The Cardinals battle the Broncos on Tuesday night

MUNCIE, Ind. The Ball State men’s basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday for a Mid-American Conference matchup with Western Michigan. The Cardinals enter the game with a 12-5 overall record and are 3-1 in league play, while the Broncos are 6-11 and 2-2 in conference action.

BSU students, be among the first 400 at The Nest and receive a free hot dog, slice of pizza, fountain drink or beer. Arrive early, cheer loudly and enjoy responsibly.

Last time

The Cardinals beat Miami 75-61. Jaylin Sellers finished with 15 points, two rebounds, one assist, one assist and one block. Demarius Jacobs dropped 15 points with four assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal. Payton Sparks recorded his fifth double-double of the season behind 14 rebounds and 12 points. Sparks added three assists and a game-high two blocks. Basheer Jihad collected a career-high three assists to go along with his 12 points and six rebounds. Coleman vase collected a game-high five assists with nine points and eight rebounds.

At Boogie Down

Coleman is averaging a team-best 14.1 points per game. He leads the team with 37 three-pointers made and is shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. He leads the team with 57 assists and is second in steals with 22. Coleman has added nine blocks, third on the team.

Sensational sellers

Sellers is second on the team with 13.9 points per game. He is shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range, which leads the team. He is fourth on the team with 4.4 rebounds per game. He has produced a goal percentage of 49.3 for the season. Sellers has collected 14 assists, 13 steals and seven blocks. He has scored at least 20 points in four games this season.

Spark plug

Sparks paces the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 66th in the nation and fourth in the conference. His 3.29 offensive rebounds per contest have him ranked 27th nationally and third in the MAC. He is third on the team with an average of 13.1 points per game. He is shooting 60.5 percent from the field, which leads the team. He has five double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 60th in the nation and third in the MAC. He is third on the team with 36 assists, second on the team with 15 blocks and has added eight assists.

Spreading the love

The Cardinals have four players averaging double figures in scoring. Demarius Jacobs rounding out double-digit points with 12.7 points in the contest. Has a team-high 28 blocks, which ranks 63rd in the NCAA and leads the MAC. His 1.59 blocks per contest are 65th in the nation and first in the conference. He is second on the team in assists with 53 and paces the team in steals with 24. He averages 3.7 boards per contest. Mickey Pearson Jr. is second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per contest and averages 6.9 points per game. Pearson shoots 52.6 from the field.

Capitalizing on the free throw line

The Cardinals average 25.5 free throws per game as a team, which is fifth in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State averages 17.5 free throws per contest, which ranks 13th in the nation and leads the conference. The Sparks are fifth in the nation with 133 free throw attempts, which leads the MAC series. The Cardinals are one of 23 teams in the NCAA that have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted.

Effective shooting

The Cardinals are currently shooting 48.1 percent from the field, which is 37th in the NCAA and second in the MAC. Ball State has been efficient from behind the arc, shooting a combined 37.7 percent from 3-point range, which is 41st in the nation and best in the MAC.

Series history with Western Michigan

The Cardinals and Broncos will battle for the 138th time on Tuesday night. Ball State leads the series 70-67. BSU has won six of the last seven games against WMU, including a 64-63 win at WMU last season. The Cardinals are 42-23 all-time in Muncie and 21-9 at Worthen Arena.

Scouting the Broncos

Western Michigan ranks 13th in the NCAA with an 8.0 rebounding margin, which leads the MAC. Markeese Hastings leads the team with 10.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 13th in the nation and second in the MAC. His 7.0 defensive rebounds per contest are second in the conference and 19th in the nation. Hastings is averaging 7.4 points per game, has 32 assists, a team-best 16 steals and a team-high nine blocks. Lamar Norman Jr. leads WMU with 17.8 points per contest. He has a team high in assists with 45, 14 steals and one block. Tray Maddox Jr. is the only player averaging double figures at 11.9 points per game. He is second on the team with 16 assists and second in blocks with four.

The story of the tape

MAC Conference Standings

1. Kent State 14-3 (4-0)
2. Ball state 12-5 (3-1)
3. Akron 11-6 (3-1)
4. Toledo 11-6 (2-2)
5. Bowling green 8-9 (2-2)
6. Buffalo 8-9 (2-2)
7. Central Michigan 7-10 (2-2)
8. Western Michigan 6-11 (2-2)
9. Ohio 9-8 (1-3)
10. Miami 7-10 (1-3)
11. Northern Illinois 5-12 (1-3)
12. Eastern Michigan 4-13 (1-3)

All BSU games are broadcast on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network on Woof Boom stations 96.7 FM, 102.9 FM, 104.9 FM, WLBC HD2 and stream 967BlakeFM.com as well as WERKFM.net.

For general information and season ticket information, click here or call 1-888-BSU-TICKET (756-285-1474).

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