2019–20 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represent Ball State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by seventh-year head coach James Whitford, play their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

2019–20 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
MAC West Division co-champions
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	18–13 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach	James Whitford (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Jason Grunkemeyer Ben Botts (2nd season) Matt Crenshaw
Home arena	Worthen Arena

2019–20 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Akron	14	–	4		.778			24	–	7		.774
Bowling Green	12	–	6		.667			21	–	10		.677
Buffalo	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Kent State	9	–	9		.500			20	–	12		.625
Ohio	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Miami (OH)	5	–	13		.278			13	–	19		.406
West
Ball State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Northern Illinois	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Toledo	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Central Michigan	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Western Michigan	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12		.333			16	–	16		.500
Note: The 2020 MAC tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2018–19 season 16–17, 6–12 to finish in fifth place in the MAC West division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament to Bowling Green.

Roster

2019–20 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 0 Miryne Thomas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Cleveland, Ohio G 1 K.J. Walton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Indianapolis, Indiana G 2 Luke Bumbalough 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr New Castle, Indiana G 3 Josh Thompson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Indianapolis, Indiana G 4 Lucas Kroft 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Fort Wayne, Indiana G 5 Ishmael El-Amin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Minneapolis, Minnesota G 11 Jarron Coleman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Indianapolis, Indiana F 12 Brachen Hazen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Columbia City, Indiana G 13 Kani Acree 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Carbondale, Illinois F 14 Kyle Mallers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Fort Wayne, Indiana F 15 Zach Gunn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Fishers, Indiana F 25 Tahjai Teague 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Indianapolis, Indiana C 34 Ben Hendriks 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Mississauga, Ontario C 44 Blake Huggins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS So Union City, Tennessee	Head coach James Whitford (Wisconsin) Assistant coach(es) Jason Grunkemeyer (Miami (OH)) Ben Botts (Purdue Fort Wayne) Matt Crenshaw (IUPUI) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 24, 2019

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Defiance	W 87–43	1–0	John E. Worthen Arena (3,429) Muncie, IN
November 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Evansville	L 75–79	1–1	Ford Center (5,372) Evansville, IN
November 13, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at UIC	W 67–48	2–1	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,906) Chicago, IL
November 17, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. Indiana State	W 69–55	3–1	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (2,425) Indianapolis, IN
November 20, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Kentucky	L 57–59	3–2	John E. Worthen Arena (3,722) Muncie, IN
November 23, 2019* 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Howard	W 100–69	4–2	John E. Worthen Arena (4,192) Muncie, IN
November 26, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3		Western Illinois	L 62–69	4–3	John E. Worthen Arena (3,088) Muncie, IN
December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Loyola–Chicago	L 58-70	4–4	John E. Worthen Arena (4,128) Muncie, IN
December 7, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		IUPUI	W 102–54	5–4	John E. Worthen Arena (4,733) Muncie, IN
December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, ACCNX		at Georgia Tech Diamond Head Classic	W 65–47	6–4	McCamish Pavilion (4,203) Atlanta, GA
December 22, 2019* 9:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 22 Washington Diamond Head Classic quarterfinal	L 64–85	6–5	Stan Sheriff Center (6,179) Honolulu, HI
December 24, 2019* 1:30 am, ESPNU		vs. UTEP Diamond Head Classic consolation 2nd round	L 70–71	6–6	Stan Sheriff Center (5,757) Honolulu, HI
December 25, 2019* 1:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Portland Diamond Head Classic 7th place game	W 61–46	7–6	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
MAC regular season
January 3, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Toledo	W 61–57	8–6 (1–0)	John E. Worthen Arena (4,707) Muncie, IN
January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Buffalo	W 88–68	9–6 (2–0)	John E. Worthen Arena (4,811) Muncie, IN
January 10, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN		at Akron	L 60–75	9–7 (2–1)	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,706) Akron, OH
January 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 69–52	10–7 (3–1)	Convocation Center (1,313) Ypsilanti, MI
January 18, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Miami (OH)	W 71–62	11–7 (4–1)	John E. Worthen Arena (4,624) Muncie, IN
January 25, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3		at Central Michigan	L 66–71	11–8 (4–2)	McGuirk Arena (2,371) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bowling Green	L 61–67	11–9 (4–3)	Stroh Center (2,125) Bowling Green, OH
February 1, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Ohio	W 65–54	12–9 (5–3)	John E. Worthen Arena (5,238) Muncie, IN
February 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kent State	W 62–54	13–9 (6–3)	MAC Center (2,025) Kent, OH
February 8, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at Western Michigan	L 64–68	13–10 (6–4)	University Arena (2,387) Kalamazoo, MI
February 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Illinois	W 63–59	14–10 (7–4)	John E. Worthen Arena (4,288) Muncie, IN
February 15, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Bowling Green	L 71–77	14–11 (7–5)	John E. Worthen Arena (5,492) Muncie, IN
February 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Buffalo	L 59–72	14–12 (7–6)	Alumni Arena (4,044) Amherst, NY
February 22, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Eastern Michigan	W 64–55	15–12 (8–6)	John E. Worthen Arena (5,921) Muncie, IN
February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 71–61	16–12 (9–6)	John E. Worthen Arena (4,390) Muncie, IN
February 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Toledo	L 63–69	16–13 (9–7)	Savage Arena (5,842) Toledo, OH
March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 85–68	17–13 (10–7)	John E. Worthen Arena (4,008) Muncie, IN
March 6, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Northern Illinois	W 75–54	18–13 (11–7)	Convocation Center (1,749) DeKalb, IL
MAC tournament
March 12, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Kent State Quarterfinals	MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic		Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse  Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source.

See also

• 2019–20 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team