A quick glance at Ball State's 1-7 road record might indicate poor play by Ball State away from Worthen Arena.
But lately, that hasn't been the case, and Saturday the Cardinals will try to show why when they travel to Ohio for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
"I think over the last three of four games on the road we've played pretty good basketball," assistant coach Scott Bunnell said. "The last two games -- at Toledo and at Western -- with about a minute to go, we were in the lead in both games with a chance to win, and we didn't get it done. We go over to Miami, an Achilles' heel for the last 12 years, and we get a win there. Even dating back to our first conference game at Kent (a 70-67 loss) ... We've just got to find a way to get over that hump and make the plays we need to win."
Ball State (6-4 Mid-American Conference, 9-9 overall) hits the road after it snapped a three-game losing skid with a 77-71 overtime victory over Akron. Ohio (4-6, 7-13) is also coming off an overtime win at home, 67-64 over Miami, the Bobcats' second victory in a row.
Tim O'Shea's club is led by the senior backcourt tandem of Jaivon Harris (14.4 points per game) and Thomas Stephens (10.9, 2.9 assists), although Harris generally comes off the bench. While Bunnell doesn't anticipate the Bobcats presenting matchup problems, the Cardinals need to be aware of the various defensive looks they will face.
"The big thing with them is they play a lot of changing defenses," he said, "so it'll be important for our guards to recognize that, to stay on the attack and not let that bother us.
"They don't play any defense we haven't seen, but they change it a lot as the game goes on. They can do man(-to-man) a couple possessions, 2-3 (zone) a couple possessions, some 1-3-1, they extend full court."
Although Ball State has been shooting just 35.3 percent in its past two games, including just 23.5 in the second half against Akron, Bunnell said the coaching staff is not too concerned about those woes, in part because BSU is making 74.3 percent of its free throws, second-best in the MAC.
"I think it was a little deceiving because we got to the free-throw line," he said. "Matt McCollom was 14-of-14. That doesn't show up in your field-goal percentage, but obviously those are good possessions.
"I think our offense was still productive, even though we didn't shoot a high percentage, because we got to the free-throw line."
Although he has shot just 27 percent over the past two games, Dennis Trammell still leads the Cards with 12.8 points per game, with Robert Owens right behind at 10.2. Cameron Echols and McCollom add 9.9 and 9.0, respectively.
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