Post by Commissioner on Nov 18, 2024 17:07:29 GMT -5
Ball State
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7:00 P.M.
Muncie, IN
Livestream: ESPN+
The schedule is getting tougher for our young Titans. After the loss to Toledo, a perennial MAC favorite, the Titans now travel to Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State. The Cardinals were only projected to finish 7th this year in the MAC, but it's a road game. And the Titans need a win, because after this we face Wake Forest on the road, then Tulsa and Rhode Island down in Florida. In fact, 9 of the Titans next 11 games will be away from Calihan.
Like so many mid-majors these days, the Cardinals are an older team with a heavy contingent of transfers. Their top seven players in minutes so far this year are five seniors and two juniors.
Probable Starters
PG - #2, Ethan Brittain-Watts, 6-2 RS Sr. (8.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 38.9% 3Pt). Watts is a transfer from Boston U. who has started the last two games.
SG - #1, Jermhari Hill, 6-5 Jr.. Hill, a classic wing, is the Cardinals leading scorer at 17.5 ppg and also averaging 5 rebounds. A transfer from South Plains JC in Texas, Hill does his offensive work on cuts and drives--he is almost worthless as a three point shooter (1--10 so far this year; 24.3% at South Plains in 2024).
SF - #10, Mickey Pearson, 6-7 RS Sr. (12.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg). Pearson, the team's leading rebounder, is playing his 4th season at Ball State, 3rd as a starter, after beginning his collegiate career at TCU. He also leads the team in 3 point attempts, but has shot just 26.4%. He was better last year at 35.9% and, with our luck, will hit his stride on Wednesday.
PF - #24, Mason Jones, 6-7 Soph. (1.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg). Jones has started the last two games, but actually played fewer minutes in each than the man he replaced in the starting lineup, Jeremiah Hernandez.
C- #5, Payton Sparks, 6-9 Sr. (9.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg). A 240 pound bruiser, Sparks played played his first two seasons at Ball State, and was MAC Freshman of the Year in 2022 and a second team All-Conference selection in 2023. He transferred over to Indiana last season, but that didn't work out, as he averaged just 2 points and 7 minutes per game, so he came back to Muncie. Sparks' numbers are down so far from his prior two seasons at Ball State, where he averaged over 13 points and 8 rebounds each year, so there's a good likelihood he'll exceed those stat numbers listed above.
Top Reserves
PG - #4, Juan Gorosito, 6-1 Jr. (6.5 ppg). A transfer from Portland, where he averaged 8.6 points last season. He's the team's primary three-point threat, at least so long as Pearson keeps shooting down around 25%. Gorosito is at 37.1% from behind the line for his career.
SG - # 33, Jeremiah Hernandez, 6-4 Sr. (6.3 ppg). After two non-descript years at Kent State and a third at Southern Indiana, Hernandez blossomed last year to average 17.2 ppg at Southern Indiana. So he skipped town for the green grass of Muncie, where he started the first two games and continues to get major PT. He'll shoot the occasional three, but not a lot--he's at just 22.2% this year, and even last year, when he averaged over 17 points for Southern Indiana, he made just 31.7% of his attempts.
SG - #22, TJ Burch, 6-1 Fr. The freshman Burch is the team's quick offense off the bench. He sat out Ball State's opening loss to Georgia State, but has averaged 10.3 points in an average of just 13.7 minutes per game since. That often looks like the profile of a big three point shooter, but that's not the case with Burch, who has taken just four threes (though he's 3-4).
C - #34 Ben Hendriks, 6-10 RS Jr. (4.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Now in his 6th season at Ball State--that's loyalty you don't see much any more--Hendriks has only used up 2 seasons of eligibility, with medical redshirt years in 2020 and 2022, and a Covid Redshirt year for 2021, when he played in 17 games.
Each of the above nine players averages over 13.5 minutes per game. Expect as well to see Joey Hart, a 6-5 sophomore guard, who has played in all four games, averaging 9 minutes but just 1.5 points.
It's tough to get a read on Ball State from the small bit of play to date. The Cardinals beat up on D-3 Franklin, but have lost to Georgia State (by 5) and Dayton (by 8) on the road. In their last outing, they lost in Muncie by 10 to a good Indiana State team. None of those strike me as bad losses at all. I don't see a line on the game, but I'd have to figure Ball State will be favored about 6 to 10 points.
Ball State doesn't shoot a lot of 3 pointers, and so far they've struggled from deep, hitting just 29.7% as a team. They've played their early games at a modest pace, but not excessively so.
