Ball State to challenge No. 16 Arizona

Nov 13, 2011 - 3:51 PM Tucson, AZ (Sports Network) - The Ball State Cardinals will get a stiff test in their season opener today, traveling to Tucson for non-conference meeting against the 16th-ranked Arizona Wildcats.

The Cardinals finished 19-13 a year ago, including a second-place finish in the Mid-American Conference West Division. Ball State is one of the more promising teams in the MAC heading into the season, and was selected to finish second in MAC West in the preseason media poll. The Cardinals certainly have enough experience to make a run at winning the division, considering five of the top scorers are back and nine lettermen in all return from last year's squad.

Arizona has jumped out to an early 2-0 record thanks to non-conference victories over Valparaiso and Duquesne. The Wildcats won the latter 67-59 in Tucson, pulling away from the Dukes in the second half thanks in large part to a second straight solid performance from Jordin Mayes. Arizona has a busy week following today's contest against the Cardinals, traveling to New York City to meet St. Johns on Thursday as part of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

This is the first meeting between Ball State and Arizona.

For Ball State, Jarrod Jones was a force in the paint last year, leading the team with 14.7 ppg and 8.4 rpg, and he will anchor the program heading into 2011-12. He has solid guard support returning in Jauwan Scaife and Randy Davis. Scaife and Davis posted 11.2 and 9.8 ppg last season, respectively, and Davis is a player who can slash and distribute. The guard paced the team with 5.0 apg last season and will be the floor general from the perimeter for the Cardinals. Sophomore Jesse Berry is a player to watch off the bench, as he has performed well in exhibition competition this fall. Berry scored 22 points against Taylor last week in an exhibition game.

Jesse Perry has opened the season with back-to-back double-doubles for Arizona. He scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead the Wildcats to a 73-64 win over Valparaiso, and added 11 points and 11 boards in the win over Duquesne. Mayes was huge in the second win of the season against the pesky Dukes, scoring 16 of his 19 points in the second half to help Arizona get separation in the win. Perhaps what was more impressive in the win over Duquesne than solid offensive performances from Perry and Mayes was the collective defensive effort from the Wildcats. Arizona held Duquesne just 26.7 percent shooting from the field in the first half, and 32.8 percent for the game. In its two games, Arizona has held its two opponents to 36.4 percent from the field, while the Wildcats are shooting 45.7 percent.