MAC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season
By Jay George
5. Ball State Cardinals
Last Season: 20-12 (11-7 in MAC play)
The Ball State Cardinals out of Muncie, Indiana has one season under recent head coach hire Michael Lewis. He started his tenure in Muncie with a bang going 20-12. Now the interesting situation here is that Ball State has lost some more well used pieces such as three-point machine Luke Bumbalough, Jarron Coleman – their centerpiece last year, and defensive machine Demarius Jacobs. These guys among others were key reasons for the success of the team that were lost for one reason or another.
Despite the losses, this recruiting class coming in for the Cardinals might be the most exciting thing coming to Muncie this upcoming year. There are six players classed as Freshman with two redshirts and the others coming in as true freshman. These additions bring a variety of new talent even scoring a guard Jurica Zagorsak out of Croatia. Ball State also will be getting back Center Ben Hendriks who suffering a season ending injury only two games in last year.
One thing they have that will really give them an edge in the MAC is size. From initial observance, the conference seems to be primarily full of guards that stand from the six feet to mid six range height wise. This roster will have only five players under 6’ 5” with the shortest being 6’ 2” in Boston transfer Ethan Brittain-Watts. This could allow Ball State to hide some of their lost talent by oversizing other teams especially down low and defensively keeping passing lanes and open looks to a tight minimum. A more traditionally constructed roster, expect this team to be solid and consistent even if not flashy and top tier in the conference.