
Spark Plug
Through 10 games of the season, Sparks leads the team with 14.8 points a contest and 8.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 61.4 percent from the field, which is tied for 32 in the NCAA and is at the top of the MAC. His 3.40 offensive rebounds per game have him tied for 28th in the country and second in the conference. Sparks is tied for 75th in the nation with 8.3 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the MAC. His four double-doubles are tied for 23rd in the NCAA and tied for the most in the MAC. He is second on the squad with nine blocks, third on the team with 22 assists, and he has added six steals.
Spreading the Love
The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digit points through 10 games of the season. Sellers is second on the team with 13.1 points per game. He is shooting 58.3 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team, and he is 58.3 percent from the field. Sellers has brought down 4.3 rebounds per game to go along with five steals and five assists. Coleman is third on the team with 12.9 points per game. He leads the team with 34 assists. He is second on the team with 5.2 boards per contest and in steals with 17. Coleman has seven blocked shots for the year. Jacobs rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.9 per contest. He leads the team with 18 steals and 13 blocks. His 32 assists are second on the team. Jacobs has collected 3.9 rebounds per game. Jalen Windham is just outside of averaging double digits with 9.8 points a contest and is third on the team with 12 steals. He has produced 14 assists and one block. Mickey Pearson Jr. is third on the team with 5.1 rebounds a game and is averaging 7.4 points a contest.
Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 25.6 free throws per game, which is 14th in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 18.0 free-throws made per contest, which is 13th in the nation and leads the conference. The Cardinals are one of a handful of teams that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted. Sparks is tied for tenth in the nation with 76 free-throw attempts, which is second in the MAC.
Effective Shooting
The Cardinals are currently tied for 36th in the NCAA as the team is shooting 48.6 percent from the field, which leads the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 38.8 percent from 3-point range, which is tied for 36th in the country and the best in the MAC.
Series History with the Redbirds
Saturday will mark the 23rd meeting between the Cardinals and the Redbirds. The series is tied 11-11. Illinois State won the meeting last year, 85-64, at ISU on Dec. 18. Ball State is 8-3 in games played in Indiana, but Saturday will be the first meeting at a neutral site.
Scouting Illinois State
ISU is tied for fourth in the NCAA with a team free-throw percentage of 81.5. Kendall Lewis leads the Redbirds with 12.8 points per game and has a team-best 7.9 rebounds a contest. He also leads the team with 19 steals and is second on the squad with 13 blocks. Seneca Knight is second on the team in scoring with 11.0 points a game and is second in rebounding with 6.7 rebounds per game. Knight has added 19 assists, seven steals, and four blocks. Darius Burford is the final player averaging double figures with 10.9 a game. He is shooting 93.3 percent from the free-throw line, which is eighth in the NCAA. Burford paces the team with 25 assists to go along with his eight steals and four blocks.
Tale of the Tape
| BSU | Category | ISU |
| 78.3 | POINTS PER GAME | 67.9 |
| 67.0 | OPP. POINTS PER GAME | 69.8 |
| .486 | FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .433 |
| .423 | OPP. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .435 |
| .388 | 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .337 |
| .367 | OPP. 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | .337 |
| .703 | FREE THROW PERCENTAGE | .815 |
| 36.2 | REBOUNDS PER GAME | 33.5 |
| 4.7 | REBOUNDING MARGIN | 1.6 |
| 13.6 | ASSISTS PER GAME | 11.0 |
| 12.8 | TURNOVERS PER GAME | 14.4 |
| 0.8 | TURNOVER MARGIN | -4.0 |
| 7.2 | STEALS PER GAME | 5.4 |
| 3.9 | BLOCKS PER GAME | 4.3 |
All of BSU’s games are presented on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network on Woof Boom stations 96.7 FM, 102.9 FM, 104.9 FM, WLBC HD2, and the stream of 967BlakeFM.com as well as WERKFM.net.
For general and season ticket information, please click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).
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