2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by second-year head coach Michael Lewis, played their home games at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 15–16, 7–11 in MAC play, to finish in 9th place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	15–16 (7–11 MAC)
Head coach	Michael Lewis (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Ben Botts (6th season) Lou Gudino (2nd season) Jamal Meeks (2nd season)
Home arena	Worthen Arena

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Toledo	14	–	4		.778			20	–	12		.625
Akron †	13	–	5		.722			24	–	11		.686
Ohio	13	–	5		.722			20	–	13		.606
Central Michigan	12	–	6		.667			18	–	14		.563
Bowling Green	10	–	8		.556			20	–	14		.588
Western Michigan	9	–	9		.500			12	–	20		.375
Miami (OH)	9	–	9		.500			15	–	17		.469
Kent State	8	–	10		.444			17	–	17		.500
Ball State	7	–	11		.389			15	–	16		.484
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12		.333			13	–	18		.419
Northern Illinois	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Buffalo	2	–	16		.111			4	–	27		.129
† 2024 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2022–23 season 20–12 and 11–7 in MAC play. They were the fourth seed in the MAC tournament where they lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jarron Coleman	G	6'5"	210	Redshirt junior	Indianapolis, IN	Transferred to Nebraska
Demarius Jacobs	G	6'2"	185	Senior	Chicago, IL	Exhausted eligibility
Luke Bumbalough	G	6'1"	180	Junior	New Castle, IN	Transferred to Niagara
Payton Sparks	C	6'9"	240	Sophomore	Winchester, IN	Transferred to Indiana
Jaylin Sellers	G	6'4"	180	Sophomore	Columbus, GA	Transferred to UCF
Darian Owens-White	G	6'1"	165	Graduate student	Detroit, MI	Exhausted eligibility
Kaiyem Cleary	G	6'6"	185	Junior	Manchester, England	Transferred to LeMoyne
Jalen Windham	G	6'5"	180	Junior	Indianapolis, IN	Transferred to Morehead State

Sources:

Incoming transfers

Transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Jalin Anderson	G	6'3"	185	Junior	Jackson, TN	Loyola Marymount
Ethan Brittain-Watts	G	6'2"	180	Graduate student	Indianapolis, IN	Boston
Davion Bailey	G	6'4"	190	Graduate student	Indianapolis, IN	Southeastern CC

Source:

Recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jurica Zagorsak G	Croatia		6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Joey Brown G	Indianapolis, IN	North Central	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	N/A
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 78
Mason Jones G	Valparaiso, Indiana		6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	N/A
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Zane Doughty C	Indianapolis, IN		6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Trent Middleton G	Philadelphia, PA	Spire Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
	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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 1 Jalin Anderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Jackson, TN G 2 Ethan Brittain-Watts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) GS Indianapolis, IN F 3 Mickey Jr. Pearson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 207 lb (94 kg) RS Jr Lincoln, AL G 4 Micah Bell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 168 lb (76 kg) RS Fr Austell, GA G 5 Davion Bailey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Indianapolis, IN F 11 Basheer Jihad 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Jr Detroit, MI G 12 Jurica Zagorsak 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Fr Croatia G 13 Trent Middleton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Fr Philadelphia, PA G 14 Jack Futa 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) So South Bend, IN G 15 Quincy Adams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 172 lb (78 kg) RS Fr Frisco, TX G 23 Joey Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Indianapolis, IN G 33 Mason Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Fr Valparaiso, IN C 34 Ben Hendriks 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 239 lb (108 kg) RS Jr Mississauga, ON C 54 Zane Doughty 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Fr Indianapolis, IN	Head coach Michael Lewis (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) Ben Botts (Purdue Fort Wayne) Lou Gudino (Indiana) Jamal Meeks (Indiana State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 12, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m., TBA		Rose–Hulman	W 85–52	–	–	–	–	Worthen Arena  Muncie, IN
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Goshen	W 101–40	1–0	21 – Jihad	7 – Doughty	7 – Middleton Jr.	Worthen Arena (3,071) Muncie, IN
November 11, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Old Dominion MAC–SBC Challenge	W 73–68	2–0	28 – Anderson	9 – Anderson	2 – tied	Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Oakland City	W 91–51	3–0	20 – Anderson	7 – Brown	3 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,277) Muncie, IN
November 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Evansville	L 50–74	3–1	21 – Jihad	8 – Jihad	2 – Anderson	Ford Center (5,172) Evansville, IN
November 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		USC Upstate	W 75–58	4–1	24 – Pearson	7 – Jones	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,018) Muncie, IN
November 24, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 92–74	5–1	18 – Jihad	11 – Jihad	8 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,071) Muncie, IN
November 28, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Little Rock	L 64–90	5–2	25 – Jihad	5 – Pearson Jr.	3 – Jihad	Jack Stephens Center (1,081) Little Rock, AR
December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bellarmine	W 67–58	6–2	19 – Jihad	11 – Jihad	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,588) Muncie, IN
December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Detroit Mercy	W 68–65	7–2	26 – Jihad	10 – Jihad	5 – Anderson	Calihan Hall (733) Detroit, MI
December 10, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		SIU Edwardsville	W 83–71	8–2	27 – Jihad	10 – Jihad	5 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,254) Muncie, IN
December 16, 2023* 1:45 p.m., Peacock		vs. Indiana State Indy Classic	L 72–83	8–3	18 – Anderson	8 – Anderson	6 – Anderson	Gainbridge Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
December 21, 2023* 8:00 p.m., B1G+		at Minnesota	L 63–80	8–4	26 – Anderson	7 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	Williams Arena (7,261) Minneapolis, MN
MAC regular season
January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kent State	L 69–82	8–5 (0–1)	23 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	5 – Anderson	MAC Center (1,796) Kent, OH
January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Michigan	L 65–71	8–6 (0–2)	21 – Bailey	11 – Jihad	4 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,612) Muncie, IN
January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Akron	L 76–80	8–7 (0–3)	27 – Jihad	16 – Jihad	5 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (3,715) Muncie, IN
January 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Toledo	L 72–77	8–8 (0–4)	25 – Anderson	7 – Pearson Jr.	5 – Anderson	Savage Arena (4,413) Toledo, OH
January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 76–62	9–8 (1–4)	23 – Bailey	7 – Bailey	6 – Anderson	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,546) Ypsilanti, MI
January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Miami (OH)	L 80–87	9–9 (1–5)	29 – Jihad	10 – Pearson Jr.	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,408) Muncie, IN
January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Buffalo	W 87–59	10–9 (2–5)	20 – Jihad	11 – Pearson Jr.	4 – tied	Alumni Arena (2,007) Amherst, NY
January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Illinois	W 81–71	11–9 (3–5)	28 – Jihad	14 – Jihad	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,010) Muncie, IN
January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bowling Green	L 72–81	11–10 (3–6)	22 – Jihad	8 – Jihad	3 – Pearson Jr.	Worthen Arena (3,488) Muncie, IN
February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Michigan	W 77–67	12–10 (4–6)	20 – Anderson	8 – Jihad	5 – Jones	University Arena (1,729) Kalamazoo, MI
February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ohio	L 79–84 OT	12–11 (4–7)	22 – Anderson	9 – tied	5 – Middleton	Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN
February 10, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Texas State MAC–SBC Challenge	L 60–68	12–12	19 – Jihad	9 – Jihad	4 – Anderson	Strahan Arena (1,407) San Marcos, TX
February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	L 59–80	12–13 (4–8)	18 – tied	6 – tied	3 – Anderson	Millett Hall (7,736) Oxford, OH
February 20, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	W 70–63	13–13 (5–8)	19 – Anderson	10 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	Convocation Center (1,317) DeKalb, IL
February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Michigan	L 56–58	13–14 (5–9)	18 – Jihad	16 – Jihad	7 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (4,708) Muncie, IN
February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Central Michigan	W 79–71	14–14 (6–9)	25 – Pearson Jr.	7 – tied	4 – tied	McGuirk Arena (1,472) Mount Pleasant, MI
March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Michigan	L 76–78 OT	14–15 (6–10)	25 – Anderson	7 – tied	6 – Anderson	Worthen Arena (5,223) Muncie, IN
March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kent State	W 76–69	15–15 (7–10)	23 – Anderson	10 – Jones	3 – tied	Worthen Arena (3,412) Muncie, IN
March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bowling Green	L 70–80	15–16 (7–11)	22 – Anderson	9 – Jihad	5 – Jihad	Stroh Center  Bowling Green, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources: