2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
MAC West division co-champions
CIT, First Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	21–13 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach	James Whitford (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Jason Grunkemeyer; Danny Peters; Brian Thornton;
Home arena	Worthen Arena
	Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Akron	14	–	4	.778	27	–	9	.750
Ohio	11	–	7	.611	20	–	11	.645
Buffalo	11	–	7	.611	17	–	15	.531
Kent State †	10	–	8	.556	22	–	14	.611
Bowling Green	7	–	11	.389	13	–	19	.406
Miami (OH)	4	–	14	.222	11	–	21	.344
West
Ball State	11	–	7	.611	21	–	13	.618
Western Michigan	11	–	7	.611	16	–	16	.500
Toledo	9	–	9	.500	17	–	17	.500
Eastern Michigan	7	–	11	.389	16	–	17	.485
Northern Illinois	7	–	11	.389	15	–	17	.469
Central Michigan	6	–	12	.333	16	–	16	.500

† 2017 MAC tournament winner

The 2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in a tie for the West Division title. As the No. 4 seed in the MAC tournament they defeated Western Michigan in the quarterfinals to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to Akron. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Fort Wayne.

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2015–16 season 21–14, 10–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for the West Division championship. They lost to Miami (OH) in the first round of the MAC tournament. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Tennessee State and UT Martin to advance to the Quarterfinals before losing to Columbia.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Naiel Smith	1	G	6'4"	200	Junior	Brooklyn, NY	Graduate transferred to Texas Wesleyan
Rocco Belcaster	5	F	6'7"	221	RS Junior	Berwyn, IL	Left the team for personal reasons
Bo Calhoun	12	F	6'6"	245	Senior	South Bend, IN	Graduated
Gill Bik	21	F	6'7"	227	Senior	Toronto, ON	Graduated
Jeremiah Davis	24	F	6'4"	210	RS Senior	Muncie, IN	Graduated
Nate Wells	52	C	7'1"	247	RS Senior	Davenport, IA	Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Jontrell Walker	1	G	6'1"	188	Junior	Aurora, IL	Transferred from Incarnate Word. Under NCAA transfer rules, Walker will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Doudou Gueye	35	C	6'10"	250	Senior	Dakar, Senegal	Transferred from South Carolina. Will eligible to play since Gueye graduated from South Carolina.

Recruiting class of 2016

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kyle Mallers #32 SF	Fort Wayne, IN	Carroll High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 15, 2015
Kyle Mallers #32 SF	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78
Zach Hollywood SF	Bourbonnais, IL	Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	N/A	May 4, 2016
Zach Hollywood SF	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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2016.

Recruiting class of 2017

College recruiting information (2017)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ishmael El-Amin #41 PG	Minnetonka, MN	Hopkins High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Sep 26, 2016
Ishmael El-Amin #41 PG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78
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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Francis Kiapway	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	St. Thomas More (CT)	Hamilton, ON
G	1	Jontrell Walker (I)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	Jr	West Aurora Incarnate Word	Aurora, IL
G	2	Tayler Persons	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS So	Kokomo Northern Kentucky	Kokomo, IN
G	3	Josh Thompson (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	RS Fr	Lawrence North	Indianapolis, IN
G	11	Kaleb Mallory (W)	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	Sr	Muncie Central	Muncie, IN
F	14	Kyle Mallers	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Carroll	Fort Wayne, IN
F	15	Franko House	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	248 lb (112 kg)	Sr	Concord HS	Elkhart, IN
F	22	Jermaine Tyler	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Arsenal Tech	Indianapolis, IN
F	24	Zach Hollywood	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Fr	Bradley-Bourbonnais	Bradley, IL
F	25	Tahjai Teague	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Fr	Pike	Indianapolis, IN
G/F	33	Ryan Weber	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	RS Sr	Roncalli HS Youngstown State	Indianapolis, IN
F	34	Sean Sellers	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	Jr	Greensburg	Greensburg, IN
C	35	DouDou Gueye	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	SEEDS Academy South Carolina State	Dakar, Sengal
F/C	41	Trey Moses	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	So	Eastern	Louisville, KY

Head coach

James Whitford (Wisconsin)

Assistant coach(es)

