Ball State bounced back from a blowout loss to Evansville with a 75-58 win over USC Upstate. The Cardinals (4-1) look to build off this momentum when the red and white take the court in Worthen Arena against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-2) at 2 p.m. Nov. 24.
The Cardinals (3-0) defeated Oakland City (1-4) 92-51, but that wasn't enough for head coach Michael Lewis. Ball State hits the road for the first time this season Saturday, Nov. 18, to face Evansville (2-0) at 2 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals used late-game defensive prowess and momentum-shifting plays to defeat Old Dominion (1-1) in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Ball State (2-0) stays at home for its next matchup, a 7 p.m. contest against Oakland City (1-3) Tuesday, Nov. 14 in Worthen Arena.
Ball State men's basketball rode a 27-0 ending to the first half to a 101-40 victory over Goshen in the Cardinals' season opener. Ball State returns to action with a matchup against Old Dominion (1-0) Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
Ball State men’s basketball looks to capitalize on newfound chemistry and established culture from head coach Michael Lewis with almost an entirely new squad.
Sparks averaged 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds this season while accumulating 29 blocks and 59 assists. He was named to the All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) Second Team this season as the Cardinals went 20-12 (11-7 MAC) and lost to Ohio 90-70 in the first round of the MAC Tournament – the Cardinals second-consecutive first round exit from the postseason.
Exactly one year from entering the transfer portal, Ball State Men's Basketball's Payton Sparks is on he move again, he announced today in a Twitter post.
In March 2022, the Cardinals were defeated in the MAC tournament, and a few weeks later, head coach Michael Lewis was hired after previous head coach James Whitford was fired. Lewis was able to return four players, who all made a significant impact on the team's success. Three of them were from the NCAA’s transfer portal, all sophomores: All-MAC Second Team member Payton Sparks (13.3 ppg, 8.7 rebs), All-MAC Third Team member Jaylin Sellers (13.7 ppg, 45 percent 3PT), and Basheer Jihad (7.1 ppg, 3.6 rebs).
March 7-11, seven members of Daily News Sports traveled to Cleveland to cover Ball State Men's and Women's Basketball in the MAC Tournament. After their trip, the seven wanted to take time to reflect on their opportunity to not only cover these games and more, but also their experience traveling together.
Cleveland, the host of the men's and women's basketball MAC Tournament, is around 265 miles and over four hours away from Muncie. But that distance did not stop the Ball State University faithful from showing up for the Cardinals this year.
After its first 20 win season in six years, the Ball State Cardinals (20-12) came into the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament as the No. 4 seed, and fell to the No. 5 seed Ohio Bobcats (19-13) 90-70. Head coach Michael Lewis was adamant that this one game cannot take away all the accomplishments and success they have brought on throughout the season.
In a MAC Tournament first round matchup, No. 4 seed Ball State (20-12) was defeated by No. 5 seed Ohio (19-13) 90-70. Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals' season-ending loss.
With the rankings set, the Cardinals have finished as the No. 4 seed. They will face No. 5 Ohio (18-13, 10-8 MAC) Thursday.
“We didn't come up with the same fire that we had at Akron, which is disappointing,” Ball State Men’s Basketball head coach Michael Lewis said. “We got to figure that out between now and Thursday.”
At a preseason get-together in Indianapolis, Michael Lewis was talking with a group of alumni and donors about the upcoming Ball State Men’s Basketball season, which would be his first as head coach of the program. A question was posed to Lewis, one that would kick off a revolution in the 2022-23 season: How can the Cardinals get butts in seats at Worthen Arena and build ‘The Nest,’ Worthen Arena’s student section? His idea, one he admitted may have made University President Geoffrey Mearns and Ball State Legal Services a little nervous, was pretty simple: free beer.
This season, the Cardinals won their 20th game Feb. 21 in a highly anticipated matchup with Kent State, who was first in the conference at the time. It is the first 20-win season in the last six. With victories over Toledo and Akron, who currently sit first and third in MAC standings respectively, Lewis’ squad is looking to make waves in the conference tournament.
This tournament will be the first one in a very long time that we see a different Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the men’s tournament. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, one of the game’s most legendary coaches has stepped away from coaching, so this will be the first ACC tournament we see without Coach K on the bench. The powerhouse programs of the ACC like Duke and North Carolina have taken a step backward and this has allowed other teams to take advantage. Pittsburgh, Miami and Virginia have taken their places this year amongst the ACC’s elite and are looking to capitalize.
It might be Déjà vu with the way this tournament is playing out so far, but it’s playing out like a movie script in a way. The top two seeds in each tournament feature the two teams who finished last year in the championship rounds of the men’s and women’s tournaments. These teams are all ranked in the top 10 teams in the nation, and all have solid basketball histories of glory and championships. Obviously, rematches are always fun, but there is something about PAC-12 rematches that are just so special. In that third game in a neutral site, you never know for sure who’s going to take the third and final round of the series, and that is what makes this tournament such a fun one to watch.
