Game #10 - Ball State @ Worthen Arena Muncie, Saturday, Dec. 9, 1pm ESPN3

[talksalot]

Before the Boiler Up game finished, Valpo is an 8-point favorite on Nolan, with a 68% probability of winning.

Will they be celebrating their Irish win?

They have two home wins, #276 Stony Brook and #315 IUPUI; Their losses are to Dayton, Oklahoma, Oregon and Bucknell all on the road and road wins over Indiana State and ND.

## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg
02 PERSONS, Tayler 9-9 257 28.6 57-107 . 5 3 3 7-20 . 3 5 0 25-31 . 8 0 6 3 25 28 3.1 26 0 39 30 2 10 146 16.2
14 MALLERS, Kyle 9-9 222 24.7 29-63 .460 13-37 .351 33-37 .892 18 25 43 4.8 23 1 7 17 6 5 104 11.6
25 TEAGUE, Tahjai 9-9 190 21.1 40-62 . 6 4 5 1-4 . 2 5 0 19-27 . 7 0 4 17 52 69 7.7 27 2 5 11 9 13 100 11.1
34 SELLERS, Sean 9-8 224 24.9 24-54 .444 16-45 .356 15-15 1.000 4 21 25 2.8 14 0 10 5 1 1 79 8.8
01 WALKER, Jontrell 9-4 208 23.1 25-56 . 4 4 6 13-30 . 4 3 3 15-17 . 8 8 2 2 8 10 1.1 15 0 20 14 2 6 78 8.7
24 MOSES, Trey 9-0 166 18.4 19-37 .514 0-0 .000 18-31 .581 15 36 51 5.7 17 0 7 12 6 4 56 6.2
15 GUNN, Zach 9-0 138 15.3 19-47 . 4 0 4 7-25 . 2 8 0 10-13 . 7 6 9 4 26 30 3.3 18 0 8 10 3 2 55 6.1
05 EL-AMIN, Ishmael 9-0 169 18.8 18-53 .340 6-22 .273 10-14 .714 2 19 21 2.3 10 0 20 13 0 5 52 5.8
00 KIAPWAY, Francis 8-6 163 20.4 10-37 . 2 7 0 10-34 . 2 9 4 7-9 . 7 7 8 2 7 9 1.1 12 0 3 8 1 2 37 4.6
22 TYLER, Jeremie 4-0 46 11.5 5-15 .333 4-10 .400 2-4 .500 1 3 4 1.0 8 1 1 2 0 2 16 4.0
03 THOMPSON, Josh 2-0 16 8.0 0-2 . 0 0 0 0-1 . 0 0 0 1-2 . 5 0 0 0 2 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
11 LEEDY, Tyler 1-0 1 1.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Team 12 14 26 1
Total.......... 9 1800 246-533 .462 77-228 .338 155-200 .775 80 238 318 35.3 170 4 120 123 30 50 724 80.4
Opponents...... 9 1800 255-556 . 4 5 9 72-204 . 3 5 3 145-194 . 7 4 7 90 233 323 35.9 175 - 143 115 33 68 727 80.8

the story of the BSU win over the Irish
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Ball State men's basketball team went into the Joyce Center and knocked off No. 8 Notre Dame, 80-77, Tuesday night for the program's first victory over a ranked opponent since 2001.
 
Junior point guard Tayler Persons scored 24 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds as Ball State handed Notre Dame its first non-conference home loss in four years.
 
The Cardinals led the majority of the night until Notre Dame's Matt Farrell hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 77 with 21 seconds left. Ball State had a timeout left but did not call it. Persons kept the ball, went around a screen at the top of the key and buried the game-winner.
 
Ball State (5-4) defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since defeating No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA on back-to-back days at the 2001 Maui Invitational.
 
"I'm just so proud of our guys," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "What a great win. We've come a long way. You think about where we started. To get to this point where we can beat a team like this on the road is amazing."
 
Tahjai Teague finished with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds for Ball State, while Sean Sellers scored 11 points and pulled down seven big boards. Trey Moses scored nine points as the Cardinals went to him often down the stretch, while Kyle Mallers and Jeremie Tyler added eight each.
 
Ball State took a 34-29 lead into halftime after a Mallers jumper at the buzzer. The Cardinals held Notre Dame (7-2) to 37 percent shooting and just 2-for-10 from 3-point range over the opening 20 minutes.
 
