Ball State men’s basketball (18-10, 9-6 MAC) travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan for a matchup with the Western Michigan Broncos (12-15, 8-7 MAC) on Saturday.
This is the second game between Mid-American Conference West Division foes. The Cardinals are first in the division and the Broncos are second. These teams met the first time on Jan. 28 with the Cardinals securing an 84-78 victory.
Since that game against Ball State, Western Michigan has won six of its last seven games, including a five game winning streak.
Ball State stats:
Field goal percentage: 46.8
Assists: 16.0
Rebounding margin: +3.3
Leading scorer: Tayler Persons - 15.8
Western Michigan stats:
Field goal percentage: 44.9
Assists: 12.9
Rebounding margin: +1.5
Leading scorer: Thomas Wilder - 19.3
During that streak, the Broncos are holding opponents to an average of 67.4 points per game while scoring 77.2 points per game.
For the season, Western Michigan’s defense has allowed teams to score an average of 77.4 points per game while the Broncos average 76.0 points per game, with 19.3 of those coming from junior guard Thomas Wilder. The Cardinals held Wilder to his average in the last game helping secure the win on Jan. 25.
The Cardinals are riding a +4.7 scoring margin into Saturday’s game, and none of their last five games have been decided by double-digit points.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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