Ball State records set vs. Eastern Michigan
Most 3-point shots: 18
Most 3-point attempts: 39
Most points vs. Division I opponent (tied): 115
Ball State men's basketball rewrote the record books in its 115-79 victory over Mid-American Conference rival Eastern Michigan on Feb. 27.
Eighteen 3-point shots fell in for the Cardinals, breaking the record set on Dec. 15, 2001, against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Ball State's 39 3-point attempts against Eastern Michigan was also a school record.
The Cardinal's 115-point performance also tied the program record for the most points against a Division I opponent and is tied for the fifth-highest single-game total in school history.
Head coach James Whitford said even he was surprised by the scoring outburst.
“You know, it is crazy,” Whitford said. “A lot of that had to do with the number of possessions in the game, but I don’t really concern myself with that, though; I concern myself with the efficiency ratio."
Ball State shot 55.1 percent from the field (38-69), was 21-29 from the free-throw line (72.4 percent), and its 46.1 percent rate from three was well above its 37.5 percent clip entering the game.
Sophomore forward Sean Sellers led the Cardinals with seven 3-pointers and 26 points. Five other players also scored 10 or more points -- the first time six Ball State players have scored 10 or more points since the 2009 season.
Junior forward Franko House scored 20 points and said the balanced attack "is very exciting for us."
"We know we can score the ball pretty well,” he said. “For our shooters to put it in the bucket like they did is good going into the tournament, giving our shooters a lot of confidence.”
After racking up 30 assists against Eastern Michigan, Ball State is now third in the MAC with 14.6 assists per game. Nine players had it least one assist against the Eagles, led by junior guard Ryan Weber's six.
Whitford said he was shocked with his team's effort after the Cardinals started the game with a 14-0 run. He specifically mentioned winning the rebounding battle, 47-30, and scoring 26 second-chance points.
“We dominated them on the glass,” Whitford said. “It is probably as important as anything in the game, besides getting more possessions. I really think [offensive rebounding] broke them.”
Though the Cardinals scored 101 points against NAIA IU-Kokomo last season, they had not scored more than 100 points against a Division I team since losing to Akron in overtime, 105-104, in 2003.
Ball State (19-10, 10-6 MAC) has two regular season games left before the MAC tournament, but can clinch the MAC West Division title and a bye to the quarterfinals in Cleveland with a win against Central Michigan (16-13, 9-7 MAC) at 7 p.m. March 1 in Worthen Arena.
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