Preview: Eastern Michigan Eagles at Ball State Cardinals

MUNCIE, Ind. (Interstat) — Two Mid-American Conference men’s basketball teams seeking momentum will meet Tuesday night when the Eastern Michigan Eagles visit the Ball State Cardinals at Worthen Arena.

Eastern Michigan (7-7) enters at .500 overall but is looking to rebound from a narrow 68-67 home loss to Ohio on Saturday. The Eagles have shown resilience, winning three of their last five games, including a victory over Massachusetts.

Ball State (4-10) aims to halt a three-game skid, most recently an 85-72 road loss at Buffalo. The Cardinals’ season has been a struggle, with their only win since late November coming against non-Division I opponent Earlham on Dec. 29.

The matchup features a key battle at guard. Eastern Michigan’s Addison Patterson has been a consistent offensive force, averaging 15.5 points over his last four games. He scored 17 points with six rebounds in the narrow loss to Ohio.

Ball State will counter with Davion Hill, who is coming off a 17-point, six-rebound performance at Buffalo. Hill has reached double figures in three of his last five contests, providing a spark for an offense averaging just 68.1 points per game.

For Eastern Michigan, support for Patterson has come from Braelon Green (16 points vs. Ohio) and Jon Sanders (12 points). Ball State’s Devon Barnes, who scored 20 against Buffalo, and Armoni Zeigler (15 points, five rebounds) will need to contribute heavily to keep pace.

The game opens the MAC schedule for both teams. Eastern Michigan will look to start conference play on the road with a win before hosting Northern Illinois next Tuesday. Ball State begins a challenging stretch, with a road game at Massachusetts looming Saturday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST Tuesday at Worthen Arena.