The Ball State Cardinals and Bowling Green Falcons will take the floor Tuesday at the Stroh Center. Tip-off from Bowling Green, OH, is at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Cardinals are 1.5-point favorites and the game total is 151 points.
Ball State, 14-7 SU and 10-9 ATS, defeated Northern Illinois on the road in its last game. The Cardinals are 3-2 straight-up in their past five and 5-3 straight-up in Mid-American Conference competition.
Bowling Green, 10-11 SU and 9-10 ATS, lost at Toledo on Saturday. The Falcons are 2-3 straight-up in their past five and 4-4 straight-up in MAC play.
Ball State beat Bowling Green twice last season. The Falcons lead the all-time series 47-39.
The Cardinals are two games back from first place in the MAC, trailing Kent State, Akron, and Toledo. They'll need to show more consistency down the final stretch to challenge for the title, though.
Ball State led Northern Illinois by 16 at halftime in its latest matchup and didn't waver, taking the game by 18 points. It never trailed, shooting 46.3 percent from the floor with a 46.4 three-point shooting percentage on 28 treys. The Cardinals also dominated on the boards, claiming the rebounding advantage 43-29 with 20 offensive rebounds.
.@basheerjihad11 finds a cutting @PaytonSparks6 for the JAM????#ChirpChirp x #WeFly pic.twitter.com/nXTD5L387x
— Ball State Men's Basketball (@BallStateMBB) January 28, 2023
Ball State scores 75.6 points (88th) on 46.7 percent shooting (63rd), including 37.7 percent (33rd) from behind the arc. It converts 67.6 percent of its foul shots (291st) and averages 32.3 rebounds (170th) with a +2.5 rebounding margin. The Cardinals are 114th in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Junior guard Jarron Coleman paces BSU, averaging 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Other players to watch are sophomore guard Jaylin Sellers (13.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 47.1 3PT%), sophomore center Payton Sparks (12.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 59.6 FG%), and senior guard Demarius Jacobs (12.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.5 BPG).
Ball State gives up 69.3 points (178th) on 43.4 percent shooting (190th), including 36.9 percent from long distance (331st). It's 227th in schedule-adjusted defensive efficiency and 196th in assist-per-turnover ratio (0.97).