Before the last five games, Ball State had been able to avoid the streakiness that plagued the team as they went to a 14-15 record last year.
Now the Cardinals (12-11, 7-7 Mid-American Conference) have dropped five straight and have gone from fighting for a bye in the first round of the MAC tournament to battling for a home first-round game.
"We've been in a lot of close games," coach Tim Buckley said. "We've had opportunities at key moments, and I guess I'm thankful for the fact that we've put ourselves in position to have an opportunity to win some of those games. It hasn't worked out that way, and we've just got to keep plugging along and getting better. "
The Cardinals will hope to turn their season around and build some momentum for the postseason against Toledo tonight in Worthen Arena.
"I'm itching a lot more to win now," sophomore guard Skip Mills said. "Everybody's talking about the possibility of finishing under .500 and writing off the season already. Basically, I want to shut up the critics, I guess."
The Rockets (13-11, 8-6 MAC) are led by senior Keith Triplett who puts up 15.7 points per game and leads the MAC in steals. In the teams' first meetings, the Rockets won 77-67 in Toledo.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are led by Dennis Trammell, who didn't play Saturday against Drexel because of a sore heel. Trammell is sixth in the MAC in scoring (16.6) and leads the way by making 48.8 percent of his shots from beyond the three-point arc. Buckley would not make any decision on Trammell until before the game.
"I think it's just day to day and seeing what he can do," he said. "I met with the team at about the eight and a half, nine minute mark before the [Drexel] game, and it was right at that time that we knew he wasn't going to be able to play."
Peyton Stovall, who started the season in the top 10 in three-point percentage, has fallen off of late, and had only seven points against Drexel. It was only the second time all year he failed to reach double digits.
"[I would like to see] just that same aggressiveness that he has," Buckley said. "What I would say to Peyton, if I were to say anything to him, is, 'why don't you just go let it rip? Just go let it rip and play.'"
A week ago, Buckley cited Anthony Kent and Tom Howland as two players who needed to improve for the Cardinals to succeed. Kent then put up nine points and six boards against Bowling Green. Howland, who only saw eight minutes at BG, went 4 for 6 from the field and scored nine against Drexel.
"I think Anthony was limited by foul trouble [against Drexel], yet he had five rebounds and four assists," Buckley said. "I felt like he tried to contribute in the ways that he could. Tom did a good job of scoring the ball but needs to continue to become more of a help defender and shut-down defender in the post. We've got to get that from Tom right now to help us be better."
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