MUNCIE, Ind. — What a difference three days can make.
After having its six-game winning streak snapped in Saturday's letdown performance at Western Michigan, Ball State men's basketball bounced back with a tremendous effort to top Mid-American Conference No. 1 Kent State (22-6, 12-3 MAC) 82-70 on Tuesday.
Three statistics, in particular, stood out: BSU had 18 assists to KSU's six, Ball State won the rebounding battle 38-27 and the team shot 27-for-34 (79.4%) on free throws, its second-most makes and fourth-best percentage of the season.
The Cardinals improved to third place in the standings and 20-8, 11-4 MAC, marking just the 13th 20-win campaign in program history and just the fourth time that both Ball State's men's and women's basketball teams have won 20 games in the same year.