The men's basketball team suffered its fifth straight loss Sunday. This brings their overall record to 9-21, the worst record since Ball State University joined the Mid-American Conference and the most losses in team history.
In Ronny Thompson's first season at Ball State, there have been unfortunately few highlights. Now that the team's regular season has concluded for the year, we present the top 10 factors that led to Ball States subpar season.
10. Tough schedule - Early in the season, the Cards had an extremely tough out-of-conference schedule, playing powerhouses like University of Kansas, Georgetown University and Butler University. These teams were and continue to be ranked in the top 20 in both national polls.
9. Second-half burnout - It was a familiar sight all season: The team would play its hardest in the first half and leave nothing for the second half. Ball State didn't come back from a second-half deficit all year long.
8. Worst shooting percentage in the MAC - Some people will tell you defense is the name of the game, but if you don't score any points it's impossible to win any games.
7. Worst 3-point shooting percentage - Some teams can make up for a poor overall shooting percentage with a stellar 3-point percentage. Ball State lacked in both categories, leaving the door wide open for opponents.
6. Former head coach Tim Buckley's recruiting - Although Buckley recruited some players, he failed to recruit five players that could come together to make a team. Thompson did his best with the group he had, but it was too little too late.
5. Lulls in defense - Some teams rely on offense, some rely on defense; Ball State couldn't rely on either. Defensive play wasn't bad at some points, but the lulls that allowed opponents to go on huge runs spelled doom for the season.
4. Lack of big men - Micah Rollin is the sole center on the team and stands at 6-foot-10 and D'Andre Peyton is the second tallest at 6-foot-6. Anthony Newell, at 6-foot-5, is the only player to average more than five rebounds a game. When an athletic forward is cleaning up the rebounds the big man should have, there's something wrong.
3. Steve Horton - Horton was the only player to start the first 24 games. Problem is, Horton averaged 1.5 points per game and had a 20 percent shooting average. In spite of Horton's scoring ability, Thompson kept him in for most of the season.
2. Injuries - Concussions, recuperation from surgery, tendonitis and a broken jaw were some of the health obstacles the Cardinals had to overcome this year.
1. Two consistent scorers - When Skip Mills and Anthony Newell are the only players who score with any regularity, the program is in trouble. Mills and Newell are the only players on the team who had double-figure scoring averages. Basketball is a five-person sport, and three fifths just doesn't cut it.
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