The Cardinals swept the Rockets in each of the past two years and added a fifth straight win in the series Friday night to open Mid-American Conference play.
Ball State led wire-to-wire in an 79-64 victory at Savage Hall, knocking off one of the league's best. It was the fourth straight meeting with Toledo in which the Cardinals never trailed.
This was a Rocket squad coming off a MAC West Division championship last year and playing even better so far this season. UT (12-2, 0-1 MAC) had won 10 in a row, was on the cusp of the top 50 in most of the major rating systems and was ranked third in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Ball State (10-4, 1-0 MAC), however, scored the first nine points Friday and controlled the action all the way, winning for the ninth time in the past 10 games.
Tayler Persons led four double-figure scorers with 21 points, while Tahjai Teague logged his second double-double of the year with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Teague was 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
But it was the defensive end of the floor where Ball State really made it happen. Toledo entered the night ranked 33rd nationally in scoring at nearly 83 points per game. Friday night, the Rockets shot just 36 percent and connected on only 8-of-30 from 3-point range.
Persons locked down Toledo leading scorer Jaelan Sanford, holding him scoreless in the first half. Sanford managed 12 in the second half but still finished nearly six below his average, and the Cardinals only expanded the lead.
Kyle Mallers keyed in on the MAC's leading 3-point shooter Nate Navigato, holding him to 1-for-7 shooting and 0-for-4 from deep. And Teague, while he racked up numbers on the offensive end, had just as great an impact defensively.
"(Teague) scored the ball well tonight, but he is so good defensively because of his length and versatility," Whitford said. "And he's such a smart basketball player. His ability to think the game and understand the game and sniff things out is as good as I've seen in a long time. He defended a lot of different guys, and he was great out there."
Seven quick points from Sanford after halftime helped trim a 12-point Ball State lead to seven, but Persons answered with back-to-back buckets in the lane. The Cardinals led by double figures the rest of the way and stretched it to as many as 24.
Ball State did damage inside all night long, doubling up Toledo 48-24 in the paint. Trey Moses went to work in the post on the way to 17 points, climbing within three of the 1,000-point mark for his career. K.J. Walton slashed his way to 14.
Chris Darrington led the way with 13 points for Toledo, which now travels to play Buffalo in its second league game.
Ball State will return to Muncie to continue MAC play Tuesday night. The Cardinals will host preseason West Division favorite Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m.
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)