2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	15–16 (7–11 MAC)
Head coach	Michael Lewis (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Ben Botts (6th season); Lou Gudino (2nd season); Jamal Meeks (2nd season);
Home arena	Worthen Arena
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 ⊟

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	14	–	4	.778	20	–	12	.625
Akron †	13	–	5	.722	24	–	11	.686
Ohio	13	–	5	.722	20	–	13	.606
Central Michigan	12	–	6	.667	18	–	14	.563
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Western Michigan	9	–	9	.500	12	–	20	.375
Miami (OH)	9	–	9	.500	15	–	17	.469
Kent State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	17	.500
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	15	–	16	.484
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12	.333	13	–	18	.419
Northern Illinois	5	–	13	.278	11	–	20	.355
Buffalo	2	–	16	.111	4	–	27	.129

† 2024 MAC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by second-year head coach Michael Lewis, played their home games at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).^[1]^[2]^[3] They finished the season 15–16, 7–11 in MAC play, to finish in 9th place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2022–23 season 20–12 and 11–7 in MAC play.^[4] They were the fourth seed in the MAC tournament where they lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals.^[5]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jarron Coleman	G	6'5"	210	Redshirt junior	Indianapolis, IN	Transferred to Nebraska
Demarius Jacobs	G	6'2"	185	Senior	Chicago, IL	Exhausted eligibility
Luke Bumbalough	G	6'1"	180	Junior	New Castle, IN	Transferred to Niagara
Payton Sparks	C	6'9"	240	Sophomore	Winchester, IN	Transferred to Indiana
Jaylin Sellers	G	6'4"	180	Sophomore	Columbus, GA	Transferred to UCF
Darian Owens-White	G	6'1"	165	Graduate student	Detroit, MI	Exhausted eligibility
Kaiyem Cleary	G	6'6"	185	Junior	Manchester, England	Transferred to LeMoyne
Jalen Windham	G	6'5"	180	Junior	Indianapolis, IN	Transferred to Morehead State

Sources:^[6]^[7]

Incoming transfers

Transfers
Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Jalin Anderson	G	6'3"	185	Junior	Jackson, TN	Loyola Marymount
Ethan Brittain-Watts	G	6'2"	180	Graduate student	Indianapolis, IN	Boston
Davion Bailey	G	6'4"	190	Graduate student	Indianapolis, IN	Southeastern CC

Source:^[6]

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Jurica Zagorsak G	Croatia		6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A
Jurica Zagorsak G	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Joey Brown G	Indianapolis, IN	North Central	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	N/A
Joey Brown G	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78
Mason Jones G	Valparaiso, Indiana		6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	N/A
Mason Jones G	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Zane Doughty C	Indianapolis, IN		6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
Zane Doughty C	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Trent Middleton G	Philadelphia, PA	Spire Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
Trent Middleton G	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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	1	Jalin Anderson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Jackson, TN
G	2	Ethan Brittain-Watts	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	GS	Indianapolis, IN
F	3	Mickey Jr. Pearson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	RS Jr	Lincoln, AL
G	4	Micah Bell	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	RS Fr	Austell, GA
G	5	Davion Bailey	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Indianapolis, IN
F	11	Basheer Jihad	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	239 lb (108 kg)	Jr	Detroit, MI
G	12	Jurica Zagorsak	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	Fr	Croatia
G	13	Trent Middleton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	Fr	Philadelphia, PA
G	14	Jack Futa	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	So	South Bend, IN
G	15	Quincy Adams	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	RS Fr	Frisco, TX
G	23	Joey Brown	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Fr	Indianapolis, IN
G	33	Mason Jones	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	Fr	Valparaiso, IN
C	34	Ben Hendriks	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	239 lb (108 kg)	RS Jr	Mississauga, ON
C	54	Zane Doughty	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	224 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Indianapolis, IN

Head coach

Michael Lewis (Indiana)

Assistant coach(es)

