# 2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by second-year head coach Michael Lewis, played their home games at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 15–16, 7–11 in MAC play, to finish in 9th place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2022–23 season 20–12 and 11–7 in MAC play. They were the fourth seed in the MAC tournament where they lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jarron Coleman | G | 6'5" | 210 | Redshirt junior | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to Nebraska |
| Demarius Jacobs | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Exhausted eligibility |
| Luke Bumbalough | G | 6'1" | 180 | Junior | New Castle, IN | Transferred to Niagara |
| Payton Sparks | C | 6'9" | 240 | Sophomore | Winchester, IN | Transferred to Indiana |
| Jaylin Sellers | G | 6'4" | 180 | Sophomore | Columbus, GA | Transferred to UCF |
| Darian Owens-White | G | 6'1" | 165 | Graduate student | Detroit, MI | Exhausted eligibility |
| Kaiyem Cleary | G | 6'6" | 185 | Junior | Manchester, England | Transferred to LeMoyne |
| Jalen Windham | G | 6'5" | 180 | Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to Morehead State |
Sources:

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Jalin Anderson | G | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | Jackson, TN | Loyola Marymount |
| Ethan Brittain-Watts | G | 6'2" | 180 | Graduate student | Indianapolis, IN | Boston |
| Davion Bailey | G | 6'4" | 190 | Graduate student | Indianapolis, IN | Southeastern CC |
Source:

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Jurica Zagorsak G | Croatia | | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Joey Brown G | Indianapolis, IN | North Central | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Mason Jones G | Valparaiso, Indiana | | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Zane Doughty C | Indianapolis, IN | | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Trent Middleton G | Philadelphia, PA | Spire Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m., TBA | Rose–Hulman | W 85–52 | – | – | – | – | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Goshen | W 101–40 | 1–0 | 21 – Jihad | 7 – Doughty | 7 – Middleton Jr. | Worthen Arena (3,071) Muncie, IN |
| November 11, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Old Dominion MAC–SBC Challenge | W 73–68 | 2–0 | 28 – Anderson | 9 – Anderson | 2 – tied | Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Oakland City | W 91–51 | 3–0 | 20 – Anderson | 7 – Brown | 3 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (3,277) Muncie, IN |
| November 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Evansville | L 50–74 | 3–1 | 21 – Jihad | 8 – Jihad | 2 – Anderson | Ford Center (5,172) Evansville, IN |
| November 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | USC Upstate | W 75–58 | 4–1 | 24 – Pearson | 7 – Jones | 6 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (3,018) Muncie, IN |
| November 24, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 92–74 | 5–1 | 18 – Jihad | 11 – Jihad | 8 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (4,071) Muncie, IN |
| November 28, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at Little Rock | L 64–90 | 5–2 | 25 – Jihad | 5 – Pearson Jr. | 3 – Jihad | Jack Stephens Center (1,081) Little Rock, AR |
| December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Bellarmine | W 67–58 | 6–2 | 19 – Jihad | 11 – Jihad | 6 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (3,588) Muncie, IN |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Detroit Mercy | W 68–65 | 7–2 | 26 – Jihad | 10 – Jihad | 5 – Anderson | Calihan Hall (733) Detroit, MI |
| December 10, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | SIU Edwardsville | W 83–71 | 8–2 | 27 – Jihad | 10 – Jihad | 5 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (3,254) Muncie, IN |
| December 16, 2023* 1:45 p.m., Peacock | vs. Indiana State Indy Classic | L 72–83 | 8–3 | 18 – Anderson | 8 – Anderson | 6 – Anderson | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| December 21, 2023* 8:00 p.m., B1G+ | at Minnesota | L 63–80 | 8–4 | 26 – Anderson | 7 – Jihad | 7 – Anderson | Williams Arena (7,261) Minneapolis, MN |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Kent State | L 69–82 | 8–5 (0–1) | 23 – Jihad | 7 – Anderson | 5 – Anderson | MAC Center (1,796) Kent, OH |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Central Michigan | L 65–71 | 8–6 (0–2) | 21 – Bailey | 11 – Jihad | 4 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (3,612) Muncie, IN |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Akron | L 76–80 | 8–7 (0–3) | 27 – Jihad | 16 – Jihad | 5 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (3,715) Muncie, IN |
| January 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Toledo | L 72–77 | 8–8 (0–4) | 25 – Anderson | 7 – Pearson Jr. | 5 – Anderson | Savage Arena (4,413) Toledo, OH |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Eastern Michigan | W 76–62 | 9–8 (1–4) | 23 – Bailey | 7 – Bailey | 6 – Anderson | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,546) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Miami (OH) | L 80–87 | 9–9 (1–5) | 29 – Jihad | 10 – Pearson Jr. | 6 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (4,408) Muncie, IN |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Buffalo | W 87–59 | 10–9 (2–5) | 20 – Jihad | 11 – Pearson Jr. | 4 – tied | Alumni Arena (2,007) Amherst, NY |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Northern Illinois | W 81–71 | 11–9 (3–5) | 28 – Jihad | 14 – Jihad | 6 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (4,010) Muncie, IN |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Bowling Green | L 72–81 | 11–10 (3–6) | 22 – Jihad | 8 – Jihad | 3 – Pearson Jr. | Worthen Arena (3,488) Muncie, IN |
| February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Western Michigan | W 77–67 | 12–10 (4–6) | 20 – Anderson | 8 – Jihad | 5 – Jones | University Arena (1,729) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Ohio | L 79–84 $^{OT}$ | 12–11 (4–7) | 22 – Anderson | 9 – tied | 5 – Middleton | Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN |
| February 10, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Texas State MAC–SBC Challenge | L 60–68 | 12–12 | 19 – Jihad | 9 – Jihad | 4 – Anderson | Strahan Arena (1,407) San Marcos, TX |
| February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at Miami (OH) | L 59–80 | 12–13 (4–8) | 18 – tied | 6 – tied | 3 – Anderson | Millett Hall (7,736) Oxford, OH |
| February 20, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Northern Illinois | W 70–63 | 13–13 (5–8) | 19 – Anderson | 10 – Jihad | 7 – Anderson | Convocation Center (1,317) DeKalb, IL |
| February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Eastern Michigan | L 56–58 | 13–14 (5–9) | 18 – Jihad | 16 – Jihad | 7 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (4,708) Muncie, IN |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Central Michigan | W 79–71 | 14–14 (6–9) | 25 – Pearson Jr. | 7 – tied | 4 – tied | McGuirk Arena (1,472) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Western Michigan | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 14–15 (6–10) | 25 – Anderson | 7 – tied | 6 – Anderson | Worthen Arena (5,223) Muncie, IN |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Kent State | W 76–69 | 15–15 (7–10) | 23 – Anderson | 10 – Jones | 3 – tied | Worthen Arena (3,412) Muncie, IN |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Bowling Green | L 70–80 | 15–16 (7–11) | 22 – Anderson | 9 – Jihad | 5 – Jihad | Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources: