Ball State Preview

Cardinals heading up steps at Anderson Arena

So, the Cardinals are coming to town for what is shaping up to be a pretty important game for both teams in the MAC standings.  Right now, half of the conference has either 5 or 6 wins, and those teams are playing for 4 home berths to the MAC tourney, as well as for a regular season title and NIT berth, worst case.  BG and BSU are two of those teams.  Further, BSU has just a half-game lead over WMU for the West's automatic berth, a lead in danger than once seemed impregnable.

So, what about these Cardinals who will tramp up the stairs at Anderson Arena?

They are 14-8 on the year.  They had a nice win in Muncie over Indiana State, but after that their best win over the year was against WMU.  Losses to Butler and St. John's are reasonable, but an 18-point loss @ D2 Alaska Anchorage can't be viewed too well.  They did win 10 out of 11, but not one team they beat has an RPI over 200.  They are 6-3 in the MAC, which means sweeping the West and then going 1-3 against the East.  They are 5-4 on the road this year.

On offense, they are right in the middle of the MAC with 1.02 points per possession (conference only from here on out).  They play at 65 possessions a game, which is pretty compatible with BG.

They are the best in the MAC at getting to the line and making free throws, and they are 4th in FT%.  They make a high percentage of 3s (2nd), but they are 12th in total attempts.  They shoot mostly from the inside, and they are 4th in FG%.  They are a relatively high assist and high turnover offense, and are in the middle of the pack in offensive rebounding %.  Their gross numbers are hurt by a general lack of missed shots.

Their are also in the middle of the pack in defensive efficiency, at .99 points per possession.  Their stats reflect this.  They are in the middle of the MAC Pack in most of the defensive categories.  They do not give up trips to the line, and they are +70 in free throws made during the 9 game MAC season.

College Basketball Stats

Individually, they have the MAC's second best dual threat player in Jarrod Jones, who leads the team in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (8.3).  Jauwan Scaife also scores about 12 points per game, and Randy Davis scores 10 points on top of 5.5 assists, 2nd in the MAC.  They have 3 other solid players beyond that.

I heard this team described as "solid" during the pre-MAC-season, and I wasn't sure what that meant.  Now I see.  This is a good team with good players without any real weaknesses or screaming strengths.  Having said that, they have really struggled in their games against the East (and two of the losses were at home), so the results on the court have not been that encouraging.

I mentioned earlier that both teams need this win.  BG can't afford to lose 2 in a row at home if it wants to stay in the race for a bye.  This is a team that is probably pretty equal with the WMU team that beat the Falcons on Saturday, so BG will need to get its game back.  Strong inside play, avoiding fouls, and having an efficient offensive attack will help, as well as guarding better than Saturday.  BG made WMU into a 3 shooting team and can't afford the same with Ball State.