The Ball State Cardinals came into the game sitting at 4-4 in the conference and was in need of a win both to stay within reach of the Rockets in the West and to remain in the top 4 for the MAC tournament bye. They went on the road and faced a Toledo Rockets team that had won 7 in a row in conference play.
The Cardinals scored the first 6 points of the game and then maintained a double digit lead for most of the first half, going into the locker room with 37-27 lead.