While two-game losing streaks are often characterized by poor play, Ball State’s recent performances have been anything but.
After winning at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 9, coach Billy Taylor said his team dominated for stretches against Kent State and Akron before losing both games to start the Mid-American Conference season 1-2.
“I just think we’ve been playing really good basketball overall,” Taylor said. “We wanted to pull out that victory [against Akron], but our guys were very competitive. We were able to stand toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the conference. Hopefully we got some confidence off of that and can continue to play at a high level.”
When Ball State (7-8, 1-2 MAC) plays at Central Michigan (8-8, 1-2 MAC) on Saturday, Taylor said he hopes that high level of play will finally translate into a much-needed win.
The Chippewas are hoping to do the same after starting league play in similar fashion to the Cardinals.
Under the direction of Keno Davis, the former Drake coach who led the Bulldogs to an NCAA appearance in 2008, Central Michigan beat Bowling Green before losing its next two games by a combined 10 points.
“Central is a completely different program now,” Taylor said. “They have no similarities from what we’ve seen from them in the past. They’re a team, from an offensive standpoint, that’s going to push the ball very hard on makes and misses down the floor. They typically will play four 3-point shooters, maybe five at one time. A lot of games, over half of their field goal attempts come from the 3-point line. They’re a very different team in terms of how they get their offense.”
That tempo doesn’t slow down on the defensive end either.
In what will be the fourth game in a row, Taylor said the Cardinals will see either full-court, three-quarter court or match-up zone pressure on defense.
No matter what defenses have thrown at Ball State lately, the team has shown significant improvement on offense.
While the Cardinals’ scoring numbers haven’t been staggering, their movement and fluidity in the half-court is noticeably better.
“It definitely coincides with getting our guys back healthy,” Taylor said. “Older guys that have been back in the lineup that have made a positive impact. We have a lot of veteran players out there that understand what to do in their roles and sprinkle in and blend with younger guys to give us a boost of energy.”
Energy and effort have been there for Ball State in the past couple games, but it hasn’t resulted in wins.
Despite the good play recently, Taylor said the Chippewas present a different match-up because of all the new coaches and personnel on their team.
“We’re going to have some significant challenges going against a team we don’t have a lot of familiarity with, like we did with past Central programs,” Taylor said.
