After his team suffered its seventh straight loss Wednesday, Ball State coach Tim Buckley said, "You either fight through it or you don't. The rest of these teams aren't going to go away."
A day after the Cardinals lost to Western Michigan 71-52, Buckley continued emphasizing two things -- effort and competitiveness.
"We have really never talked about winning and losing," he said. "We talk about winning effort and losing effort. Obviously, that Western Michigan game was losing effort."
Buckley explained that if, in fact, he gets solid effort and his team still loses, it will be OK.
"I think giving a winning effort and not coming out on top relates to most of America," he said. "I think a lot of us out there grind and grind. We give a winning effort and we feel good about what we do. We may not be the president of General Motors, but it's still OK."
Not only did Buckley focus on effort after Wednesday's tough loss, the third-year coach seemed to question his players' love of the game as well.
"What you have to look at is if you really love playing basketball," he said. "I know I love doing what I do, so every day isn't drudgery for me. I don't know if everyone shares that same sentiment. I'm just saying, 'Do you have a passion for it? Do you love it?' If you do, that can carry you through these times."
Statistically, "these times" are some of the toughest Ball State has seen in many years. The Cardinals host Toledo at 3:30 p.m., and another loss would mean three consecutive home losses for the first time since a nine-game streak that happened 16 years ago.
A loss to the Rockets would also be the first time Ball State (5-9 overall) has opened the Mid-American Conference season, losing its first five games since the 1983-1984 season.
Toledo currently sits in the middle of the MAC West standings, holding an overall record of 8-6, including 2-2 in conference play. The Rockets' latest win was against Miami on Tuesday, 61-51. In that game, Toledo's leading scorers, senior Nick Moore and junior Keith Triplett, finished with 19 and 12 points, respectively.
Buckley explained that his team, as it heads into Saturday's game, must get better at rebounding on offense.
"We are not a very good shooting team outside of Chris (Williams) and maybe Kyle (Cox) so we have got to crash the offensive boards," Buckley said. "If you miss a shot and you put it back in, then you are shooting 50 percent."
Toledo's leading rebounder is Triplett, who averages 5.8 rebounds per game. For Ball State, Cameron Echols leads the way with 9.8 boards a game, with Kevin Cates following at just over five per game.
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