# 2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by sixth-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 16–17, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in fifth place in the West Division. They defeated Eastern Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Bowling Green.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2017–18 season 19–13, 10–8 to finish in third place in the MAC West division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament to Kent State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Francis Kiapway | 0 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Hamilton, ON | Graduated |
| Jontrell Walker | 1 | G | 6'1' | 182 | RS Junior | Aurora, IL | Graduate transferred to Jackson State |
| Tyler Leedy | 11 | G | 6'0" | 146 | Freshman | Zionsville, IN | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Sean Sellers | 34 | G/F | 6'6" | 216 | Senior | Greensburg, IN | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Miryne Thomas | 1 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Sophomore | Cleveland, OH | Transferred from Maryland Eastern Shore. Under NCAA transfer rules, Thomas will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Austin Nehls | 20 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Tucson, AZ | Transferred from Central Connecticut. Will be eligible to play immediately since Nehls graduated from Central Connecticut. |

### Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jarron Coleman SG | Indianapolis, IN | Cathedral High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 26, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Kani Acree SF | Carbondale, IL | Carbondale Community High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 13, 2017 |
| Recruiting 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2019

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lucas Kroft SG | Fort Wayne, IN | North Side High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Luke Bumbalough SG | New Castle, IN | New Castle High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 2, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Indianapolis | W 92–76 | | Worthen Arena (3,214) Muncie, IN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 86–69 | 1–0 | Worthen Arena (4,022) Muncie, IN |
| Nov 10, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 24 Purdue Charleston Classic non-bracket game | L 75–84 | 1–1 | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| Nov 15, 2018* 11:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 16 Virginia Tech Charleston Classic quarterfinals | L 64–73 | 1–2 | TD Arena (2,648) Charleston, SC |
| Nov 16, 2018* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Alabama Charleston Classic consolation 2nd round | L 61–79 | 1–3 | TD Arena (2,752) Charleston, SC |
| Nov 18, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | vs. Appalachian State Charleston Classic 7th place game | W 94–86 $^{OT}$ | 2–3 | TD Arena (2,862) Charleston, SC |
| Nov 24, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 82–72 | 3–3 | Worthen Arena (3,224) Muncie, IN |
| Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tiffin | W 108–62 | 4–3 | Worthen Arena (3,609) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 1, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at IUPUI | W 85–75 | 5–3 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (2,150) Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 5, 2018* 9:00 pm, NBCSCH/ESPN+ | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 75-69 | 6-3 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,831) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 9, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | L 77-89 | 6-4 | Ford Center (5,672) Evansville, IN |
| Dec 17, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 77-61 | 7-4 | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,636) Valparaiso, IN |
| Dec 20, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Howard | W 98–71 | 8–4 | Worthen Arena (3,324) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Delaware State | W 116–57 | 9–4 | Worthen Arena (3,424) Muncie, IN |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 4, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Toledo | W 79–64 | 10–4 (1–0) | Savage Arena (5,023) Toledo, OH |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 84–82 $^{2OT}$ | 10–5 (1–1) | Worthen Arena (4,248) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 12, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 70–52 | 10–6 (1–2) | Worthen Arena (4,076) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 79–78 | 10–7 (1–3) | Stroh Center (1,507) Bowling Green, OH |
| Jan 19, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 83–72 | 11–7 (2–3) | McGuirk Arena (2,204) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Jan 22, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 71–65 | 11–8 (2–4) | Worthen Arena (3,742) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 26, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | L 74–78 | 11–9 (2–5) | Convocation Center (6,556) Athens, OH |
| Jan 29, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 18 Buffalo | L 59–83 | 11–10 (2–6) | Alumni Arena (4,747) Amherst, NY |
| Feb 2, 2019 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Kent State | W 83–80 $^{OT}$ | 11–11 (2–7) | Worthen Arena (4,024) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 72–71 | 12–11 (3–7) | Convocation Center (462) DeKalb, IL |
| Feb 9, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 79–59 | 13–11 (4–7) | Worthen Arena (4,312) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | W 57–56 | 14–11 (5–7) | Worthen Arena (4,577) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 69–66 | 14–12 (5–8) | Millett Hall (1,871) Oxford, OH |
| Feb 23, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | L 57–64 | 14–13 (5–9) | Worthen Arena (4,834) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | L 72–80 | 14–14 (5–10) | Worthen Arena (4,691) Muncie, IN |
| Mar 2, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | W 60–58 | 15–14 (6–10) | University Arena (2,441) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Mar 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 61–68 | 15–15 (6–11) | Convocation Center (1,780) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Mar 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 64–57 | 15–16 (6–12) | Worthen Arena (5,524) Muncie, IN |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (11) | at (6) Eastern Michigan First Round | W 61–43 | 16–16 | Convocation Center (1,265) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Mar 14, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | (11) | vs. (3) Bowling Green Quarterfinals | L 86–99 | 16–17 | Quicken Loans Arena (2,499) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||