2021–22 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by ninth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 9–10 in MAC play to finish in sixth place. They lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.

2021–22 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record14–17 (9–10 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ben Botts (4th season)
  • Linc Darner (1st season)
  • Khristian Smith (1st season)
Home arenaWorthen Arena
Seasons
2021–22 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Toledo 17 3   .850 26 8   .765
Kent State 16 4   .800 23 11   .676
Ohio 14 6   .700 25 10   .714
Akron 14 6   .700 24 10   .706
Buffalo 13 6   .684 19 11   .633
Ball State 9 10   .474 14 17   .452
Miami (OH) 8 12   .400 14 18   .438
Central Michigan 6 12   .333 7 23   .233
Bowling Green 6 14   .300 13 18   .419
Northern Illinois 6 14   .300 9 21   .300
Eastern Michigan 5 15   .250 10 21   .323
Western Michigan 4 16   .200 8 23   .258
2022 MAC tournament winner

On March 14, 2022, the school fired head coach James Whitford.[1] On March 25, UCLA assistant coach Michael Lewis was named the team's new head coach.[2]

Previous season

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In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cardinals finished the 2020–21 season 7–11, 5–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. The Cardinals lost to Toledo in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.

Offseason

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Departures

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Departures
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jarron Coleman G 6'5 205 Redshirt Sophomore Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Missouri
Ishmael El-Amin G 6'3 180 Senior Minneapolis, MN Transferred to Rhode Island
Zach Gunn F 6'6 210 Redshirt Senior Fishers, IN Transferred to IUPUI
Brachen Hazen F 6'8 210 Redshirt Senior Columbia City, IN Transferred to Lipscomb
Chris Robinson G 6'2 185 Sophomore Indianapolis, IN
K.J. Walton G 6'3 200 Redshirt Senior Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Akron

Incoming transfers

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Transfers
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Tyler Cochran G 6'2 220 Junior Bolingbrook, IL Northern Illinois
Demarius Jacobs G 6'2 185 Senior Chicago, IL Saint Louis
Mickey Pearson Jr. F 6'7 210 Junior Lincoln, AL TCU

Recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Basheer Jihad
PF
Farmington Hills, MI North Farmington High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 14, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jaylin Sellers
SG
Columbus, GA George Washington Carver High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nov 11, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Payton Sparks
C
Winchester, IN Winchester Community High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Jul 17, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/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:

  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

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2021–22 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 Sr Cleveland, Ohio
G 1 Demarius Jacobs 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Chicago, Illinois
G 2 Luke Bumbalough 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr New Castle, Indiana
G 3 Teemu Suokas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Helsinki, Finland
G 4 Josh Bryan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Muncie, Indiana
C 5 Payton Sparks 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Winchester, Indiana
F 11 Basheer Jihad 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Detroit, Michigan
G/F 12 Jaylin Sellers 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Columbus, Georgia
G 13 Kani Acree 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Carbondale, Illinois
F 14 Mickey Pearson Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Lincoln, Alabama
G 23 Tyler Cochran 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Bolingbrook, Illinois
G 24 Jalen Windham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Indianapolis, Indiana
C 34 Ben Hendriks 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Mississauga, Ontario
C 44 Blake Huggins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Union City, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: November 30, 2021

