2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

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.

2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	16–17 (6–12 MAC)
Head coach	James Whitford (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Jason Grunkemeyer Ben Botts (1st season) Matt Crenshaw
Home arena	Worthen Arena

2018–19 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
No. 15 Buffalo †	16	–	2		.889			32	–	4		.889
Bowling Green	12	–	6		.667			22	–	12		.647
Kent State	11	–	7		.611			22	–	11		.667
Akron	8	–	10		.444			17	–	16		.515
Miami (OH)	7	–	11		.389			15	–	17		.469
Ohio	6	–	12		.333			14	–	17		.452
West
Toledo	13	–	5		.722			25	–	8		.758
Central Michigan	10	–	8		.556			23	–	12		.657
Eastern Michigan	9	–	9		.500			15	–	17		.469
Northern Illinois	8	–	10		.444			17	–	17		.500
Ball State	6	–	12		.333			16	–	17		.485
Western Michigan	2	–	16		.111			8	–	24		.250
† 2019 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.

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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.

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 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

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.

See also

• 2018–19 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team