Ball State Cardinals men's basketball


The Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represents Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals first basketball season was 1920–21. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2000.
The Cardinals have had various levels of success throughout their 94 seasons of competition. Although there was little success in the program from its start until the 1970s, the next two decades would be the highlight of the program's performance. Ball State became a sporadic leader in the Mid-American Conference, winning a record seven MAC tournaments between 1981 and 2000. The Cardinals also accomplished a large feat during the 2001 Maui Invitational Tournament, when they upset #4 Kansas and #3 UCLA on consecutive days. In 2017, the Cardinals beat #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion by a score of 80-77, breaking a sixteen year drought against ranked teams.

Rivals

Ball State's rivals in men's basketball are against other in-state, out-of-conference programs Butler, Evansville, Indiana State, and Valparaiso. Prior to moving to the Division I Mid-American Conference in the 1971–72 season, Ball State shared conferences with its rivals, in the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference and later Indiana Collegiate Conference, both Division II.

All-Time Results by season

Postseason

NCAA Division I Tournament

The Cardinals have appeared in seven NCAA Division I Tournaments. All of their tournament appearances have been automatic bids given to the Cardinals as a result of winning the MAC Tournament. Their overall NCAA Tournament record is 3–7. Ball State's most successful year was 1990, when they reached the Sweet Sixteen but lost to eventual national champion UNLV, 69–67. It was UNLV's only single-digit win of their Tournament run - they won their five other games by an average margin of 23 points, including a 30-point win over Duke in the National Championship Game.
1981#12Round of 48#5 Boston CollegeL 90–93
1986#14Round of 64#3 Memphis StateL 63–95
1989#9Round of 64
Round of 32		#8 Pittsburgh
  1. 1 Illinois
W 68–64L 60–72
1990#12Round of 64
Round of 32
Sweet Sixteen		#5 Oregon State
  1. 4 Louisville
  2. 1 UNLV
W 54–53W 62–60
L 67–69
1993#15Round of 64#2 KansasL 72–94
1995#12Round of 64#5 Arizona StateL 66–81
2000#11Round of 64#6 UCLAL 57–65

National Invitation Tournament

The Cardinals have appeared in four National Invitation Tournament tournaments. Their overall NIT record is 3–4. Their most successful year in the NIT was 2002, when the Cardinals gained all three of their NIT victories but lost to eventual national runner-up South Carolina.
1991First RoundCincinnatiL 55–83
1992First RoundUtahL 57–72
1998First RoundMemphisL 67–90
2002Opening Round
First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		South Florida
Saint Joseph's
LSU
South Carolina		W 98–92
W 75–65
W 75-65
L 47–82

CollegeInsider.com Tournament

The Cardinals have appeared in two CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–2.
2016First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		Tennessee State
UT Martin
Columbia		W 78–732OT
W 83–80OT
L 67–69
2017First RoundFort WayneL 80–88

NCAA Division II Tournament

The Cardinals have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament one time. Their record is 0–2.
1964Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Southern Illinois
Jackson State		L 81–88
L 71–92

NAIA Tournament

The Cardinals have appeared in the NAIA Tournament one time. Their record is 1–1.
1957First Round
Second Round		Troy State
Texas Southern		W 98–70
L 72–97

1990 Sweet Sixteen team

After the departure of head coach Rick Majerus, Ball State responded under new coach Dick Hunsaker by having the best season in the school's history. This group of Cardinals became the first team in the Mid-American Conference history to win two consecutive MAC regular season conference championships as well as back-to-back conference tournament titles. The 1990 Ball State basketball team also became the first team in the MAC to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in its current format. The Cardinals lost in the Sweet 16 to the eventual national champions UNLV Runnin' Rebels, 69–67.
The team was led by many transfer players and two of Coach Hunsaker’s key transfers, starting forwards Paris McCurdy and Curtis Kidd, were high school teammates. They both signed to play their college ball at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. However, because of disciplinary reasons, the two had to find a new school. Former coach Rick Majerus gave them a second chance, and they came through. The two became the key assets to Ball States Sweet 16 run.
The Cardinals finished the regular season at 26-7 before heading to the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals were a 12 seed and began the tournament at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. They upset the Oregon State Beavers in what was star point guard Gary Payton’s last game in college. Ball State then had to play the Louisville Cardinals next. They ended up defeating Louisville late in the game by a final score of 62–60. Meanwhile, in Muncie, fans stormed the village after the win. Ball State advanced to face the top-seeded UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Ball State shut down one of the best offenses in college basketball history and had a chance to win it in the final seconds. Down by two, the Cards made a deep pass to tie or take the lead but it was picked off.

Notable people

Three Cardinals players have gone on to play professionally in the National Basketball Association. Former Coach Rich Majerus, was an NBA assistant coach for one season.