For Ball State Univeristy's Skip Mills, tonight's game against Buffalo could not come soon enough.
In tonight's match-up at Worthen Arena, Mills and his teammates get the chance to put Saturday's lackluster performance against Eastern Michigan behind them. After two days of trying to get their intensity and teamwork back in working order, the Cardinals are looking forward to playing against a team they've already went head-to-head with earlier this season.
Ball State (7-12 overall, 3-8 MAC West) lost to Buffalo 75-64 on Jan. 18, and Mills said the team wants to focus on beginning the game strong and finishing it with the same energy.
"That was a game where we just lost control in the final three or four minutes," Mills said. "We want to come out with a lot more energy this time and be able to keep that energy the entire game. I think our focus is in the right place after Saturday."
The previous game against Buffalo (15-7 overall, 5-6 MAC East) was also the last time Mills has shot better than 25 percent from the 3-point line. Mills, who averages nearly six 3-point attempts a game, has made only 3-of-25 from beyond-the-arc in the past six games, including a 1-of-7 performance on Saturday.
Mills said he isn't going to stop shooting the trey anytime soon and it's just a matter of keeping his confidence high.
"I just haven't been making the shots I was making earlier in the season," Mills said. "I actually feel more open now because teams would rather have me shoot the 3 first."
As Mills' shooting has worsened in the past six games, the team's has followed. After shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line against Buffalo, the Cardinals have shot above 35 percent twice, with a season-low 2-of-20 performance against Eastern Michigan.
Coach Tim Buckley said the team tends to follow Mills' lead during a game and imitates how their star guard is playing. Buckley said Mills has been bothered by having his fingers taped during games.
"He would never tell you this but I think his fingers have bothered him a little bit in terms of trying to shoot the ball," Buckley said. "He's just got to continue to keep a positive outlook on his shooting."
BIG MAN, BIG GAME
During the last meeting between Buffalo and Ball State, the Bulls' Yassin Idbihi ruled the paint. The 6-foot-10-inch center scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
This time around, however, Buckley is counting on his big men to keep Idbihi from getting the ball in the paint as easily as last time.
"You got to fight him for position and spacing on the floor to take away his angles," Buckley said. "We've got to do a better job of beating him to spots. It really ties into everybody in terms of pressure on the basketball, tracing the basketball and not allowing them clean looks to throw the ball inside."
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