2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Cardinals, led by sixth-year head coach James Whitford , played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference . They finished the season 16–17, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in fifth place in the West Division. They defeated Eastern Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Bowling Green .
Previous season
The Cardinals finished the 2017–18 season 19–13, 10–8 to finish in third place in the MAC West division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament to Kent State .
Offseason
Departures
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Reason for departure
Francis Kiapway
0
G
6'3"
190
Senior
Hamilton, ON
Graduated
Jontrell Walker
1
G
6'1'
182
RS Junior
Aurora, IL
Graduate transferred to Jackson State
Tyler Leedy
11
G
6'0"
146
Freshman
Zionsville, IN
Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Sean Sellers
34
G/F
6'6"
216
Senior
Greensburg, IN
Graduated
Incoming Transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Miryne Thomas
1
F
6'8"
190
Sophomore
Cleveland, OH
Transferred from Maryland Eastern Shore . Under NCAA transfer rules, Thomas will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Austin Nehls
20
G
6'3"
185
Senior
Tucson, AZ
Transferred from Central Connecticut . Will be eligible to play immediately since Nehls graduated from Central Connecticut .
Recruiting class of 2018
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Jarron Coleman SG
Indianapolis, IN
Cathedral High School
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Apr 26, 2017
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : ESPN grade: NR
Kani Acree SF
Carbondale, IL
Carbondale Community High School
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jul 13, 2017
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Recruiting class of 2019
College recruiting information (2019)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Lucas Kroft SG
Fort Wayne, IN
North Side High School
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jun 22, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : ESPN grade: NR
Luke Bumbalough SG
New Castle, IN
New Castle High School
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jun 24, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Roster
2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
F
0
Miryne Thomas
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
199 lb (90 kg)
So
Central Catholic Maryland Eastern Shore
Cleveland, OH
G
1
K. J. Walton
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
RS Jr
Brownsburg Missouri
Indianapolis, IN
G
2
Tayler Persons
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
196 lb (89 kg)
RS Sr
Kokomo Northern Kentucky
Kokomo, IN
G
3
Josh Thompson (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
194 lb (88 kg)
RS Jr
Lawrence North
Indianapolis, IN
G
5
Ishmael El-Amin
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
So
Hopkins
Minneapolis, MN
G
11
Jarron Coleman
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
208 lb (94 kg)
Fr
Cathedral
Indianapolis, IN
F
12
Brachen Hazen
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
211 lb (96 kg)
RS So
Columbia City Arkansas
Columbia City, IN
G/F
13
Kani Acree
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Fr
Carbondale Community
Carbondale, IL
F
14
Kyle Mallers
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
217 lb (98 kg)
Jr
Carroll
Fort Wayne, IN
F
15
Zach Gunn
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Hamilton Southeastern
Fishers, IN
G
20
Austin Nehls
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
182 lb (83 kg)
Sr
Cheshire Academy Central Connecticut State
Tucson, AZ
C
24
Trey Moses
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
Sr
Eastern
Louisville, KY
F
25
Tahjai Teague
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Jr
Pike
Indianapolis, IN
C
44
Blake Huggins
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
RS Fr
Obion County Central
Union City, TN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 2, 2018 *7:00 pm
Indianapolis
W 92–76
Worthen Arena (3,214)Muncie, IN
