Who's Playing

Ball State Cardinals @ Buffalo Bulls

Current Records: Ball State 9-11, Buffalo 7-13

How To Watch

What to Know

Buffalo will be in front of their home fans on Saturday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They and the Ball State Cardinals will face off in a Mid American battle at 5:00 p.m. ET at Alumni Arena. The Cardinals took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on the Bulls, who come in off a win.

Last Tuesday, Buffalo beat Central Michigan 75-69. While the oddsmakers failed to call the winner, they nailed the 143.5 point over/under.

Buffalo got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Ben Michaels out in front who scored 12 points plus six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyson Dunn, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine assists.

Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Ball State last Tuesday, but the final result did not. They fell just short of Western Michigan by a score of 74-71. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Cardinals have suffered since March 2, 2024.

Ball State's defeat came about despite a quality game from Payton Sparks, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 17 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Sparks a new career-high in offensive rebounds (nine).

Buffalo's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-13. As for Ball State, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-11 record this season.

Buffalo was pulverized by Ball State 87-59 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Buffalo avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.

Odds

Ball State is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Buffalo, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 2.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 153.5 points.

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Series History

Buffalo has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Ball State.

  • Jan 23, 2024 - Ball State 87 vs. Buffalo 59
  • Jan 24, 2023 - Buffalo 91 vs. Ball State 65
  • Feb 12, 2022 - Buffalo 80 vs. Ball State 74
  • Jan 14, 2022 - Buffalo 74 vs. Ball State 68
  • Feb 02, 2021 - Buffalo 78 vs. Ball State 58
  • Jan 09, 2021 - Buffalo 86 vs. Ball State 69
  • Feb 18, 2020 - Buffalo 72 vs. Ball State 59
  • Jan 07, 2020 - Ball State 88 vs. Buffalo 68
  • Jan 29, 2019 - Buffalo 83 vs. Ball State 59
  • Jan 06, 2018 - Buffalo 83 vs. Ball State 63