2020-21 Ball State Basketball
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2020-21 Ball State Basketball 2020-21 Ball State Basketball Schedule (subject to change) 2020-21 Ball State Basketball NOVEMBER Ball State Cardinals (3-3, 1-0) 11/25/20 at Northern Kentucky L, 74-73 at DECEMBER Western Michigan Broncos (2-4, 1-0) 12/2/20 at Michigan L, 84-65 12/5/20 UIC W, 68-66 12/8/20 at Northern Illinois * W, 79-70 (OT) Tuesday, December 22, 2020 - 2 p.m. ET 12/12/20 ILLINOIS STATE W, 82-66 University Arena - Kalamazoo, Mich. 12/19/20 at Indiana State L, 67-57 12/22/20 at Western Michigan * E3 2 p.m. Video: ESPN3 (Conor Clitgen, Wayne Hinton) Radio: 96.7 / 104.9 FM (Joel Godett, David Eha) JANUARY Twitter/Instagram: @BallStateMBB 1/2/21 OHIO * CBS SN 3 p.m. 1/5/21 WESTERN MICHIGAN * TBA TBA 1/9/21 at Buffalo * TBA TBA 1/12/21 at Bowling Green * TBA TBA Opportunity For 2-0 Start On The Line 1/16/21 NORTHERN ILLINOIS * TBA TBA It may seem early for an important conference game, but the Ball State men’s basketball 1/19/21 at Miami (Ohio) * TBA TBA team has a golden opportunity at Western Michigan Tuesday afternoon. A win would make 1/22/21 at Ohio * CBS SN 7 p.m. the Cardinals 2-0 in the league with two road wins before the first of the new year. Western 1/26/21 KENT STATE * TBA TBA Michigan could also get out to a 2-0 league start. Tuesday’s contest is the last of the calendar 1/30/21 at Akron * TBA TBA year for both teams. FEBRUARY 2/2/21 BUFFALO * TBA TBA 2/6/21 TOLEDO * TBA TBA Opening Tip 2/9/21 at Central Michigan * TBA TBA 2/13/21 at Eastern Michigan * TBA TBA 2/16/21 BOWLING GREEN * TBA TBA Ball State Western Mich. 2/20/21 AKRON * TBA TBA 2020-21 Record 3-3, 1-0 2-4, 1-0 2/27/21 CENTRAL MICHIGAN * TBA TBA Head Coach James Whitford Clayton Bates Career Record (Years) 110-121 (8th) 2-4 (1st) MARCH Record at School (Years) 110-121 (8th) 2-4 (1st) 3/2/21 EASTERN MICHIGAN * TBA TBA Leading Scorer K.J. Walton (19.0) B. Artis White (14.5) 3/5/21 at Toledo * TBA TBA Leading Rebounder Miryne Thomas (5.8) T. Wright / G. Lee (7.3) March 11-13 MAC Championship ! TBA TBA BSU-WMU Series Record Tied 67-67 (BSU is 21-44 at WMU) March 18-28 NCAA Tournament TBA TBA Last Meeting BSU 71, Western Michigan 61 (2-24-20 at BSU) Series Streak Ball State (BSU won 3 of last 4) APRIL April 3-5 NCAA Final Four (Indianapolis, IN) TBA * MAC game ! MAC Championship at Cleveland, Ohio Home games in BOLD CAPS and played at Worthen Arena Possible Ball State Starters (Based On Last Game) Ppg Rpg Apg Other #5 - G - Ishmael El-Amin (Sr. - 6-3, 180) 17.2 3.0 3.5 1.8 Stl pg * Preseason 2nd Team All-MAC; 3rd team All-MAC last year; 80.8% at FT line #2 - G - Luke Bumbalough (So. - 6-1, 180) 5.0 1.8 1.2 62 career 3FG Communications Contacts * Led all conference freshmen in minutes played in league games; also had Ball State football offer Primary Contact: Josh Rattray #1 - G - K.J. Walton (R-Sr. - 6-3, 200) 19.0 5.5 1.3 .560 FG email: [email protected] cell: 919-605-2445 * Double figures in every game this season; has 982 career points #0 - F - Miryne Thomas (R-Jr. - 6-8, 200) 6.6 5.8 0.8 6-13 3FG Secondary Contact: Tyson Mathews * Former amateur boxer who may be strongest on the team; season-high 13 points vs. NIU email: [email protected] cell: 765-716-7235 #12 - F - Brachen Hazen (R-Sr. - 6-8, 210) 7.5 5.2 0.3 .571 2FG * Double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) in win over Illinois State 2020-21 Ball State Cardinals No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown (Previous School) 0 Miryne Thomas F 6-8 200 R-Jr. Cleveland, Ohio / Central Catholic (Md. Eastern Shore) 1 K.J. Walton G 6-3 200 R-Sr. Indianapolis, Ind. / Brownsburg (Missouri) 2 Luke Bumbalough G 6-1 180 So. New Castle, Ind. / New Castle 3 Teemu Suokas G 6-2 185 Fr. Helsinki, Finland / Helsinki Basketball Academy 4 Josh Bryan G 6-5 185 So. Muncie, Ind. / Delta (UIndy) 5 Ishmael El-Amin G 6-1 180 Sr. Minneapolis, Minn. / Hopkins 11 Jarron Coleman G 6-5 205 R-So. Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral 12 Brachen Hazen F 6-8 210 R-Sr. Columbia City, Ind. / Columbia City (Arkansas) 13 Kani Acree G 6-6 185 R-So. Carbondale, Ill. / Carbondale Community 15 Zach Gunn F 6-6 210 R-Jr. Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern 23 Reggie Jones F 6-7 210 R-Sr. Marion, Ind. / Marion (Western Michigan & Tulsa) 24 Jalen Windham G 6-5 180 So. Indianapolis, Ind. / Ben Davis (Creighton) 25 Chris Robinson G 6-2 185 So. Indianapolis, Ind. / Pike (IU Northwest) 34 Ben Hendriks C 6-10 215 So. Mississauga, Ontario / Orangeville Prep 44 Blake Huggins C 6-10 245 R-Jr. Union City, Tenn. / Obion County Central Coaching Staff Pronunciation Guide Head Coach: James Whitford (Wisconsin, 1994); 8th season 0 Miryne Thomas (MY-run) Associate Head Coach: Jason Grunkemeyer (Miami Ohio, 2001); 8th season 2 Luke Bumbalough (BUM-buh-low) Assistant Coach: Ben Botts (Purdue Fort Wayne, 2011); 3rd season 3 Teemu Suokas (TAY-ah-moo SUE-oh-kas) Assistant Coach: Matt Crenshaw (IUPUI, 2004); 3rd season 5 Ishmael El-Amin (el-ah-MEEN) Director of Basketball Operations: Kindon Crowder (Ball State, 2014); 4th season 11 Jarron Coleman (juh-RON) Strength and Conditioning Coach: Collin Michael (Buffalo, 2017) 12 Brachen Hazen (BRACK-en) Athletic Trainer: Neal Hazen (Ball State, 1986) 13 Kani Acree (kuh-NYE A-kree) The Starting 5 - The Top 5 Storylines For This Game 1. A KEY CONFERENCE GAME ... IN DECEMBER It’s not often teams have a conference game in December with the added importance that Tuesday’s game will carry. Ball State can put itself in prime standings position and would be the only team in the league with a 2-0 record and two road wins. After the holidays, Ball State plays its next two games at home against Ohio and Western Michigan. WMU is also shooting for a 2-0 start, but with two home wins. 2. AMONG THE TOP SCORING DUOS IN THE LEAGUE It was clear coming into the season Ball State’s strength would lie in its experienced backcourt - and that has been true. K.J. Walton and Ishmael El-Amin form the third-highest scoring duo in the conference with a combined 36.2 points per game. Akron’s Loren Jackson and Enrique Freeman combine for 37.3 points per game but Akron has only played three games. Walton has scored double figures in every game this season and 18+ points four times. El-Amin scored 20 points a week ago vs. Illinois State and had 22 in the overtime win at Northern Illinois. Walton and El-Amin together account for 51.2% of BSU’s scoring. 3. CARDS AND BRONCOS - THE SERIES Ball State and Western Michigan have played each other in basketball since 1932, when Branch McCracken coached the Cardinals to a 35-31 win over Western Mich- igan. The all-time series is exactly even with 67 wins on each side. The Cardinals have won three of the last four and six of the last 10 against WMU. Ball State is 7-4 against Western Michigan dating back to 2016, including a MAC tourney win in 2017. 4. HIT THE HOLIDAYS ON A HIGH NOTE Teams around the country always strive to win the last game before the holiday, assuming the team will have some sort of a break between games. The Cardinals won the last game before Christmas in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Last year, the Cardinals won a neutral-site game over Portland on Christmas Day as part of a four-game swing that saw the Cards go 2-2 and beat Georgia Tech. Following Tuesday’s game, Ball State won’t play again until January 2, a span of 11 days between games. 5. NOT PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK OF CARDS Ball State has been bitten by the injury bug in the preseason. Notably, 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year Jarron Coleman is out after having foot surgery in October. Transfer Reggie Jones, who scored 723 career points at Western Michigan and Tulsa, is also out with a lower body injury. Additionally, many players have missed practice time for various reasons in a very disjointed offseason. Ball State at Western Michigan - 12/22/20 #0 | Miryne Thomas #1 | K.J. Walton #2 | Luke Bumbalough #3 | Teemu Suokas #4 | Josh Bryan R-Jr. | F | 6-8 | 200 R-Sr. | G | 6-3 | 200 Fr. | G | 6-1 | 180 Fr. | G | 6-2 | 185 So. | G | 6-5 | 185 Cleveland, Ohio Indianapolis, Ind. New Castle, Ind. Helsinki, Finland Muncie, Ind. #5 | Ishmael El-Amin #11 | Jarron Coleman #12 | Brachen Hazen #13 | Kani Acree #15 | Zach Gunn Sr. | G | 6-3 | 180 R-So. | G | 6-5 | 205 R-Sr. | F | 6-8 | 210 R-So. | G | 6-6 | 185 R-Jr. | F | 6-6 | 210 Minneapolis, Minn. Indianapolis, Ind. Columbia City, Ind. Carbondale, Ill.