Ball State hosts Safford and Kent State

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Kent State Golden Flashes (18-7, 9-3 MAC) at Ball State Cardinals (8-16, 3-8 MAC)

Muncie, Indiana; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Kent State visits Ball State after Morgan Safford scored 23 points in Kent State's 95-91 victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

The Cardinals are 5-5 on their home court. Ball State gives up 69.8 points and has been outscored by 3.5 points per game.

The Golden Flashes are 9-3 in conference games. Kent State has a 4-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

Ball State is shooting 41.6% from the field this season, 2.2 percentage points lower than the 43.8% Kent State allows to opponents. Kent State averages 16.6 more points per game (86.4) than Ball State allows to opponents (69.8).

The Cardinals and Golden Flashes meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Armoni Zeigler is averaging 12.8 points and 1.5 steals for the Cardinals. Devon Barnes is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Jahari Williamson averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Golden Flashes, scoring 9.8 points while shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc. Delrecco Gillespie is shooting 50.4% and averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, averaging 63.5 points, 25.3 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 7.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 40.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.2 points per game.

Golden Flashes: 6-4, averaging 79.5 points, 39.9 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.