Baton Rouge, La. - Ball State will attempt to make school history when the men's basketball team prepare to take on Louisiana State University tonight at 8 p.m. in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament in Baton Rouge.
Ball State has only won three postseason games in men's basketball history. The Cards defeated Pittsburgh in the 1989 NCAA Tournament and downed Oregon State and Louisville in the 1990 tournament. The Cardinals can match that total with a win tonight.
The away win against Saint Joseph's came after the Cardinals' difficulty with games outside Worthen Arena throughout the regular season.
According to senior Billy Lynch, the win against Saint Joseph's has helped the team's confidence when it travels to away games. It will especially help with tonight's morale.
"We hadn't played as well on the road in the regular season as we would have liked, but we jumped right in there and defended an awfully good Saint Joseph's team," Lynch said.
Lynch's fellow senior teammate Petie Jackson said,"We know it's going to take a great defensive effort to win games. They are a lot more athletic and taller so that's what it comes down to. I think we are playing our best defense right now."
One reason defense will be key against LSU is because of the Tigers' sizes. According to both Lynch and Jackson, LSU presents a bigger, longer opponent than what Ball State traditionally sees in the Mid-American Conference.
"They are a (Southeastern Conference) school, so they are long and athletic, much like South Florida was," Lynch said. "We are going to have to stop dribble penetration and keep them off the glass. We just have to limit them to one shot.
"Some times we rely on out-scoring people. When you are on the road against an LSU you can't just go in there and out-score them. We are really going to have to pack that defensive effort and then make the shots."
Offensively, Ball State may look to use one of its biggest weapons for the season - free-throw shooting. Ball State shot almost 75 percent from the charity stripe for the regular season.
"We haven't really been shooting the ball consistently over the last few games so our biggest attribute is driving the ball, dishing it to the inside and trying to get to the free-throw line," Lynch said. "It's key, especially on the road. The shooting environment is always different, so we will have to get points on the free-throw line."
Earlier this week, head coach Tim Buckley was sick and took a couple of days off from practice. Stepping in during practice was assistant coach Scot Bunnell. As things stand now, he said he is pleased with the team's postseason play.
"We are playing some great basketball right now," Bunnell said. "That's a credit to our guys because we started the season pretty early. Now that we are in postseason, we are going on a couple of extra weeks. I don't think the guys feel very much pressure, though, they are just wanting to go out and see what we can do.
"I still don't think they fully understand what they are doing - how close they really are getting to go to New York to play for an NIT Championship."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