Ben Botts (Purdue Fort Wayne)
Lou Gudino (Indiana)
Jamal Meeks (Indiana State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 12, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m., TBA	Rose–Hulman	W 85–52	–	–	–	–	Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	Goshen	W 101–40	1–0	21 – Jihad	7 – Doughty	7 – Middleton Jr.	Worthen Arena (3,071) Muncie, IN
November 11, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Old Dominion MAC–SBC Challenge	W 73–68	2–0	28 – Anderson	9 – Anderson	2 – tied	Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	Oakland City	W 91–51	3–0	20 – Anderson	7 – Brown	3 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,277) Muncie, IN
November 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Evansville	L 50–74	3–1	21 – Jihad	8 – Jihad	2 – Anderson	Ford Center (5,172) Evansville, IN
November 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	USC Upstate	W 75–58	4–1	24 – Pearson	7 – Jones	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,018) Muncie, IN
November 24, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 92–74	5–1	18 – Jihad	11 – Jihad	8 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,071) Muncie, IN
November 28, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN	at Little Rock	L 64–90	5–2	25 – Jihad	5 – Pearson Jr.	3 – Jihad	Jack Stephens Center (1,081) Little Rock, AR
December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Bellarmine	W 67–58	6–2	19 – Jihad	11 – Jihad	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,588) Muncie, IN
December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Detroit Mercy	W 68–65	7–2	26 – Jihad	10 – Jihad	5 – Anderson	Calihan Hall (733) Detroit, MI
December 10, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN	SIU Edwardsville	W 83–71	8–2	27 – Jihad	10 – Jihad	5 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,254) Muncie, IN
December 16, 2023* 1:45 p.m., Peacock	vs. Indiana State Indy Classic	L 72–83	8–3	18 – Anderson	8 – Anderson	6 – Anderson	Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
December 21, 2023* 8:00 p.m., B1G	at Minnesota	L 63–80	8–4	26 – Anderson	7 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	Williams Arena (7,261) Minneapolis, MN
MAC regular season
January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Kent State	L 69–82	8–5 (0–1)	23 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	5 – Anderson	MAC Center (1,796) Kent, OH
January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Central Michigan	L 65–71	8–6 (0–2)	21 – Bailey	11 – Jihad	4 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,612) Muncie, IN
January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	Akron	L 76–80	8–7 (0–3)	27 – Jihad	16 – Jihad	5 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,715) Muncie, IN
January 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Toledo	L 72–77	8–8 (0–4)	25 – Anderson	7 – Pearson Jr.	5 – Anderson	Savage Arena (4,413) Toledo, OH
January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Eastern Michigan	W 76–62	9–8 (1–4)	23 – Bailey	7 – Bailey	6 – Anderson	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,546) Ypsilanti, MI
January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Miami (OH)	L 80–87	9–9 (1–5)	29 – Jihad	10 – Pearson Jr.	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,408) Muncie, IN
January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Buffalo	W 87–59	10–9 (2–5)	20 – Jihad	11 – Pearson Jr.	4 – tied	Alumni Arena (2,007) Amherst, NY
January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Northern Illinois	W 81–71	11–9 (3–5)	28 – Jihad	14 – Jihad	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,010) Muncie, IN
January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	Bowling Green	L 72–81	11–10 (3–6)	22 – Jihad	8 – Jihad	3 – Pearson Jr.	Worthen Arena (3,488) Muncie, IN
February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN	at Western Michigan	W 77–67	12–10 (4–6)	20 – Anderson	8 – Jihad	5 – Jones	University Arena (1,729) Kalamazoo, MI
February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	Ohio	L 79–84 ^OT	12–11 (4–7)	22 – Anderson	9 – tied	5 – Middleton	Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN
February 10, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN	at Texas State MAC–SBC Challenge	L 60–68	12–12	19 – Jihad	9 – Jihad	4 – Anderson	Strahan Arena (1,407) San Marcos, TX
February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN	at Miami (OH)	L 59–80	12–13 (4–8)	18 – tied	6 – tied	3 – Anderson	Millett Hall (7,736) Oxford, OH
February 20, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN	at Northern Illinois	W 70–63	13–13 (5–8)	19 – Anderson	10 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	Convocation Center (1,317) DeKalb, IL
February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Eastern Michigan	L 56–58	13–14 (5–9)	18 – Jihad	16 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,708) Muncie, IN
February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Central Michigan	W 79–71	14–14 (6–9)	25 – Pearson Jr.	7 – tied	4 – tied	McGuirk Arena (1,472) Mount Pleasant, MI
March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN	Western Michigan	L 76–78 ^OT	14–15 (6–10)	25 – Anderson	7 – tied	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (5,223) Muncie, IN
March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	Kent State	W 76–69	15–15 (7–10)	23 – Anderson	10 – Jones	3 – tied	Worthen Arena (3,412) Muncie, IN
March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Bowling Green	L 70–80	15–16 (7–11)	22 – Anderson	9 – Jihad	5 – Jihad	Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[8]^[9]

References

^ "Michael Lewis". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
^ "Worthen Arena". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
^ "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
^ "Ohio 90, Ball State 70". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2023-24 Men's Basketball Roster". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ball State Sports. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
^ "Ball State Cardinals Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

[1] "Michael Lewis". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 8, 2023.

[2] "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved May 19, 2023.

[3] "Worthen Arena". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 18, 2023.

[4] "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved August 8, 2023.

[5] "Ohio 90, Ball State 70". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

[roster2024-6] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Roster". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2023.

[7] "2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster". Ball State Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2023.

[8] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ball State Sports. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

[9] "Ball State Cardinals Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

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v t e Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
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Culture & lore	Charlie Cardinal
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