Should be a good game.
Go Titans!
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7:00 P.M.
Muncie, IN
Livestream: ESPN+
The schedule is getting tougher for our young Titans. After the loss to Toledo, a perennial MAC favorite, the Titans now travel to Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State. The Cardinals were only projected to finish 7th this year in the MAC, but it's a road game. And the Titans need a win, because after this we face Wake Forest on the road, then Tulsa and Rhode Island down in Florida. In fact, 9 of the Titans next 11 games will be away from Calihan.
Like so many mid-majors these days, the Cardinals are an older team with a heavy contingent of transfers. Their top seven players in minutes so far this year are five seniors and two juniors.
Probable Starters
PG - #2, Ethan Brittain-Watts, 6-2 RS Sr. (8.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 38.9% 3Pt). Watts is a transfer from Boston U. who has started the last two games.
SG - #1, Jermhari Hill, 6-5 Jr.. Hill, a classic wing, is the Cardinals leading scorer at 17.5 ppg and also averaging 5 rebounds. A transfer from South Plains JC in Texas, Hill does his offensive work on cuts and drives--he is almost worthless as a three point shooter (1--10 so far this year; 24.3% at South Plains in 2024).
SF - #10, Mickey Pearson, 6-7 RS Sr. (12.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg). Pearson, the team's leading rebounder, is playing his 4th season at Ball State, 3rd as a starter, after beginning his collegiate career at TCU. He also leads the team in 3 point attempts, but has shot just 26.4%. He was better last year at 35.9% and, with our luck, will hit his stride on Wednesday.
PF - #24, Mason Jones, 6-7 Soph. (1.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg). Jones has started the last two games, but actually played fewer minutes in each than the man he replaced in the starting lineup, Jeremiah Hernandez.
C- #5, Payton Sparks, 6-9 Sr. (9.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg). A 240 pound bruiser, Sparks played played his first two seasons at Ball State, and was MAC Freshman of the Year in 2022 and a second team All-Conference selection in 2023. He transferred over to Indiana last season, but that didn't work out, as he averaged just 2 points and 7 minutes per game, so he came back to Muncie. Sparks' numbers are down so far from his prior two seasons at Ball State, where he averaged over 13 points and 8 rebounds each year, so there's a good likelihood he'll exceed those stat numbers listed above.
Top Reserves
PG - #4, Juan Gorosito, 6-1 Jr. (6.5 ppg). A transfer from Portland, where he averaged 8.6 points last season. He's the team's primary three-point threat, at least so long as Pearson keeps shooting down around 25%. Gorosito is at 37.1% from behind the line for his career.
SG - # 33, Jeremiah Hernandez, 6-4 Sr. (6.3 ppg). After two non-descript years at Kent State and a third at Southern Indiana, Hernandez blossomed last year to average 17.2 ppg at Southern Indiana. So he skipped town for the green grass of Muncie, where he started the first two games and continues to get major PT. He'll shoot the occasional three, but not a lot--he's at just 22.2% this year, and even last year, when he averaged over 17 points for Southern Indiana, he made just 31.7% of his attempts.
SG - #22, TJ Burch, 6-1 Fr. The freshman Burch is the team's quick offense off the bench. He sat out Ball State's opening loss to Georgia State, but has averaged 10.3 points in an average of just 13.7 minutes per game since. That often looks like the profile of a big three point shooter, but that's not the case with Burch, who has taken just four threes (though he's 3-4).
C - #34 Ben Hendriks, 6-10 RS Jr. (4.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Now in his 6th season at Ball State--that's loyalty you don't see much any more--Hendriks has only used up 2 seasons of eligibility, with medical redshirt years in 2020 and 2022, and a Covid Redshirt year for 2021, when he played in 17 games.
Each of the above nine players averages over 13.5 minutes per game. Expect as well to see Joey Hart, a 6-5 sophomore guard, who has played in all four games, averaging 9 minutes but just 1.5 points.
It's tough to get a read on Ball State from the small bit of play to date. The Cardinals beat up on D-3 Franklin, but have lost to Georgia State (by 5) and Dayton (by 8) on the road. In their last outing, they lost in Muncie by 10 to a good Indiana State team. None of those strike me as bad losses at all. I don't see a line on the game, but I'd have to figure Ball State will be favored about 6 to 10 points.
Ball State doesn't shoot a lot of 3 pointers, and so far they've struggled from deep, hitting just 29.7% as a team. They've played their early games at a modest pace, but not excessively so.
Should be a good game.
Go Titans!
