As the saying goes, you kick a dog when it's down. But what happens when two dogs who are down face each other?
Ball State and Northern Illinois fans will find out Saturday, when the two teams play at 2 p.m. CST at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill. The Huskies, preseason media favorites in the Mid-American Conference West, have played like anything but, and are 2-10 in the MAC (7-15 overall) after Wednesday's loss at Toledo. Ball State (6-6, 9-11) is searching for only its second win in seven games.
Northern has played its last two games without senior forward and leading scorer Marcus Smallwood, but Ball State coach Tim Buckley is preparing his team as if Smallwood will play and is more worried about his team's demeanor.
"You want to prepare for your opposition to be at our best," he said. "Really, we're concerned with us right now, how we carry ourselves."
According to guard Dennis Trammell, the team is still carrying itself positively, despite the Cardinals' current skid.
"We're still competing," the junior captain said. "We know we still have a chance to come out on the top of the MAC. We've had this adversity before. It's another challenge, and we'll see how we're going to bounce back."
Even so, Buckley says his team hasn't been playing with enough energy, and he feels Trammell hasn't been the same since missing the Toledo game on Jan. 28 with strep throat. Trammell, the Cards' leading scorer at 12.4 points per game, has shot just 26.5 percent since that contest.
Buckley believes his team not only needs Trammell's scoring, but his energy as well.
"We've got to get him back if we're going to be successful," Buckley said after Wednesday's 72-61 loss to West Division leader Western Michigan. "He's our heart and soul."
"Who motivates the motivator?" he said rhetorically. "Our guys feed off him. The rest of the team has to give (energy) to him, so he can give it to them."
Despite his shooting woes, Trammell remains confident in himself.
"I'm not worrying about it," he said. "Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don't."
Ball State's four MAC road losses have come by a combined 14 points, so Buckley knows his team isn't far from having a more successful season. One missing ingredient has been converting close or extra opportunities.
"We didn't make plays when we had to," he said. "(But) we're getting to that point. There's a fine line with it."
Against Western, Ball State scored only six second-chance points after 13 offensive rebounds, and Buckley said the Cards converted just 27 times in 58 trips into the paint.
Buckley addressed the energy issue before and guarantees his team will show more against Northern.
"You'll see it Saturday. I promise you."
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