Jason Grunkemeyer (Miami (OH))
Danny Peters (Ohio State)
Brian Thornton (Xavier)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/03/2016* 7:00 pm		Indianapolis	W 76–64		Worthen Arena (1,119) Muncie, IN
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 8:00 pm, FSMW		at Saint Louis Men Who Speak Up Main Event	W 85–64	1–0	Chaifetz Arena (7,165) St. Louis, MO
11/15/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Indiana State	L 74–80	1–1	Worthen Arena (3,845) Muncie, IN
11/18/2016* 9:00 pm, SECN		at Alabama Men Who Speak Up Main Event	L 59–77	1–2	Coleman Coliseum (11,665) Tuscaloosa, AL
11/21/2016* 3:30 pm		vs. Coppin State Men Who Speak Up Main Event	W 79–77	2–2	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
11/23/2016* 3:30 pm		vs. Southern Utah Men Who Speak Up Main Event	W 94–83	3–2	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
11/27/2016* 2:30 pm, ESPN3		at Valparaiso	L 73–79	3–3	Athletics–Recreation Center (3,166) Valparaiso, IN
11/29/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		IU Kokomo	W 92–52	4–3	Worthen Arena (3,039) Muncie, IN
12/03/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		IUPUI	L 62–73	4–4	Worthen Arena (2,994) Muncie, IN
12/06/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Bradley	W 80–63	5–4	Worthen Arena (2,477) Muncie, IN
12/10/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Eastern Kentucky	W 91–86	6–4	Worthen Arena (2,623) Muncie, IN
12/19/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Longwood	W 61–45	7–4	Worthen Arena (2,115) Muncie, IN
12/22/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Alabama State	W 73–48	8–4	Worthen Arena (2,543) Muncie, IN
12/29/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at North Florida	W 73–68	9–4	UNF Arena (1,464) Jacksonville, FL
MAC regular season
01/03/2017 7:00 PM		at Kent State	L 90–100	9–5 (0–1)	MAC Center (2,153) Kent, OH
01/07/2017 1:00 PM, ESPN3		Bowling Green	L 71–76	9–6 (0–2)	Worthen Arena (2,645) Muncie, IN
01/10/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Miami (OH)	W 85–74	10–6 (1–2)	Worthen Arena (3,268) Muncie, IN
01/14/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at Buffalo	W 92–77	11–6 (2–2)	Alumni Arena (3,007) Amherst, NY
01/17/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Central Michigan	W 98–83	12–6 (3–2)	Worthen Arena (3,044) Muncie, IN
01/21/2017 2:30 PM, ESPN3		at Bowling Green	L 74–79	12–7 (3–3)	Stroh Center (2,953) Bowling Green, OH
01/24/2017 9:00 PM, ASN		at Eastern Michigan	W 88–80	13–7 (4–3)	Convocation Center (967) Ypsilanti, MI
01/28/2017 1:00 PM, ESPN3		Western Michigan	W 84–78	14–7 (5–3)	Worthen Arena (4,298) Muncie, IN
01/31/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Toledo	W 81–80	15–7 (6–3)	Worthen Arena (3,058) Muncie, IN
02/04/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3		Buffalo	L 69–96	15–8 (6–4)	Worthen Arena (3,326) Muncie, IN
02/07/2017 6:00 PM, ASN		at Akron	L 63–65	15–9 (6–5)	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,105) Akron, OH
02/10/2017 6:30 PM, CBSSN		Ohio	L 77–79	15–10 (6–6)	Worthen Arena (3,123) Muncie, IN
02/14/2017 8:00 PM, ASN		at Northern Illinois	W 81–72	16–10 (7–6)	Convocation Center (759) DeKalb, IL
02/18/2017 4:30 PM, ESPN3		at Central Michigan	W 109–100 ^OT	17–10 (8–6)	McGuirk Arena (5,412) Mount Pleasant, MI
02/21/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Eastern Michigan	W 79–72	18–10 (9–6)	Worthen Arena (3,088) Muncie, IN
02/25/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at Western Michigan	L 55–80	18–11 (9–7)	University Arena (2,857) Kalamazoo, MI
02/28/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3		at Toledo	L 72–74	19–11 (10–7)	Savage Arena (3,958) Toledo, OH
03/03/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Northern Illinois	W 87–82	20–11 (11–7)	Worthen Arena (4,457) Muncie, IN
MAC tournament
03/09/2017 2:30 pm, BCSN/ESPN3	(4)	vs. (5) Western Michigan Quarterfinals	W 66–63	21–11	Quicken Loans Arena (2,245) Cleveland, OH
03/10/2017 5:30 pm, CBSSN	(4)	vs. (1) Akron Semifinals	L 70–74	21–12	Quicken Loans Arena (6,065) Cleveland, OH
CIT
03/15/2017* 7:00 pm, Facebook Live		at Fort Wayne First Round Lou Henson Classic	L 80–88	21–13	Gates Sports Center (1,479) Fort Wayne, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source^[1]^[2].

References

[1] "Men's Basketball".

[2] "2021-22 Ball State Cardinals Schedule".

[1]

[2]

v t e Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Venues	Ball Gymnasium (1925–1963) Irving Gymnasium (1963–1992) Worthen Arena (1992–present)
Culture & lore	Charlie Cardinal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
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Previous season

Departures

Incoming Transfers

Recruiting class of 2016

Recruiting class of 2017

Roster

Schedule and results

See also

References