BSU led despite not having a great offensive half itself, making only 39 percent, but the defense was what had the Cardinals on top.
 
"Defensively we were outstanding, and that's why we were in that position," Whitford said. "It's not a fluke thing. We could feel it. We could sense we had a chance to win this game."
 
Notre Dame came out hot in the second half, hitting its first six shots to take the lead, but the Cardinals stood their ground.
 
Ball State eventually built a lead as big as nine points in the second half at 67-58 with 6:45 to play. Notre Dame went on a 9-2 run to trim the lead to two, but Moses hit a pair of free throws and Sellers came up with a huge tip-in to push the lead to 73-67 with 3:02 left.
 
"Sean made all the gritty plays tonight, and I couldn't be prouder of him," Whitford said. "He did everything right for 40 minutes. He was unbelievable because of all the hustle plays. He was excellent defensively on Rex Pflueger. His growth in this game was incredible."
 
Notre Dame did not go away. The Irish still trailed 75-69 after Sellers found Moses for a lay-up inside of two minutes but stormed back with eight of the next 10 points to tie things on Farrell's 3-pointer before the Cardinals' late heroics.
 
Preseason All-American Bonzie Colson led Notre Dame with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Farrell finished with 14 points and eight assists.
 
Ball State will now return to Muncie for a six-game home stand starting Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest against Valparaiso on Toys for Tots Military & Public Safety Appreciation Day.

[talksalot]

This will be game #10, we are 17-14 in the past 31 seasons in the 10th game of the year.  we beat Missouri state last year, two years ago we beat Indiana State, 4 years ago, we went to Muncie and came out with a 69-50 win.  The last time we lost the 10th game of the year when it was on the road was at Toledo in 2010.

[crusadermoe]

I will be impressed with a bounce back win given the size of the loss to Purdue.   

I don't know how much Purdue targeted Tevonn in its defense because TV only follow the ball.  He definitely didn't get many open chances tonight.  I would guess Ball State will do the same.  Need to answer with a lot of Burton.

[valpotx]

Valpo 74
Ball State 67

[bbtds]

I will be impressed with a bounce back win given the size of the loss to Purdue.   

I don't know how much Purdue targeted Tevonn in its defense because TV only follow the ball.  He definitely didn't get many open chances tonight.  I would guess Ball State will do the same.  Need to answer with a lot of Burton.

The problem is both Walker and Burton are known to disappear at times and if they both do it and there isn't a surprise performance by Golder, Evelyn, Sorolla, Smits, Joseph, etc. then this team can end up with a near zero on offense. If it happens against Ball State then we lose by 10 or more.

[VUOR63]

Ball State is a gut check game.  Does this team have an inherent toughness about it or are they going to run scared because they got their butts kicked?  The answer to that can only be answered with the way they come out and play on Saturday.

[covufan]

The short turnaround doesn't give the players much time to think about the what ifs - just focus on Ball State.  We play a much better game.

Valpo  79
Ball St  72

[FWalum]

Trying to catch as many games in person this year as I can.  Was at the Purdue game last night and will be at the Ball State game tomorrow.  Anybody else making the trip to Muncie? This really becomes one of the most interesting games of the year IMO.  Something that came out of the Purdue game was the lack of a vocal emotional leader, I hope that player shows up on Saturday. 

[bigmosmithfan1]

I would love to see a bounce-back game, but I still think some of you are really short-selling BSU based on their past struggles and overall record. They are apparently two screwy calls away from being 7-2 (questionable call went against them in final seconds at Bucknell and as noted here earlier, an absolute officiating breakdown allowed Dayton an extra possession in the final seconds that ended up being a buzzer-beater for the Flyers). They had two bad losses on the road at Oklahoma and Oregon during a seven-day span where they played four games across four time zones. Their starting center, Trey Moses, is now healthy. They have 8 Indiana All-Stars on their roster.

In short, view their win at ND as a fluke at your peril. They are good -- damn good. This will be a major test, and a loss does not portend doom for the rest of the season.

[wh]

The spread: Ball State -1.5

[agibson]

The spread: Ball State -1.5

I might have guessed Ball State by 3 or 4. But, that sounds pretty reasonable.

An important game, on the road, against a team that would compete (this year) in the Valley.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/rgeneraljr/status/939271432495947776

Three pointers: What to watch between Ball State and Valparaiso
by Robby General   / 5:23 p.m. Dec. 8, 2017

all State is heating up in the final stretch of its non-conference schedule, entering this weekend's matchup on a four-game win streak.

After starting 1-4, playing a road trip that spanned more than 8,000 miles, Ball State seems to be coming into form recently.

Ball State (5-4) most recently beat No. 9 Notre Dame off a last-second shot from Tayler Persons while Valparaiso (8-1) is looking to bounce back from a 30 point loss against No. 21 Purdue. Saturday's matchup marks the fifth straight and last in-state contest for Ball State this regular season.

"I feel like we've progressed well," head coach James Whitford said. "Valpo is a really good team and their style of play is very unique. To me, there's a lot of preparation for us to get ready for the game."

Valparaiso (87) is Ball State's fifth opponent ranked in the top 100, according to Ken Pomeroy rankings. Here are some of the keys to watch between Ball State and Valparaiso on Dec. 9:

1) Clash of styles

.........

2) Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding

..........

3) Keep rolling off team's leaders

..........

http://www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2017/12/sports-three-pointers-what-to-watch-between-ball-state-and-valopraiso

[bbtds]

There is a lot of familiarity between these two in-state rivals that is typical. Parker's brother Brachen Hazen plays for BSU. Tayler Persons of BSU started out at Northern Kentucky of the Horizon League. His three point shooting has really helped BSU become an exceptional Indiana Div. 1 team. Derrik Smits' former teammate at Zionsville, Scott Leddy, is a freshman at BSU but so far has only seen 1 minute of game time. Ishmael El-Amin went to Hopkins HS in the Twin Cities which is where some may remember that Jared Nunes, former Valpo guard (2001) was an asst coach. Jared is in his 7th year with Scott Drew at Baylor where he is currently the director of player development. Tahjai Teague, an important part of BSU's team, of the famous Teague family (Jeff (Bulls/Pacers/T-wolves), Marquis (Nets/76ers/Mad Ants) and David (Purdue) from Indy Pike HS on the northwest side (near 71st & I-465/I-65). Yes, the Teagues were all Pike Red Devils.

[Valpo89]

I'll predict another loss.

[JD24]

Ball State by 5. Valpo hasn't proven anything other that they can beat second or third (perhaps lower) raters and got the snot kicked out of them by a legit program.

[VU2014]

I really don't know how this game is going to go. Ball State obviously is at home and coming off that huge win. Valpo is on the road and coming off a brutal loss to Purdue. Maybe Ball State doesn't recover off that high and Valpo is playing with house money right now.

Both Pearson and Moses are very good players. I could see Golder and Pearson chirping at each other if they are guarding each other because they both have an edge about them that & won't back down. Moses is a shorter big at 6'8" but he is a great defensive player and is very active around the basket. We may have the size advantage in the post Moses has the experience.

Valpo is at +2 right now. Coming off that Purdue loss, this is the biggest game of the year and a chance for Valpo to prove themselves.

[FieldGoodie05]

Watched the BSU v ND game working out this AM.  I think this game comes down to

1) Rebounding.  BSU won in part because of extra possessions.  Neither team shot particularly well, but I think they had around 6-8 more FG attempts over ND

2) Letting Tayler Persons take his   show of shots.  He is a solid player, but that dude seems to play PG for BSU and takes some terrible early clock shots.

BSU = rebounds and three pointers.

We aren't going to stop their 3 pt attempts, but we can rebound their long misses.

That being said, I'm pleading for a Win.  Valpo 76 BSU 74.

[sliman]

We're lacking experience and our confidence was shaken if not destroyed at Purdue.  We're playing a comparable if not superior team on the road.  BSU by 16.  Hopefully we'll be more than a .500 team by the time we play at Bradley to start 2018.

[valpolaw]

Call me a pessimist, but I think we are in for a loss that isn't really ever close.

[M]

Valpo wins ugly, 64-59.

[valpotx]

Is this El-Amin related to the former NBA El-Amin?

[VU2014]

Not good.
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/939555761348366338

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/939555983122223105

[VU2014]

Starting Lineup Prediction:
PG: Bakari Evelyn
SG: Max Joseph (I would play Golder)
SF: Joe Burton
PF: Parker Hazen (I might give Mileek a shot at the starting lineup but maybe Coach thinks he pairs well with the second unit)
C: Jay Sorolla

[VULB#62]

Without Tevonn we will really see what this team is made of.

[a3uge]

Could be a blessing in disguise if Golder and Burton can carry the team and gain some confidence. But I have a hard time seeing Valpo score north of 55 points.