Men's Basketball Hosting Louisiana for MAC-SBC Challenge to Start Season

Ball State Men's Basketball MAC-Sun Belt Challenge
Game 1 vs. Louisiana	Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Listen
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The Ball State men's basketball team is hosting Louisiana for the season opener at 7 p.m., on Monday at Worthen Arena.

Links to the ESPN+ stream, radio broadcast, live stats and tickets can be found below and on the schedule page. The game will be part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.

Ball State added seven transfers and three true freshmen to the team in the offseason. The seven transfers hail from seven different conferences: Elmore James IV from Ohio (MAC), Davion Hill from Northwest Florida State College (NJCAA Panhandle Conference), Juwan Maxey from Youngstown State (Horizon League), Kayden Fish from Iowa State (Big 12), Armoni Zeigler from Saint Peter's (MAAC), Cam Denson from Long Beach State (Big West), and Devon Barnes from UTEP (CUSA).

The 2025-26 Ball State men's basketball roster features student-athletes from 10 different states: Indiana, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Missouri, New York, California, Georgia, and North Carolina.

Louisiana went 12-21 (8-10 SBC) last season and is now led by first year head coach Quannas White. The Ragin' Cajuns were picked to finish ninth in the 14-team Sun Belt preseason poll.

Redshirt junior forward Kyran Ratliff is the leading returning scorer for Louisiana after averaging 5.7 points in 19.6 minutes per game last season while starting in 15 of 33 games played.

Ball State will remain home to take on Mansfield at 7 p.m., Friday in the second game of the regular season.

SUCCESS VS SUN BELT: Ball State has won each of its home games in the first two seasons of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge and will have a chance for a third when the Cardinals open the season hosting Louisiana on Nov. 3 against Louisiana.

Ball State topped Old Dominion 73-68 on Nov. 11, 2023 and Southern Miss 77-76 on Feb. 8, 2025 in the two previous installments of the challenge at Worthen Arena.

I'VE SEEN YOU BEFORE: Senior guard Elmore James IV is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference having played three seasons at Ohio before coming to Ball State.

The Cleveland, Ohio native has made 24 starts in 50 career MAC games, scoring 339 points. James averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds overall last season for the Bobcats while shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range.

FAMILIAR NAME: Junior guard Armoni Zeigler, a transfer from Saint Peter's, is the brother of former Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler.

Armoni averaged 11.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Peacocks last season while leading the team in field goals made (114) and steals (43).

BIG GAME POTENTIAL: Guards Juwan Maxey and Davion Hill have shown the ability to put up big scoring games in their collegiate careers.

The senior Maxey scored 29 points against Milwaukee last season when he went to Youngstown State and 23 points vs Robert Morris in the Horizon League championship game. Hill, a redshirt sophomore, tallied double figures in points on 22 occasions including a season-high 38 points last season at Northwest Florida State College.

FLYING FISH: Redshirt sophomore forward Kayden Fish comes to Muncie with NCAA Tournament experience after scoring an and-one and registering a block and a steal last March in Iowa State's first round win over Lipscomb.

The Kansas City, Mo., native was awarded a medical redshirt his freshman year with the Cyclones and played in nine games last season before transferring to Ball State.

TV GAME AT WORTHEN ARENA: The game against Ohio originally scheduled for Jan. 17 in Muncie has been moved to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16 due to it being aired on CBS Sports Network.

Ball State's most recent home MAC game on a Friday was back on March 3, 2023 against Toledo in a game that was also broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

WELCOME TO THE MAC: Ball State plays league newcomer UMass twice in the regular season in the first season in the league for the Minutemen.

The Cardinals play at UMass on Jan. 10 before hosting the Minutemen on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The two teams have faced off only once prior, in an 89-86 Ball State win on Nov. 21, 2021 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Men's Basketball Hosting Louisiana for MAC-SBC Challenge to Start Season

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Players Mentioned

Devon Barnes

Cam Denson

Kayden Fish

Davion Hill

Elmore James IV

Juwan Maxey

Armoni Zeigler