Following an upset win at Western Michigan, Ball State will try to keep its momentum going tonight at Akron.
The Cardinals (9-5, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) will face the Zips (10-5, 5-3 MAC), who have won four straight, including a 39-point thrashing of Central Michigan. The Cardinals come off a victory over the MAC's top team, which ended the nation's second-longest home winning streak.
"We just got to remain focused, we got two wins, but that's really nothing right now," senior guard Dennis Trammell said. "We got to keep it going. We need to continue to play good basketball and win."
While the Zips have one of the MAC's better records, they only have two victories against teams with winning records, home wins against Ohio and Buffalo. The Cards will have to avoid a letdown against the Zips.
"I would be very disappointed if there was a letdown cause that would mean we made a conscious decision that we wanted to let down," Buckley said. "We talk about it all the time. We want to have success, and we want to play at a level that is a championship-level type and our guys know that, and they understand that."
The Zips have a balanced attack, with six players averaging over 7.9 points per game. They have also overcome the loss of second-leading scorer Jeremiah Wood, who tore a knee ligament early this month and will miss the rest of the season.
Daryl Peterson (15.6 per game) leads the way.
"[Their balanced offense] allows them to have more threats," Buckley said. "You have to be more on guard, and you can't necessarily play to a certain player or a certain thing. So, you have to be a little bit more sharp and a little bit more crisp defensively. You can't relax at all."
The Cardinals might be without their second-highest scorer as well. The status of senior forward Terrance Chapman, who left Saturday's game late in the first half after injuring his left shoulder, will be a game-time decision.
"We'll have to see how things go today and how things go in the run through tomorrow and make a decision at that time," Buckley said.
Should the Cardinals be without Chapman, they will look to junior Anthony Kent and seniors Michael Bennett and Matt McCollom to fill the void. McCollom played much of the second half at Western and Buckley said he was pleased with his defensive effort.
"It all depends on how we feel matchup wise," Buckley said. "Obviously, when your playing a smaller lineup you're going to play more drive-and-kick basketball."
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