1989–90 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

After the departure of head coach Rick Majerus, Ball State responded under new coach Dick Hunsaker by having the best season in the school's history. This group of Cardinals became the first team in the Mid-American Conference history to win two consecutive MAC regular season conference championships as well as back-to-back conference tournament titles. The 1990 Ball State basketball team also became the first team in the MAC to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in its current format. The Cardinals lost in the Sweet 16 to the eventual national champions UNLV Runnin' Rebels, 69–67.[1]

1989–90 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
MAC regular season champions MAC Tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Mid-American Conference
1989–90 record	26–7 (13–3 MAC)
Head coach	Dick Hunsaker (1st season)
MVP	Paris McCurdy
Home arena	Irving Gymnasium

1989–90 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Ball State†	13	–	3		.813			26	–	7		.788
Kent State	12	–	4		.750			21	–	8		.724
Miami	9	–	7		.563			14	–	15		.483
Bowling Green	9	–	7		.563			18	–	11		.621
Eastern Michigan	8	–	8		.500			19	–	13		.594
Toledo	7	–	9		.438			12	–	16		.429
Central Michigan	6	–	10		.375			13	–	17		.433
Ohio	5	–	11		.313			12	–	16		.429
Western Michigan	3	–	13		.188			9	–	18		.333
† Mid-American Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by many transfer players and two of Coach Hunsaker’s key transfers, starting forwards Paris McCurdy and Curtis Kidd, were high school teammates.[2] They both signed to play their college ball at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. However, because of disciplinary reasons, the two had to find a new school. Former coach Rick Majerus gave them a second chance, and they came through. The two became the key assets to Ball States Sweet 16 run.[3]

The Cardinals finished the regular season at 24-6 before heading to the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals were a 12 seed and began the tournament at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. They upset the Oregon State Beavers in what was star point guard Gary Payton’s last game in college.[4] They won the game when McCurdy made a three-point play with no time left.[5] Ball State then had to play the Louisville Cardinals next. They ended up defeating Louisville late in the game by a final score of 62–60. Meanwhile, in Muncie, fans stormed the village (the center of Ball State's off campus social scene) after the win. Ball State advanced to face the top-seeded UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Ball State shut down one of the best offenses in college basketball history and had a chance to win it in the final seconds.[6] Down by two, the Cards made a deep pass to tie or take the lead but it was picked off.[7]