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2021*
7:00 pm
Michigan Tech L 69–70  0–0
 13  Cochran   7  Cochran   5  Cochran  Worthen Arena (1,721)
Muncie, IN
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Georgia Southern L 71–82  0–1
 21  Bumbalough   12  Sparks   3  Tied  Hanner Fieldhouse (2,654)
Statesboro, GA
November 13, 2021*
12:00 pm, ESPN+/ESPN3
Omaha W 73–69  1–1
 14  Windham   6  Tied   8  Bumbalough  Worthen Arena (2,752)
Muncie, IN
November 18, 2021*
8:00 pm, CBS Sports
vs. FIU
Jersey Mike's Classic
L 60–73  1–2
 14  Jihad   6  Bumbalough   4  Tied  McArthur Center (205)
St. Petersburg, FL
November 19, 2021*
5:30 pm, CBS Sports
vs. Weber State
Jersey Mike's Classic
L 74–85  1–3
 14  Bumbalough   5  Pearson   5  Cochran  McArthur Center (375)
St. Petersburg, FL
November 21, 2021*
2:30 pm, CBS Sports
vs. UMass
Jersey Mike's Classic
W 89–86  2–3
 22  Cochran   8  Tied   4  Tied  McArthur Center (376)
St. Petersburg, FL
November 27, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+/ESPN3
Indiana State W 97–75  3–3
 15  Cochran   10  Thomas   5  Tied  Worthen Arena (3,017)
Muncie, IN
December 1, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Western Illinois L 80–93  3–4
 17  Bumbalough   9  Bumbalough   5  Sparks  Western Hall (998)
Macomb, IL
December 8, 2021*
6:30 pm, FS1
at Xavier L 50–96  3–5
 10  Tied   4  Tied   2  Tied  Cintas Center (9,865)
Cincinnati, OH
December 12, 2021*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
IU Kokomo W 85–58  4–5
 19  Cochran   7  Sparks   5  Tied  Worthen Arena (2,881)
Muncie, IN
December 18, 2021*
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Illinois State L 64–85  4–6
 14  Cochran   7  Cochran   3  Jacobs  Redbird Arena (2,704)
Normal, IL
December 21, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Eastern Illinois W 75–55  5–6
 16  Sparks   10  Cochran   6  Cochran  Worthen Arena (3,279)
Muncie, IN
MAC regular season
January 1, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Bowling Green W 81–80  6–6
(1–0)
 21  Bumbalough   14  Thomas   4  Bumbalough  Worthen Arena (2,160)
Muncie, IN
January 4, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Kent State L 65–66  6–7
(1–1)
 23  Cochran   9  Tied   4  Thomas  Worthen Arena 
Muncie, IN
January 8, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Michigan W 78–72  7–7
(2–1)
 20  Bumbalough   6  Tied   4  Jacobs  George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,242)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 11, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Akron L 74–84  7–8
(2–2)
 23  Sparks   10  Sparks   6  Jacobs  James A. Rhodes Arena (1,815)
Akron, OH
January 14, 2022
6:00 pm, CBS Sports
Buffalo L 68–74  7–9
(2–3)
 28  Cochran   16  Sparks   2  Tied  Worthen Arena (3,563)
Muncie, IN
January 18, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Toledo L 70–83  7–10
(2–4)
 17  Sparks   14  Sparks   4  Jacobs  Savage Arena (3,635)
Toledo, OH
January 22, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Central Michigan Postponed due to COVID-19 issues McGuirk Arena 
Mount Pleasant, MI
January 25, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Miami W 81–64  8–10
(3–4)
 26  Thomas   8  Thomas   5  Cochran  Worthen Arena (2,739)
Muncie, IN
January 27, 2022
8:00 pm, ESPN3
at Northern Illinois
Rescheduled from December 29
W 74–67  9–10
(4–4)
 17  Cochran   8  Sparks   4  Bumbalough  Convocation Center (613)
DeKalb, IL
January 29, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN3
Western Michigan W 83–72  10–10
(5–4)
 18  Thomas   10  Sparks   3  Tied  Worthen Arena (3,786)
Muncie, IN
February 1, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Ohio L 63–87  10–11
(5–5)
 17  Windham   11  Sparks   2  Tied  Convocation Center (4,721)
Athens, OH
February 5, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN+
Toledo W 93–83  11–11
(6–5)
 18  Sparks   11  Sparks   5  Thomas  Worthen Arena (3,321)
Muncie, IN
February 8, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Central Michigan L 85–89 OT 11–12
(6–6)
 17  Thomas   13  Sparks   5  Bumbalough  Worthen Arena (2,628)
Muncie, IN
February 12, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Buffalo L 74–80  11–13
(6–7)
 19  Sparks   12  Sparks   8  Cochran  Alumni Arena (3,014)
Amherst, NY
February 15, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Northern Illinois L 58–64  11–14
(6–8)
 16  Sparks   10  Cochran   2  Tied  Worthen Arena (2,918)
Muncie, IN
February 19, 2022
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at Bowling Green W 91–82  12–14
(7–8)
 18  Thomas   11  Sparks   4  Cochran  Stroh Center (1,928)
Bowling Green, OH
February 22, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Kent State L 82–93  12–15
(7–9)
 19  Thomas   6  Sparks   8  Jacobs  MAC Center (2,221)
Kent, OH
February 26, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN3
Eastern Michigan W 75–64  13–15
(8–9)
 17  Sparks   10  Sparks   3  Thomas  Worthen Arena (4,576)
Muncie, IN
March 1, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Akron L 60–79  13–16
(8–10)
 18  Cochran   10  Cochran   3  Bumbalough  Worthen Arena (3,003)
Muncie, IN
March 4, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Western Michigan W 64–63  14–16
(9–10)
 16  Sellers   10  Sparks   3  Sparks  University Arena (1,570)
Kalamazoo, MI
MAC tournament
March 10, 2022
5:30 p.m., ESPN+
(6) vs. (3) Ohio
Quarterfinals
L 67–77  14–17
 20  Sparks   14  Sparks   3  Cochran  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Sources: Ball State fires Whitford after 9 seasons". ESPN.com. March 14, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  2. ^ "Ball State hires Michael Lewis as men's basketball coach". Fox 59. March 25, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ball State Sports.