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.

2015–16 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
MAC West Division co–champions
CIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record21–14 (10–8 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jason Grunkemeyer
  • Danny Peters
  • Brian Thornton
Home arenaWorthen Arena
Seasons
2015–16 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Akron 13 5   .722 26 9   .743
Ohio 11 7   .611 23 12   .657
Kent State 10 8   .556 19 13   .594
Buffalo 10 8   .556 20 15   .571
Miami (OH) 6 12   .333 13 20   .394
Bowling Green 5 13   .278 16 18   .471
West
Ball State 10 8   .556 21 14   .600
Central Michigan 10 8   .556 17 16   .515
Northern Illinois 9 9   .500 21 13   .618
Eastern Michigan 9 9   .500 18 15   .545
Toledo 8 10   .444 17 15   .531
Western Michigan 7 11   .389 13 19   .406
2016 MAC tournament winner
Logo reading "Ball State Cardinals." "Ball State" is in a black italic sans-serif font and "Cardinals" is written in a smaller red italic sans-serif font.
Ball State Cardinals Wordmark

Previous season

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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

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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

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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

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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:    247SportsN/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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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.

Roster

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2015–16 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Francis Kiapway 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr St. Thomas More (CT) Hamilton, Ontario
G 1 Naiel Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Queen City Prep (NC)
San Jacinto College
Brooklyn, NY
G 2 Tayler Persons (I)   6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 213 lb (97 kg) So Kokomo
Northern Kentucky
Kokomo, Indiana
F 5 Rocco Belcaster 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 221 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Morton HS Berwyn, IL
G 11 Kaleb Mallory (W) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Muncie Central HS Muncie, IN
F 12 Bo Calhoun 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Washington HS South Bend, IN
F 15 Franko House 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Jr Concord HS Elkhart, IN
F 21 Gill Bik 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 227 lb (103 kg) Sr Ascension of Our Lord Secondary School
Owens CC
Toronto, ON
F 22 Jermaine Tyler 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Arsenal Tech Indianapolis, IN
F 24 Jeremiah Davis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Huntington Prep
Cincinnati
Muncie, IN
F 25 Tahjai Teague 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Pike Indianapolis, IN
G/F 33 Ryan Weber 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 226 lb (103 kg) RS Jr Roncalli HS
Youngstown State
Indianapolis, IN
F 34 Sean Sellers 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) So Greensburg HS Greensburg, IN
F/C 41 Trey Moses 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Eastern Louisville, KY
C 52 Nate Wells 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 247 lb (112 kg) RS Sr West
Bradley
Davenport, IA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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Source: [1]

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.

References

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