Ball State has already secured the No. 2 seed in the MAC tournament along with a bye in the first round. On top of that, the Cardinals also secured a share of the MAC West title.
According to Ball State coach Tim Buckley, regardless of what the team has achieved, there is plenty left to play for.
"I talk all the time about taking steps when you are trying to build a championship program," head coach Tim Buckley said. "This is just another step to try to take. There is still a lot to play for. We have an opportunity to try to get a 20 win season and to win the conference outright.
"In the past nine years, Ball State has only had one (conference) record above 11-7. That's another barrier. They are all things to try to take that next step," Buckley said.
If there was one team that may play right into Ball State's hands when it comes to winning the MAC West title outright, it may be Northern Illinois, the same team the Cardinals will face tonight at 7 in Worthen Arena.
When Ball State took on the Huskies in DeKalb, Ill. on Feb. 5, Chris Williams scored a season-high 31 points. Of those 31 points, Williams drained four 3-pointers and went 13-13 from the free-throw line. That win was one of the Cardinals' three road wins in 16 conference games.
Williams wasn't the only Cardinal to succeed against Northern. Senior Petie Jackson aided Ball State to the 86-81 road victory with 22 points.
Not so successful against Northern in the teams' first meeting was MAC Player of the Year candidate Theron Smith. Smith pulled down three rebounds and scored 10 points.
Smith will have to work even harder than the first time as most teams have taken to double-teaming Smith on a regular basis. But according to Jackson, team's double-teaming Smith plays into the Cardinals' game plan.
"I think it's one of our strong points," Jackson said. "We have good enough shooters where we are going to hurt teams either way. I think it works to our advantage."
Buckley agreed with Jackson in the fact that Smith has learned to handle the situation well.
"They have done a really good job with it," Buckley said. "Theron has done a really good job of not getting frustrated. They just aren't going to let him go one-on-one down there. But, he is a smart enough player that we still want to run our offense through him."
Heading the attack for Northern in the Huskies' loss to the Cardinals, were Marcus Smallwood, 20 points, and Leo Rodgers 23 points.
"They will come here and play us a lot like they did there," Buckley said. "They will try to go inside with Rodgers and Smallwood who had excellent games against us. They pose that inside outside threat for us. They are also tough on the backboard."
When Ball State defeated Miami (Ohio) 74-58 Saturday, the athletic department honored senior night. Tonight's game, however, will actually be the final performance in Worthen Arena for Brian Burns, Lonnie Jones, Billy Lynch and Petie Jackson.
According to Jackson, the fact that tonight's game will be the final stand for the seniors may bring forth some added intensity.
"It's an emotional time," Jackson said. "It's kind of scary to think about what is going to happen after basketball season is over.
"I know from my standpoint, myself and the other seniors are going to come out with a lot of intensity. We just want to show the crowd how appreciative we are for their support throughout our career."
For Lynch, with the chance at securing an outright MAC West title, tonight's game will leave the seniors with an ideal opportunity for closing their home career.
"You always want to do something special your senior year," Lynch said. "You want to leave your mark on the program and now we have a way to do it."
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