When junior Chris Ames eyes the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the forward only has one thing to say - watch out.
One game remains in the regular season for the men's basketball team, but Ames realizes the importance of what the tournament can mean to Ball State University.
In a season where the Cardinals were predicted to finish second in the West division but instead could finish four games out of third place, a deep run into the MAC Tournament could mean big dividends for the young squad.
"This is a team that can make some noise in the tournament," Ames said. "We have the determination to scare some people in those games and we're really looking forward to the challenge."
Ball State (9-17 overall, 5-12 MAC West) is guaranteed to start on the road for the tournament beginning Monday. With a win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, the Cardinals would be seeded ninth for the tournament and would play either Toledo, Buffalo or Ohio depending on how those teams finish on Saturday.
If the Cards lose, they will need a Bowling Green loss to stay in the ninth seed. If Bowling Green wins and Ball State loses, they will fall to the tenth seed.
Coach Tim Buckley said that his staff will be scouting all three potential opponents but his team must stay focused on Eastern Michigan.
"Our only focus is on Eastern Michigan and getting prepared for that game," Buckley said.
Eastern Michigan (7-19 overall, 3-14 MAC West) defeated Ball State by 13 points a month ago. Buckley said he wants his team to be mentally prepared this time around.
"We've got to have better mental focus going into this one," Buckley said. "Eastern Michigan's playing pretty good basketball and they have arguably one of the best players in the league, John Bowler."
Bowler scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds against Ball State on Feb. 4. Buckley said his team's inside defense will have to get better in order to contain Bowler and prevent him from dominating the paint.
Junior Charles Bass, who tied his career-high with 15 points on Wednesday, will be expected to continue his offensive production on Saturday. But Buckley said the center still needs to buckle down and improve his footwork on defense.
"It shouldn't be an anomaly that he came out and played like that," Buckley said. "That's how he should play. Now's he got to play that way defensively."
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