It has been a roller coaster season for Ball State, from the rousing upset of Xavier in the season opener to Monday's close call against Akron. In between included the pitfall at IUPUI, breaking the 12-year Millett Hall hex at Miami, the porous second half against Detroit and the 28-point whitewashing of Eastern Michigan on Senior Night.
Now Ball State (14-14) wants to stay on the incline in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland. Laugh as you may, that incline could take the Cardinals to the MAC Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
How, you may ask? Well, by taking advantage of a favorable draw and the momentum they've created by winning four of their last five.
It's almost a given that today's 2 p.m. game against Miami will come down to the last minute. Ball State won by six at Miami, and the RedHawks by seven in Muncie. The Cardinals' last three losses in Oxford came down to the last shot.
"It's probably going to come down to the end, as usual," said senior forward Robert Owens, the line Ball State player from Ohio. "That's how it is every year. I've never been on a team that was able to blow them out."
Owens is one of three Ball State players who average in double figures (Dennis Trammell and Cameron Echols are the others), but it is one who is not far behind -- junior guard Matt McCollom -- who might be an X factor against the RedHawks.
In Oxford, McCollom hit both of his 3-point attempts, including the eventual game winner, on his way to team highs of 15 points and seven rebounds. All around, it was one of his finest games in a Ball State uniform. In the second match, he notched just five points and a rebound.
This afternoon McCollom might well draw the assignment of guarding Miami standout Juby Johnson, so the Cardinals will need his hard-nosed defense as well as offensive support.
But if McCollom, or any other player, draws a seat on the bench for some mistakes, you won't see them mope. These players have made themselves accountable all season. Buckley has said they are good at evaluating themselves, and they have each other's back.
When Echols struggled with his shot Monday night, Terrance Chapman popped off the bench with 15 points and six rebounds, while Owens made his final game in Worthen Arena a memorable one -- 20 points and nine rebounds.
Matching Miami's defensive effort, taking care of the ball and getting big rebounds should spell a Ball State victory today. Moving to the semifinals on Friday, the Cards would face either Bowling Green (who they beat twice) or Kent State. The Golden Flashes beat Ball State at home 70-67, but that was on Jan. 3. The Cardinals would guarantee you they are a better team now -- and I would too.
The same might not be said for East Division winner Kent, who enters the tourney on a four-game losing streak.
The top seeds in the opposite brackets, Toledo and Western Michigan, had to overcome last-minute deficits to defeat Ball State on their home courts. The Cards also ditched Toledo in Worthen Arena.
Now you see what Ball State's path to a MAC Tournament Championship would entail and why it's a manageable path. There are obstacles, but this resilient and often-undersized team has overcome adversity all this season.
There's not much reason to think they can't do it again.
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