COLUMBIA, S.C. - It is almost fitting that Ball State play South Carolina in one of its final contests of the 2002 campaign. After all, the two teams began the season together. Well, sort of.
Both Ball State and South Carolina played in the Maui Invitational in November.
The two teams did not play one another, but rather watched each other play, not knowing in March the two would meet up again for a chance to advance to the final four teams of the National Invitation Tournament.
According to head coach Tim Buckley, the only thing he and his squad can take from seeing the Gamecocks in Maui is their style of play. "Every team gets better as the season goes on," Buckley said.
When the two teams face off tonight at the Frank McGuire Arena in Columbia, S.C. at 7:30 p.m., Ball State will use a different game plan than it did against its last Southeastern Conference opponent, Louisiana State University.
Against LSU, the Cards concentrated on driving to the basket, drawing in the Tigers defense and leaving shooters like Chris Williams and Petie Jackson open on the perimeter.
Jackson said the Cardinals will focus more on the inside game with Theron Smith and Lonnie Jones. "(The Gamecocks) kind of match up with us perfectly," Jackson said.
"Their lineup is basically the same as ours - they have some 5-10 guards. I think we are really going to have to pound it down to 'T' and Lonnie this game and let them go to work.
"We want to get the easy offense going first. Then, if the kickouts are there we will look for the three-pointers."
Buckley said the Gamecocks usually try to change defensive schemes repeatedly to disrupt opponents' game plans.
"They play good solid man-to-man defense," Buckley said. "I think they feel the ball is the most important thing. They try to help on the ball.
"They also like to change and surprise you with some defenses. They try to take you out of your offense by the way they change their defense. They mix it up quite a bit."
Ball State goes into tonight's game having just faced Southeastern Conference opponent LSU. South Carolina, another SEC team, has not faced a Mid-American Conference team all year.
For some, this may seem as no concern. As it turns out, however, Kent State has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament while the Cardinals have made it as far as the "Elite Eight" of the NIT.
Not only that, both teams are still alive."From what Kent State and we have done, I think people are starting to reconsider the MAC right now," Jackson said. Buckley said,
"The MAC is a very competitive league and we have very good guard play which I think can compete at a high level.
"We don't always think we get the amount of respect we deserve in terms of the amount of bids we should have gotten over the last four years."
Bids or no bids, the Cardinals head into tonight's game with the same "win one at a time" attitude the squad has tried to carry all season.
Chris Williams, who has scored a combined 81 points in the Cardinals' three NIT games, said he is confident going into tonight's matchup with South Carolina.
"I've just been shooting the ball well," Williams said. "I have spent a little more time shooting in the gym and I have been a little more concentrated.
We saw (the Gamecocks) in Maui, so they know we can play obviously by what we did there. "It's going to be a tough environment. If we come out there and play to our ability, there is no reason we shouldn't walk away with a victory."
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