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
Indiana State
W 86–69
1–0
Worthen Arena (4,022)Muncie, IN
Nov 10, 2018 *8:00 pm, BTN
at No. 24 Purdue Charleston Classic non-bracket game
L 75–84
1–1
Mackey Arena (14,804)West Lafayette, IN
Nov 15, 2018 *11:30 am, ESPN2
vs. No. 16 Virginia Tech Charleston Classic quarterfinals
L 64–73
1–2
TD Arena (2,648)Charleston, SC
Nov 16, 2018 *1:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. Alabama Charleston Classic consolation 2nd round
L 61–79
1–3
TD Arena (2,752)Charleston, SC
Nov 18, 2018 *11:00 am, ESPN3
vs. Appalachian State Charleston Classic 7th place game
W 94–86 OT
2–3
TD Arena (2,862)Charleston, SC
Nov 24, 2018 *2:00 pm, ESPN3
Evansville
W 82–72
3–3
Worthen Arena (3,224)Muncie, IN
Nov 27, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
Tiffin
W 108–62
4–3
Worthen Arena (3,609)Muncie, IN
Dec 1, 2018 *1:00 pm, ESPN3
at IUPUI
W 85–75
5–3
Indiana Farmers Coliseum (2,150)Indianapolis, IN
Dec 5, 2018 *9:00 pm, NBCSCH /ESPN+
at Loyola–Chicago
W 75-69
6-3
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,831)Chicago, IL
Dec 9, 2018 *3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Evansville
L 77-89
6-4
Ford Center (5,672)Evansville, IN
Dec 17, 2018 *8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Valparaiso
W 77-61
7-4
Athletics–Recreation Center (3,636)Valparaiso, IN
Dec 20, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
Howard
W 98–71
8–4
Worthen Arena (3,324)Muncie, IN
Dec 29, 2018 *2:00 pm, ESPN3
Delaware State
W 116–57
9–4
Worthen Arena (3,424)Muncie, IN
MAC regular season
Jan 4, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN
at Toledo
W 79–64
10–4 (1–0)
Savage Arena (5,023)Toledo, OH
Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Eastern Michigan
W 84–82 2OT
10–5 (1–1)
Worthen Arena (4,248)Muncie, IN
Jan 12, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN+
Ohio
W 70–52
10–6 (1–2)
Worthen Arena (4,076)Muncie, IN
Jan 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bowling Green
W 79–78
10–7 (1–3)
Stroh Center (1,507)Bowling Green, OH
Jan 19, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3
at Central Michigan
W 83–72
11–7 (2–3)
McGuirk Arena (2,204)Mount Pleasant, MI
Jan 22, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Miami (OH)
W 71–65
11–8 (2–4)
Worthen Arena (3,742)Muncie, IN
Jan 26, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Ohio
L 74–78
11–9 (2–5)
Convocation Center (6,556)Athens, OH
Jan 29, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3
at No. 18 Buffalo
L 59–83
11–10 (2–6)
Alumni Arena (4,747)Amherst, NY
Feb 2, 2019 12:00 pm, CBSSN
Kent State
W 83–80 OT
11–11 (2–7)
Worthen Arena (4,024)Muncie, IN
Feb 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Illinois
W 72–71
12–11 (3–7)
Convocation Center (462)DeKalb, IL
Feb 9, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Michigan
W 79–59
13–11 (4–7)
Worthen Arena (4,312)Muncie, IN
Feb 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3
Akron
W 57–56
14–11 (5–7)
Worthen Arena (4,577)Muncie, IN
Feb 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Miami (OH)
W 69–66
14–12 (5–8)
Millett Hall (1,871)Oxford, OH
Feb 23, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+
Central Michigan
L 57–64
14–13 (5–9)
Worthen Arena (4,834)Muncie, IN
Feb 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Toledo
L 72–80
14–14 (5–10)
Worthen Arena (4,691)Muncie, IN
Mar 2, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Western Michigan
W 60–58
15–14 (6–10)
University Arena (2,441)Kalamazoo, MI
Mar 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Michigan
L 61–68
15–15 (6–11)
Convocation Center (1,780)Ypsilanti, MI
Mar 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Northern Illinois
W 64–57
15–16 (6–12)
Worthen Arena (5,524)Muncie, IN
MAC tournament
Mar 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
(11)
at (6) Eastern Michigan First Round
W 61–43
16–16
Convocation Center (1,265)Ypsilanti, MI
Mar 14, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN+
(11)
vs. (3) Bowling Green Quarterfinals
L 86–99
16–17
Quicken Loans Arena (2,499)Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time
Source
[ 1] [ 2] .
See also
References