# 2020–21 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by eighth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the Mid-American Conference. Starting this season, the MAC announced the removal of divisions.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 11–7, to finish in a tie for first place in the MAC West division. They were scheduled to play Kent State in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Kentucky | L 73–74 | 0–1 | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| December 2, 2020* 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Michigan | L 65–84 | 0–2 | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 5, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UIC | W 68–66 | 1–2 | Worthen Arena (96) Muncie, IN |
| December 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | W 79–70 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 (1–0) | Convocation Center DeKalb, IL |
| December 12, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State | W 82–66 | 3–2 | Worthen Arena (107) Muncie, IN |
| December 19, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 57–67 | 3–3 | Hulman Center (100) Terre Haute, IN |
| December 22, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 76–68 | 4–3 (2–0) | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 2, 2021 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Ohio | L 68–78 | 4–4 (2–1) | Worthen Arena (75) Muncie, IN |
| January 5, 2021 | | Western Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| January 9, 2021 5:00 pm | | at Buffalo | L 69–86 | 4–5 (2–2) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY |
| January 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 88–64 | 5–5 (3–2) | Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH |
| January 16, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 78–58 | 6–5 (4–2) | Worthen Arena (132) Muncie, IN |
| January 19, 2021 7:00 pm | | at Miami (OH) | L 71–81 | 6–6 (4–3) | Millett Hall Oxford, OH |
| January 23, 2021 1:30 pm | | at Ohio | L 77–85 | 6–7 (4–4) | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| January 26, 2021 7:00 pm | | Kent State | Postponed | Postponed | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Akron | L 42–74 | 6–8 (4–5) | James A. Rhodes Arena (25) Akron, OH |
| February 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Buffalo | L 58–78 | 6–9 (4–6) | Worthen Arena (235) Muncie, IN |
| February 6, 2021 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Toledo | W 81–67 | 7–9 (5–6) | Worthen Arena (195) Muncie, IN |
| February 9, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 13, 2021 1:00 pm | | at Eastern Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 16, 2021 7:00 pm | | Bowling Green | L 62–75 | 7–10 (5–7) | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| February 19, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Akron | L 79–88 | 7–11 (5–8) | Worthen Arena (90) Muncie, IN |
| February 21, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| February 24, 2021 2:00 pm | | Kent State | W 90–71 | 8–11 (6–8) | Worthen Arena (109) Muncie, IN |
| February 27, 2021 1:00 pm | | Central Michigan | W 97–91 | 9–11 (7–8) | Worthen Arena (150) Muncie, IN |
| March 2, 2021 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Michigan | W 100–65 | 10–11 (8–8) | Convocation Center (92) Ypsilanti, MI |
| March 5, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Toledo | L 70–89 | 10–12 (8–9) | Savage Arena Toledo, OH |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (1) Toledo Quarterfinals | L 89–91 $^{OT}$ | 10–13 | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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