Ball State's men's basketball team is off to one of the worst starts in school history. Only twice in the program's history have the Cardinals had a worse record after fifteen games than 4-11 (0-2 in the Mid-American Conference). In 1970-71 and 1983-84 the Cardinals had a record of 3-12 at this point, the two worst starts for Cardinal programs in history. The Cardinals have gone 4-11 twice, in 1959-60 and 1966-67. In those seasons, the Cardinals never amassed more than eight wins.
First year coach Ronny Thompson has yet to win a road game or a MAC game, and the teams they have defeated have a combined record of 16 and 30 against Division I opponents. Only Indiana State University has a winning record.
Perhaps the best chance for the Cardinals to stop the bleeding comes this weekend as Eastern Michigan University will come to Worthen Arena Saturday. Ball State has won 10 of the last 11 games against the Eagles. Of the opponents the Cardinals play this year, Eastern Michigan is one of the two schools the Cardinals have dominated over the years. The Cardinals are 23-12 against Eastern Michigan at home, 9-4 in Worthen Arena and 51-28 against the Eagles overall.
Eastern Michigan is 1-1 in the MAC and 6-9 overall, and are coming off a one point victory over Northern Illinois University at home. They are led in scoring by sophomore Carlos Medlock and junior Jesse Bunkley while freshman Brandon Bowdry leads the team in rebounding.
If the Cardinals are hoping to pull out a win, they might need D'Andre Peyton to pull out a big game. Peyton is averaging 12.25 points in the games the Cardinals have won and 6.1 points in the Cardinals' losses he played in.
Anthony Newell, the Cardinals leading rebounder, might still be limited due to a chest injury. He saw only four minutes against the Broncos on Tuesday, his fewest minutes of the season by 20 minutes.
One thing the Cardinals will have to do is hold a lead in the second half. The Cardinals have held leads at halftime against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Temple University, the University of Toledo and Western Michigan University, only to lose in the second half.
One change that could occur is in the guard position. Steve Horton is the only player to start every game this season for the Cardinals, but after averaging 12 points in the first two games he has not scored more than five points in over a month and have seen his minutes decline over the last two weeks. Horton is only shooting 22.2 percent from the field this season, and, of players who have made more than 60 field goal attempts this season, Horton has the worst field goal percentage in the NCAA.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
