Ball State University's men's basketball team will face an opponent without a loss for the second time in a row when they head to San Diego, Calif. on Saturday to face No. 22 Oklahoma State.
The trip will allow junior Micah Rollin and freshman Ahmaad Cook to return to their home state. Assistant Coach Steve Flint also played in San Diego at the University of California at San Diego.
If the Cardinals (3-5) want to have any chance of defeating the Cowboys (10-0) they will need to start hitting shots. The Cardinals are 312th in field goal percentage out of 336 programs in the country. Oklahoma State is 18th in the nation in field goal percentage, making 50.9 percent of all shots.
"We need to hit more shots," coach Ronny Thompson said. "I think we have good shooters who aren't hitting shots that they normally shoot."
Thompson said the school's shooting woes will not become a focal point for his practices, however.
"You overly worry about it because you can't change it," Thompson said. "It's like I always say, I wish I could make Chris Ames 6'9"; I can't. I wish that every open shot that Skip Mills gets, he makes it. I can't make him make it.
"It's one of those things - when you shoot it, it either goes in or it doesn't. I think we need to continue to try and get good shots."
That doesn't stop Thompson from being frustrated with his team.
"I tell the guys all the time 'I shoot better than you guys,'" he said.
Senior Skip Mills challenged Thompson to a shooting contest after Monday's practice, but Thompson had to appear on his radio show. Thompson isn't the only person frustrated with the performance.
"It's just frustrating all over the way things are going," Mills said. "But we're going to pick it up. That's all I can say."
While Brandon Lampley has only played one minute this season, Thompson has attributed much to him.
"He's a heck of a practice player and I think eventually he will end up playing," Thompson said. "We got to try and get Peyton [Stovall] back in his groove and once he gets settled in and Stevie [Horton] gets settled in, [Lampley] will be okay. He's a guy that comes every day, does not complain, does not pout, does not get frustrated. He understands his position on this team, which makes my job easy."
The Cardinals and the Cowboys have met once before, in 2001. Oklahoma State won 82-70, also on a neutral floor.
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