Exciting Showdown: Men’s Basketball Faces Off Against Miami (OH) in MAC Home Opener This Tuesday Night!

By: Justin Borowitz

The Ball State men’s basketball squad enters a contest against Miami (OH) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Worthen Arena riding a four-game winning streak.

The matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Mick Tidrow and David Eha providing commentary, while Mark Foerster and Scot Bunnell will handle the radio coverage on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.

Miami currently leads the head-to-head series 68-43, though Ball State enjoys a slight 27-26 advantage in games conducted in Muncie. The RedHawks emerged victorious with a score of 87-80 in overtime during their last visit to Worthen on January 20.

The Cardinals (7-6, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) restricted Kent State to just 1-for-11 shooting in the final four minutes and limited their overall field goal percentage to 35.8, en route to a 75-67 victory to kick off MAC play on Saturday afternoon. Jermahri Hill tallied 18 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Mickey Pearson Jr. provided 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks to propel the visitors to triumph.

Miami (9-4, 1-0 MAC) also secured its conference opener on Saturday, defeating Buffalo 93-79 in Oxford. The RedHawks are in their third season under head coach Travis Steele, who was predicted to lead them to a sixth-place finish in the MAC preseason poll.

The RedHawks excel in several areas, leading the league with an average of 3-pointers made per game (11.7, No. 5 in NCAA Division I), forced turnovers per game (16.5, No. 13), turnover margin (+5.0, No. 16), steals per game (9.5), scoring offense (83.2 points per game), scoring margin (+11.5), field goal percentage (49.2), and effective field goal percentage (58.4).

Redshirt sophomore Kam Craft is making an impact, leading the MAC in 3-pointers per game (3.4, No. 18 nationally), total 3-pointers (44), 3-point attempts (100), and field goal attempts (173). Sophomore guard Mekhi Cooper orchestrates the offense with an impressive conference-leading 2.94 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Cardinals remain at home to face Bowling Green at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

LOCK IT DOWN: The Ball State defense tops the Mid-American Conference in field goal percentage defense (40.3) and holds the second position in 3-point defense (30.8 percent) and third in scoring defense (70.2 points per game).

Ball State secured the road victory over Kent State by limiting the Golden Flashes to 1-for-11 shooting in the last four minutes. The Cardinals have allowed an average of 62 points over their previous three games as part of a four-game winning streak.

HERNANDEZ HEATING UP: Graduate guard Jeremiah Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring for four consecutive games, lifting his season average to 7.5 points per game.

Hernandez scored 13 points on Saturday, leading Ball State to triumph against his former institution.

1,000 FOR SPARKS: Senior center Payton Sparks achieved his 1,000th career point late in the second half of the New Year’s Eve victory against Anderson, finishing with a double-double of 23 points and 16 rebounds.

The 16 rebounds matched his personal best, while the 23 points fell just one shy of his career-high, marking his first double-double of the season.

ONE-TWO PUNCH: Sparks and junior guard Jermahri Hill combined for 72 points, 41 rebounds, and nine assists in last week’s victories over Anderson and Kent State.

Hill led the scoring for the Cardinals in both games, while Sparks was the top rebounder in both encounters for Ball State.

DOMINANT DEFENSE: Ball State forced Evansville to score only 43 points and shoot 29.1 percent from the field on December 21. These figures represented the lowest points allowed by the Cardinals to an NCAA Division I opponent since March 11, 2019, against Eastern Michigan.

The Cardinals restricted the Purple Aces to their least points recorded in the 58-game series history dating back to 1935, and the 37-point victory margin was the second-largest ever for Ball State against Evansville.

MICKEY MONEY FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE: Mickey Pearson Jr. connected on all 12 free throws in Ball State’s win at Bellarmine on December 14, including making two foul shots with six seconds remaining to ensure the 86-82 victory.

Pearson’s 12 made free throws stand as the highest number by a Ball State player since Taylor Persons also made a dozen on November 18, 2018, against App State. Pearson is the sole Cardinal with numerous career games making at least 10 free throws without a miss in the past decade (10-for-10 vs Central Michigan on January 6, 2024).

GORO-THREE-TO: Junior guard Juanse Gorosito was awarded the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week after sinking seven 3-pointers for a total of 21 points, along with four assists and three steals on December 14 at Bellarmine.

Gorosito ranks second in the conference for 3-pointers made (39) and leads the league while ranking No. 13 in NCAA Division I with a shooting percentage (45.9) from beyond the arc.

MILESTONE WATCH: Following Sparks (1,011 points) hitting this milestone last Tuesday, Hernandez (924) and Pearson Jr. (859) are each closing in on scoring 1,000 points in their Division I careers.

Ethan Brittain-Watts has recently made his 100th career 3-pointer, while Sparks (610 rebounds) is currently placed No. 17 in Ball State program history for career rebounds.

GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (27.5) and free throws converted per game (19.2) after the first 13 games of the season.

Ball State ranks No. 5 and No. 8 in these categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The overall totals (358 attempts and 249 makes) exceed the next-closest MAC team (Buffalo) by 89 attempts and 63 makes.

TOP OF THE HILL: Hill was recognized as the Mid-American Conference Co-Player of the Week on December 2 after averaging 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game in three contests at the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Hill facilitated assists on three-point plays to Mickey Pearson Jr. and Payton Sparks during the final moments of the 63-61 win over Eastern Kentucky in the opener on November 25. The guard holds the second position in the MAC with an average of 16.6 points per game this season.

I REMEMBER YOU: Ball State utilized seven different players this nonconference season who were on MAC rosters during the 2023-24 campaign. SIUE’s Darrion Baker (from Akron) was the seventh. The comprehensive list is below.

Darrion Baker (Akron to SIUE)

Legend Geeter (Eastern Michigan to Detroit Mercy)

Markus Harding (Central Michigan to Indiana State)

Orlando Lovejoy (Eastern Michigan to Detroit Mercy)

Cyril Martynov (Eastern Michigan to Eastern Kentucky)

Zarique Nutter (Northern Illinois to Georgia State)

B. Artis White (Western Michigan to Richmond)

HOME STATE HEROES: Brittain-Watts (2019), Zane Doughty, Joey Hart, and Mason Jones (2023) were recognized among Indiana High School All-Stars, while three additional Cardinals also had connections to the state prior to their arrival in Muncie.

Ball State boasts the second-highest number of players from Indiana high schools among Indiana-based Division I teams, trailing only Purdue.

WORLD FLYERS: The 2024-25 Ball State roster comprises student-athletes from three distinct countries in addition to the United States of America.

Gorosito (Argentina), Ben Hendriks (Canada), and Jurica Zagorsak (Croatia) represent the international Cardinals this season. Interestingly, Juanse, Ben, and Jurica were born on different continents, resulting in Ball State having student-athletes from North America, South America, and Europe on its team.

TRANSFERS FROM ALL OVER: All seven student-athletes who transferred into Ball State’s program have come from various college basketball conferences.

The list features Brittain-Watts (Patriot League, Boston), Gorosito (West Coast Conference, Portland), Hart (SEC, Kentucky), Hernandez (Ohio Valley Conference, USI), Pearson Jr. (Big 12, TCU), Sparks (Big Ten, Indiana), and Hill who was a junior college player at South Plains in Levelland, Texas.