# 2019–20 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represent Ball State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by seventh-year head coach James Whitford, play their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2018–19 season 16–17, 6–12 to finish in fifth place in the MAC West division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament to Bowling Green.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Defiance | W 87–43 | 1–0 | John E. Worthen Arena (3,429) Muncie, IN |
| November 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 75–79 | 1–1 | Ford Center (5,372) Evansville, IN |
| November 13, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 67–48 | 2–1 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,906) Chicago, IL |
| November 17, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Indiana State | W 69–55 | 3–1 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (2,425) Indianapolis, IN |
| November 20, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Kentucky | L 57–59 | 3–2 | John E. Worthen Arena (3,722) Muncie, IN |
| November 23, 2019* 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Howard | W 100–69 | 4–2 | John E. Worthen Arena (4,192) Muncie, IN |
| November 26, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Illinois | L 62–69 | 4–3 | John E. Worthen Arena (3,088) Muncie, IN |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 58-70 | 4–4 | John E. Worthen Arena (4,128) Muncie, IN |
| December 7, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | IUPUI | W 102–54 | 5–4 | John E. Worthen Arena (4,733) Muncie, IN |
| December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Georgia Tech Diamond Head Classic | W 65–47 | 6–4 | McCamish Pavilion (4,203) Atlanta, GA |
| December 22, 2019* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 22 Washington Diamond Head Classic quarterfinal | L 64–85 | 6–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,179) Honolulu, HI |
| December 24, 2019* 1:30 am, ESPNU | | vs. UTEP Diamond Head Classic consolation 2nd round | L 70–71 | 6–6 | Stan Sheriff Center (5,757) Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2019* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Portland Diamond Head Classic 7th place game | W 61–46 | 7–6 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Toledo | W 61–57 | 8–6 (1–0) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,707) Muncie, IN |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 88–68 | 9–6 (2–0) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,811) Muncie, IN |
| January 10, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Akron | L 60–75 | 9–7 (2–1) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,706) Akron, OH |
| January 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 69–52 | 10–7 (3–1) | Convocation Center (1,313) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 18, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 71–62 | 11–7 (4–1) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,624) Muncie, IN |
| January 25, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | L 66–71 | 11–8 (4–2) | McGuirk Arena (2,371) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | L 61–67 | 11–9 (4–3) | Stroh Center (2,125) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 1, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ohio | W 65–54 | 12–9 (5–3) | John E. Worthen Arena (5,238) Muncie, IN |
| February 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Kent State | W 62–54 | 13–9 (6–3) | MAC Center (2,025) Kent, OH |
| February 8, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | L 64–68 | 13–10 (6–4) | University Arena (2,387) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 63–59 | 14–10 (7–4) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,288) Muncie, IN |
| February 15, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | L 71–77 | 14–11 (7–5) | John E. Worthen Arena (5,492) Muncie, IN |
| February 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Buffalo | L 59–72 | 14–12 (7–6) | Alumni Arena (4,044) Amherst, NY |
| February 22, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 64–55 | 15–12 (8–6) | John E. Worthen Arena (5,921) Muncie, IN |
| February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 71–61 | 16–12 (9–6) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,390) Muncie, IN |
| February 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 63–69 | 16–13 (9–7) | Savage Arena (5,842) Toledo, OH |
| March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | W 85–68 | 17–13 (10–7) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,008) Muncie, IN |
| March 6, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | W 75–54 | 18–13 (11–7) | Convocation Center (1,749) DeKalb, IL |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) Kent State Quarterfinals | MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||