2020–21 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

2020–21 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record10–13 (8–9 MAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachJason Grunkemeyer
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWorthen Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Toledo 15 – 4   .789 21 – 9   .700
Buffalo 12 – 5   .706 16 – 9   .640
Akron 12 – 6   .667 15 – 8   .652
Kent State 12 – 6   .667 15 – 8   .652
Ohio † 9 – 5   .643 17 – 8   .680
Bowling Green 10 – 8   .556 14 – 12   .538
Miami (OH) 9 – 8   .529 12 – 11   .522
Ball State 8 – 9   .471 10 – 13   .435
Western Michigan 4 – 12   .250 5 – 16   .238
Eastern Michigan 3 – 11   .214 6 – 12   .333
Central Michigan 3 – 13   .188 7 – 16   .304
Northern Illinois 2 – 12   .143 3 – 16   .158
† 2021 MAC tournament winner

The 2020–21 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by eighth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the Mid-American Conference. Starting this season, the MAC announced the removal of divisions.[1]

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 11–7, to finish in a tie for first place in the MAC West division. They were scheduled to play Kent State in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Roster

2020–21 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) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Maryland Eastern Shore Cleveland, Ohio
G 1 K.J. Walton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Missouri Indianapolis, Indiana
G 2 Luke Bumbalough 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So New Castle High School New Castle, Indiana
G 3 Teemu Suokas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Helsinki Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland
G 4 Josh Bryan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr UIndy Muncie, Indiana
G 5 Ishmael El-Amin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Hopkins High School Minneapolis, Minnesota
G 11 Jarron Coleman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Cathedral High School Indianapolis, Indiana
F 12 Brachen Hazen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Arkansas Columbia City, Indiana
G 13 Kani Acree 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Carbondale Community High School Carbondale, Illinois
F 15 Zach Gunn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Hamilton Southeastern High School Fishers, Indiana
G/F 23 Reggie Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Tulsa Marion, Indiana
G 24 Jalen Windham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Creighton Indianapolis, Indiana
G 25 Chris Robinson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So IU–Northwest Indianapolis, Indiana
C 34 Ben Hendriks 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Orangeville Prep Mississauga, Ontario
C 44 Blake Huggins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Jr Obion County Central High School Union City, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 29, 2020

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Northern Kentucky L 73–74  0–1
 BB&T Arena 
Highland Heights, KY
December 2, 2020*
7:00 pm, BTN 		at Michigan L 65–84  0–2
 Crisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
December 5, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		UIC W 68–66  1–2
 Worthen Arena (96)
Muncie, IN
December 12, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Northern Illinois W 79–70 OT 2–2
(1–0) 		Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
December 12, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Illinois State W 82–66  3–2
 Worthen Arena (107)
Muncie, IN
December 19, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Indiana State L 57–67  3–3
 Hulman Center (100)
Terre Haute, IN
December 22, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Western Michigan W 76–68  4–3
(2–0) 		University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 2, 2021
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		Ohio L 68–78  4–4
(2–1) 		Worthen Arena (75)
Muncie, IN
January 5, 2021
 Western Michigan Postponed Worthen Arena 
Muncie, IN
January 9, 2021
5:00 pm 		at Buffalo L 69–86  4–5
(2–2) 		Alumni Arena 
Amherst, NY
January 12, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Bowling Green W 88–64  5–5
(3–2) 		Stroh Center 
Bowling Green, OH
January 16, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Northern Illinois W 78–58  6–5
(4–2) 		Worthen Arena (132)
Muncie, IN
January 19, 2021
7:00 pm 		at Miami (OH) L 71–81  6–6
(4–3) 		Millett Hall 
Oxford, OH
January 23, 2021
1:30 pm 		at Ohio L 77–85  6–7
(4–4) 		Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
January 26, 2021
7:00 pm 		Kent State Postponed Worthen Arena 
Muncie, IN
January 30, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Akron L 42–74  6–8
(4–5) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (25)
Akron, OH
February 2, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Buffalo L 58–78  6–9
(4–6) 		Worthen Arena (235)
Muncie, IN
February 6, 2021
12:00 pm, CBSSN 		Toledo W 81–67  7–9
(5–6) 		Worthen Arena (195)
Muncie, IN
February 9, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Central Michigan Postponed McGuirk Arena 
Mount Pleasant, MI
February 13, 2021
1:00 pm 		at Eastern Michigan Postponed Convocation Center 
Ypsilanti, MI
February 16, 2021
7:00 pm 		Bowling Green L 62–75  7–10
(5–7) 		Worthen Arena 
Muncie, IN
February 19, 2021
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		Akron L 79–88  7–11
(5–8) 		Worthen Arena (90)
Muncie, IN
February 21, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Michigan Postponed Worthen Arena 
Muncie, IN
February 24, 2021
2:00 pm 		Kent State W 90–71  8–11
(6–8) 		Worthen Arena (109)
Muncie, IN
February 27, 2021
1:00 pm 		Central Michigan W 97–91  9–11
(7–8) 		Worthen Arena (150)
Muncie, IN
March 2, 2021
7:00 pm 		at Eastern Michigan W 100–65  10–11
(8–8) 		Convocation Center (92)
Ypsilanti, MI
March 5, 2021
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Toledo L 70–89  10–12
(8–9) 		Savage Arena 
Toledo, OH
MAC tournament
March 11, 2021
11:00 am, ESPN+ 		(8) vs. (1) Toledo
Quarterfinals 		L 89–91 OT 10–13
 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[3]

References

  1. ^ "Mid-American Conference cancels postseason tournaments for eight sports, changes basketball format". CBSSports.com. May 12, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "2020 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament canceled over coronavirus outbreak". Fox News. March 8, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved December 29, 2020.