WBB Plays at IUPUI Wednesday; Hosts #14 Notre Dame Friday in Worthen Arena – Ball State University Athletics

Ball State (4-0) 

IUPUI (1-3) and #14 Notre Dame (3-1)

Nov. 22 at IUPUI | 2 pm ET >>> Nov. 24 vs. #14 Notre Dame at 5 pm ET

Opening Tip:

 – The Cardinals will travel south on I-69 Wednesday as Ball State will play at IUPUI for its first of two in-state rivalry games this week. The game between the Cardinals and the Jaguars will tipoff at 2 pm ET in the Jungle. After that, Ball State will host national ranked Notre Dame for a Blackout event on Friday at 5 pm ET. 

– Ball State and IUPUI have met nine times, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series, 7-2. Ball State and IUPUI’s last meeting was in 2022 in Muncie. The Cardinals won that contest, 61-54.

– The Cardinals and the Fighting Irish will face off for only the second time since the 1981-82 season. Last year, Ball State played at Notre Dame on Nov. 20 resulting in a 95-60 loss in South Bend. This marks the fifth time the two programs have met with the all-time series record knotted a two a piece. Ball State last defeated Notre Dame in 1980-81 by a score of 79-61 in Muncie. This marks the first time the Fighting Irish will have played in Worthen Arena. 

– Ball State will face four power five schools in non-conference action this season, two from the ACC — Notre Dame (Nov. 24) and Pitt (Dec. 19), one from the SEC Georgia (Dec. 21) and one from the Big East UConn (Dec. 6).

– Ball State head coach Brady Sallee has defeated five Power 5 conference teams during his tenure with the Cardinals— Minnesota (54-51, 2012-13), Iowa (77-72, 2015-16), Vanderbilt (88-79, 2017-18), Purdue (66-60, 2017-18) and Pitt (68-66 OT, 2022-23).

– Notre Dame is set to face Chicago State Tuesday prior to Friday’s contest. 

– Ball State is looking to improve to 6-0 on the season this week for the first time since 2017 when the Cardinals finished non-conference action 11-0. 

Game Day Tidbits:

– The Cardinals have shot over 50 percent from the field in all three of their four games this season

– Ball State continues to dominate offensively on all areas of the court which includes 52 percent from the field (129-246) and 42 percent from behind the arc (37-89). 

– In her first three contests as a Cardinal, Nyla Hampton has stolen the ball 16 times and has dished out 19 assists. Hampton is ninth in the nation currently in steals (16) and 10th in steals per game (4.0).

 – After four games the Cardinals rank eighth nationally in field goal percentage (52.4), 29th in steals per game (12.5), 16th in bench points (34.5), 17th in assists per game (19.2), 25th in turnover margin (8.25), 15th in three-point percentage (41.5) and 29th in scoring offense (85.8).

– The Cardinals have outscored their opponents in every quarter but one so far this season. 

Ball State Amongst the Elite:

The Ball State women’s basketball team is one of 50 NCAA DI programs that remain undefeated this season with a 4-0 ledger. The Cardinals also remain the only team in the Mid-American Conference without a loss this season. Ball State made history in 2017 after ending non-conference action with an 11-0 record which included road wins over ACC foe Vanderbilt and Big Ten foe Purdue. The Cardinals were just one of seven teams that season that were undefeated prior to conference play. For their efforts, Ball State received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and in the USA Today Top 25 poll. 

Inside the Paint:

After just three games the Cardinals proved that they can still dominate in the paint. So far this season Ball State 3-0 when winning the paint battle; vs. Tennessee Tech (54-32), Troy (48-34), Chicago State (42-22) and Northern Iowa (32-to-30).