Roster

1989–90 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 42 Paris McCurdy (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Cooley Detroit, MI F 4 Chandler Thompson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Muncie Central[8] Muncie, IN C 44 Curtis Kidd (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Cooley Detroit, MI G 30 Billy Butts 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Muncie Northside Muncie, IN G 34 Emanuel Cross 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Westinghouse Chicago, IL F 31 Greg Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Yorktown Yorktown, IN F 33 Shawn Parrish 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Vincennes University[9] Owen Valley Spencer, IN C 32 Roman Muller 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Wisconsin Dells[10] Wisconsin Dells, WI G 22 Mike Spicer 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Central Grand Rapids, MI G 35 Dave Barber 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Daleville Muncie, IN G 20 Scott Nichols 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr St. Martin Deporres Detroit, IN G 25 Rodney Haynes 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Chrysler New Castle, IN G 11 Mike Giunta 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Carmel, IN G 23 Keith Stalling 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Dunbar Chicago IL G Mark Hardwick 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Jay County Dunkirk, IN	Head coach Dick Hunsaker (Weber State) Assistant coach(es) Larry Eustachy Leonard Drake Ron Hecklinski (part time) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 24, 1989*		at Purdue	W 57–43	0–1	Mackey Arena  West Lafayette, IN
Nov 28, 1989*		Saginaw Valley State	W 66–45	1–1
Dec 1, 1989*		Hardin-Simmons	W 98–70	2–1	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Dec 2, 1989*		Coppin State	W 71–66	3–1	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Dec 5, 1989*		at Indiana State	W 49–48	3–2	Hulman Center  Terre Haute, IN
Dec 13, 1989*		at Valparaiso	W 79–72	4–2	Athletics–Recreation Center  Valparaiso, IN
Dec 21, 1989*		Cardinal Stritch	W 116–52	5–2
Dec 23, 1989*		at Butler	W 63–42	6–2	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Dec 29, 1989*		vs. Memphis State Old Style Classic	W 76–73 ^OT	6–3	Chicago, IL
Dec 30, 1989*		vs. Grambling Old Style Classic	W 79–56	7–3	Chicago, IL
MAC regular season
Jan 3, 1990		at Central Michigan	W 83–60	8–3 (1–0)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, MI
Jan 6, 1990		Bowling Green	W 71–65	9–3 (2–0)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Jan 10, 1990		at Eastern Michigan	W 85–67	10–3 (3–0)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, MI
Jan 13, 1990*		Florida International	W 105–50	11–3	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Jan 17, 1990		at Kent	W 71–68	11–4 (3–1)	Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center  Kent, OH
Jan 20, 1990		Toledo	W 59–54	12–4 (4–1)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Jan 24, 1990		Miami University	W 71–64	13–4 (5–1)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Jan 27, 1990		at Western Michigan	W 65–38	14–4 (6–1)	University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI
Jan 31, 1990		Ohio	W 77–61	15–4 (7–1)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Feb 3, 1990		at Bowling Green	W 45–44	16–4 (8–1)	Anderson Arena  Bowling Green, OH
Feb 7, 1990		Eastern Michigan	W 58–57	16–5 (8–2)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Feb 14, 1990		Kent	W 77–50	17–5 (9–2)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Feb 17, 1990		at Toledo	W 68–47	17–6 (9–3)	John F. Savage Hall  Toledo, OH
Feb 21, 1990		at Miami University	W 79–73	18–6 (10–3)	Millett Hall  Oxford, OH
Feb 24, 1990		Western Michigan	W 77–54	19–6 (11–3)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Feb 28, 1990		at Ohio	W 77–60	20–6 (12–3)	Convocation Center  Athens, OH
Mar 3, 1990		Central Michigan	W 84–57	21–6 (13–3)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
MAC Tournament
Mar 9, 1990		vs. Ohio Quarterfinals	W 77–70	22–6	Cobo Arena  Detroit, MI
Mar 10, 1990		vs. Eastern Michigan Semifinals	W 69–58	23–6	Cobo Arena  Detroit, MI
Mar 11, 1990		vs. Central Michigan Final	W 78–56	24–6	Cobo Arena  Detroit, MI
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1990	(12)	vs. (5) Oregon State First Round	W 54–53	25–6	Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,020[5]) Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 17, 1990	(12)	vs. (4) Louisville Second Round	W 62–60	26–6	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 23, 1990	(12)	vs. (1) UNLV Regional Semifinal	W 69–67	26–7	Oakland—Alameda County Coliseum Arena  Oakland, CA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source[11].

References

1. Matthew, Tyson (August 15, 2006). "How Sweet It Was: The Story of Ball States 1990 Sweet 16 Season" (PDF). Ball State Library. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
2. Joe, Juliano (March 18, 1989). "Ball State Coach Leads A Rapid Rise". Retrieved February 25, 2016.
3. Rhoden, William (March 15, 1989). "BASKETBALL; Unfamiliar Spotlight for Ball State". New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
4. Berkowitz, Steve (March 22, 1990). "COMMENTARY : A Cinderella Story for the Sweet 16: Ball State and Coach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
5. Norwood, Robyn. "Ball State KOs Oregon State". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
6. Engel, Mac (March 15, 2011). "The Greatest Dunk You Forgot: #UNLV vs. #BallState in '90 #NCAA Tournament". Sports Blog Star. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
7. "20 Years Ago Ball State Helped Begin Mid-Major Revolution". LanceWilkerson.com. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
8. O'Gara, Ryan. "Chandler Thompson returns to coach Central". Muncie Star-Press. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
9. Wheeler, Donovan. "SHAWN PARRISH INTERVIEW: HIS TEAMS MADE HIM GREAT". National Road Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
10. Hoellen, John. "Big Sleeper is Beginning to Awaken". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
11. "Record Book" (PDF). Ball State Sports. Retrieved 31 December 2017.