# 2015–16 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by third 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 21–14, 10–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for the West Division championship. They lost to Miami (OH) in the first round of the MAC tournament. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Tennessee State and UT Martin to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Columbia.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the previous season 7–23, 2–16 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Bowling Green.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Zavier Turner | 1 | G | 5'9" | 170 | Sophomore | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to Manhattan |
| Matt Kamieniecki | 2 | F/C | 6'8" | 238 | RS Senior | Clarkston, MI | Graduated |
| Tye Wilburn | 3 | G | 5'11" | 185 | Freshman | Schererville, IN | Transferred to Kilgore College |
| Rashaun Richardson | 32 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Freshman | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to John A. Logan College |
| Mading Thok | 44 | C | 6'11" | 222 | RS Sophomore | Boyden, IN | Transferred to Minnesota State |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tayler Persons | 2 | G | 6'3" | 230 | Sophomore | Kokomo, IN | Transferred from Northern Kentucky. Under NCAA transfer rules, Persons will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Naiel Smith | 3 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Junior college transferred from San Jacinto College |
| Nate Wells | 52 | C | 7'1" | 260 | RS Senior | Davenport, IA | Transfer from Bradley. Will be eligible to play immediately since Wells graduated from Bradley. |

## Recruiting class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tahjai Teague #37 PF | Indianapolis, IN | Pike High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Trey Moses PF | Louisville, KY | Eastern High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 23, 2014 |
| 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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 21, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/13/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Bradley | L 53–54 | 0–1 | Carver Arena (6,553) Peoria, IL |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Eastern Illinois | W 73–56 | 1–1 | Worthen Arena (2,864) Muncie, IN |
| 11/20/2015* 6:00 pm | at Eastern Kentucky EKUHoops Classic | L 81–89 | 1–2 | Alumni Coliseum (2,150) Richmond, KY |
| 11/21/2015* 4:30 pm | vs. Longwood EKUHoops Classic | W 78–67 | 2–2 | Alumni Coliseum (500) Richmond, KY |
| 11/22/2015* 4:30 pm | vs. South Carolina State EKUHoops Classic | W 72–60 | 3–2 | Alumni Coliseum (500) Richmond, KY |
| 11/25/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | IU Kokomo | W 90–54 | 4–2 | Worthen Arena (2,129) Muncie, IN |
| 11/28/2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Valparaiso | W 69–66 | 5–2 | Worthen Arena (2,447) Muncie, IN |
| 12/01/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | IUPUI | W 61–58 | 6–2 | Worthen Arena (2,397) Muncie, IN |
| 12/05/2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | New Orleans | W 66–52 | 7–2 | Worthen Arena (2,528) Muncie, IN |
| 12/12/2015* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | Pepperdine | L 63–72 | 7–3 | Worthen Arena (2,816) Muncie, IN |
| 12/22/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Indiana State | L 61–73 | 7–4 | Hulman Center (3,256) Terre Haute, IN |
| 12/29/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Alabama A&M | W 63–62 | 8–4 | Worthen Arena (2,356) Muncie, IN |
| 12/31/2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Chicago State | W 73–48 | 9–4 | Worthen Arena (2,251) Muncie, IN |
| MAC regular season |||||
| 01/06/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Toledo | W 87–69 | 10–4 (1–0) | Worthen Arena (2,152) Muncie, IN |
| 01/09/2016 2:00 pm | at Ohio | L 73–79 | 10–5 (1–1) | Convocation Center (6,703) Athens, OH |
| 01/12/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Western Michigan | W 74–64 | 11–5 (2–1) | University Arena (1,901) Kalamazoo, MI |
| 01/16/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Miami (OH) | W 48–46 | 12–5 (3–1) | Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN |
| 01/19/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Kent State | L 68–76 | 12–6 (3–2) | Worthen Arena (3,190) Muncie, IN |
| 01/23/2016 11:30 am, ESPN3 | at Eastern Michigan | W 88-87 $^{2OT}$ | 13-6 (4-2) | Convocation Center Ypsilanti, MI |
| 01/26/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Buffalo | L 64–76 | 13–7 (4–3) | Alumni Arena (3,522) Amherst, NY |
| 01/30/2016 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | Akron | L 64–73 | 13–8 (4–4) | Worthen Arena (3,021) Muncie, IN |
| 02/02/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Bowling Green | W 72–64 | 14–8 (5–4) | Stroh Center (2,593) Bowling Green, OH |
| 02/06/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Western Michigan | W 75–71 $^{OT}$ | 15–8 (6–4) | Worthen Arena (3,346) Muncie, IN |
| 02/09/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Ohio | L 69–72 | 15–9 (6–5) | Worthen Arena (3,100) Muncie, IN |
| 02/13/2016 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | at Central Michigan | W 75–63 | 16–9 (7–5) | McGuirk Arena (3,351) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 02/16/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Miami (OH) | W 73–56 | 17–9 (8–5) | Millett Hall (1,706) Oxford, OH |
| 02/19/2016 6:30 pm, CBSSN | Northern Illinois | W 63–59 | 18–9 (9–5) | Worthen Arena (5,160) Muncie, IN |
| 02/23/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Toledo | L 67–77 | 18–10 (9–6) | Savage Arena (4,112) Toledo, OH |
| 02/27/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Eastern Michigan | W 115–79 | 19–10 (10–6) | Worthen Arena (3,353) Muncie, IN |
| 03/01/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Central Michigan | L 57–65 | 19–11 (10–7) | Worthen Arena (2,738) Muncie, IN |
| 03/04/2016 7:00 pm, CBSSN | at Northern Illinois | L 69–80 | 19–12 (10–8) | Convocation Center (2,102) DeKalb, IL |
| MAC tournament |||||
| 03/07/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Miami (OH) First round | L 47–49 | 19–13 | Worthen Arena (2,245) Muncie, IN |
| CIT |||||
| 03/15/2016* 8:00 pm | at Tennessee State First round | W 78–73 $^{2OT}$ | 20–13 | Gentry Complex (1,013) Nashville, TN |
| 03/20/2016* 6:00 pm | UT Martin Second round | W 83–80 $^{OT}$ | 21–13 | Worthen Arena (1,203) Muncie, IN |
| 03/23/2016* 7:00 pm | at Columbia Quarterfinals | L 67–69 | 21–14 | Levien Gymnasium (1,397) New York City, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||