# 2021–22 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by ninth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 9–10 in MAC play to finish in sixth place. They lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.
On March 14, 2022, the school fired head coach James Whitford. On March 25, UCLA assistant coach Michael Lewis was named the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cardinals finished the 2020–21 season 7–11, 5–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. The Cardinals lost to Toledo in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jarron Coleman | G | 6'5 | 205 | Redshirt Sophomore | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to Missouri |
| Ishmael El-Amin | G | 6'3 | 180 | Senior | Minneapolis, MN | Transferred to Rhode Island |
| Zach Gunn | F | 6'6 | 210 | Redshirt Senior | Fishers, IN | Transferred to IUPUI |
| Brachen Hazen | F | 6'8 | 210 | Redshirt Senior | Columbia City, IN | Transferred to Lipscomb |
| Chris Robinson | G | 6'2 | 185 | Sophomore | Indianapolis, IN | |
| K.J. Walton | G | 6'3 | 200 | Redshirt Senior | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to Akron |

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Tyler Cochran | G | 6'2 | 220 | Junior | Bolingbrook, IL | Northern Illinois |
| Demarius Jacobs | G | 6'2 | 185 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Saint Louis |
| Mickey Pearson Jr. | F | 6'7 | 210 | Junior | Lincoln, AL | TCU |

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Basheer Jihad PF | Farmington Hills, MI | North Farmington High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 14, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jaylin Sellers SG | Columbus, GA | George Washington Carver High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Payton Sparks C | Winchester, IN | Winchester Community High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Jul 17, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 3, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Michigan Tech | L 69–70 | 0–0 | 13 – Cochran | 7 – Cochran | 5 – Cochran | Worthen Arena (1,721) Muncie, IN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | L 71–82 | 0–1 | 21 – Bumbalough | 12 – Sparks | 3 – Tied | Hanner Fieldhouse (2,654) Statesboro, GA |
| November 13, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN+/ESPN3 | | Omaha | W 73–69 | 1–1 | 14 – Windham | 6 – Tied | 8 – Bumbalough | Worthen Arena (2,752) Muncie, IN |
| November 18, 2021* 8:00 pm, CBS Sports | | vs. FIU Jersey Mike's Classic | L 60–73 | 1–2 | 14 – Jihad | 6 – Bumbalough | 4 – Tied | McArthur Center (205) St. Petersburg, FL |
| November 19, 2021* 5:30 pm, CBS Sports | | vs. Weber State Jersey Mike's Classic | L 74–85 | 1–3 | 14 – Bumbalough | 5 – Pearson | 5 – Cochran | McArthur Center (375) St. Petersburg, FL |
| November 21, 2021* 2:30 pm, CBS Sports | | vs. UMass Jersey Mike's Classic | W 89–86 | 2–3 | 22 – Cochran | 8 – Tied | 4 – Tied | McArthur Center (376) St. Petersburg, FL |
| November 27, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+/ESPN3 | | Indiana State | W 97–75 | 3–3 | 15 – Cochran | 10 – Thomas | 5 – Tied | Worthen Arena (3,017) Muncie, IN |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Illinois | L 80–93 | 3–4 | 17 – Bumbalough | 9 – Bumbalough | 5 – Sparks | Western Hall (998) Macomb, IL |
| December 8, 2021* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at Xavier | L 50–96 | 3–5 | 10 – Tied | 4 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Cintas Center (9,865) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 12, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IU Kokomo | W 85–58 | 4–5 | 19 – Cochran | 7 – Sparks | 5 – Tied | Worthen Arena (2,881) Muncie, IN |
| December 18, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 64–85 | 4–6 | 14 – Cochran | 7 – Cochran | 3 – Jacobs | Redbird Arena (2,704) Normal, IL |
| December 21, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Illinois | W 75–55 | 5–6 | 16 – Sparks | 10 – Cochran | 6 – Cochran | Worthen Arena (3,279) Muncie, IN |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 1, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 81–80 | 6–6 (1–0) | 21 – Bumbalough | 14 – Thomas | 4 – Bumbalough | Worthen Arena (2,160) Muncie, IN |
| January 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | L 65–66 | 6–7 (1–1) | 23 – Cochran | 9 – Tied | 4 – Thomas | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| January 8, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 78–72 | 7–7 (2–1) | 20 – Bumbalough | 6 – Tied | 4 – Jacobs | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,242) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | L 74–84 | 7–8 (2–2) | 23 – Sparks | 10 – Sparks | 6 – Jacobs | James A. Rhodes Arena (1,815) Akron, OH |
| January 14, 2022 6:00 pm, CBS Sports | | Buffalo | L 68–74 | 7–9 (2–3) | 28 – Cochran | 16 – Sparks | 2 – Tied | Worthen Arena (3,563) Muncie, IN |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 70–83 | 7–10 (2–4) | 17 – Sparks | 14 – Sparks | 4 – Jacobs | Savage Arena (3,635) Toledo, OH |
| January 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Miami | W 81–64 | 8–10 (3–4) | 26 – Thomas | 8 – Thomas | 5 – Cochran | Worthen Arena (2,739) Muncie, IN |
| January 27, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois Rescheduled from December 29 | W 74–67 | 9–10 (4–4) | 17 – Cochran | 8 – Sparks | 4 – Bumbalough | Convocation Center (613) DeKalb, IL |
| January 29, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan | W 83–72 | 10–10 (5–4) | 18 – Thomas | 10 – Sparks | 3 – Tied | Worthen Arena (3,786) Muncie, IN |
| February 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 63–87 | 10–11 (5–5) | 17 – Windham | 11 – Sparks | 2 – Tied | Convocation Center (4,721) Athens, OH |
| February 5, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 93–83 | 11–11 (6–5) | 18 – Sparks | 11 – Sparks | 5 – Thomas | Worthen Arena (3,321) Muncie, IN |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | L 85–89 $^{OT}$ | 11–12 (6–6) | 17 – Thomas | 13 – Sparks | 5 – Bumbalough | Worthen Arena (2,628) Muncie, IN |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Buffalo | L 74–80 | 11–13 (6–7) | 19 – Sparks | 12 – Sparks | 8 – Cochran | Alumni Arena (3,014) Amherst, NY |
| February 15, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | L 58–64 | 11–14 (6–8) | 16 – Sparks | 10 – Cochran | 2 – Tied | Worthen Arena (2,918) Muncie, IN |
| February 19, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | W 91–82 | 12–14 (7–8) | 18 – Thomas | 11 – Sparks | 4 – Cochran | Stroh Center (1,928) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kent State | L 82–93 | 12–15 (7–9) | 19 – Thomas | 6 – Sparks | 8 – Jacobs | MAC Center (2,221) Kent, OH |
| February 26, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 75–64 | 13–15 (8–9) | 17 – Sparks | 10 – Sparks | 3 – Thomas | Worthen Arena (4,576) Muncie, IN |
| March 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | L 60–79 | 13–16 (8–10) | 18 – Cochran | 10 – Cochran | 3 – Bumbalough | Worthen Arena (3,003) Muncie, IN |
| March 4, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | W 64–63 | 14–16 (9–10) | 16 – Sellers | 10 – Sparks | 3 – Sparks | University Arena (1,570) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Ohio Quarterfinals | L 67–77 | 14–17 | 20 – Sparks | 14 – Sparks | 3 – Cochran | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source