The Ball State University basketball schedules are out, and they look good. Maybe not for Ball State's win-loss column, but for the fans, the schedule couldn't look much better.
Both the men's and women's basketball schedules feature a plethora of quality opponents.
Let's start with the men's schedule. While there are four home games to start the year, two of the games are near locks for a loss. The first game is against a very good Butler University, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which seems to have fallen off the face of the earth after a 9-22 record last season.
The third game is Georgetown University coached by Ronny Thompson's older brother John Thompson III. 'The Nest' should be out in force. Won't do much though; we will be blown out.
Then comes the University of Evansville, which Ball State should beat although Evansville is better than many people think.
So Ball State will be 2-2 going into a tough five-game road trip. It starts with St. Joseph's University and includes three Indiana schools, the best being Purdue University who made the NCAA Tournament last year.
If there is a year to beat Purdue this is it. The Boilermakers graduated both of their stars last year and their four top 100 recruits will still be adjusting to the college game.
After the road trip, the Cardinals have three home games before starting the Mid-American Conference season. Ball State could win all three, but most likely will win two, losing to University of California in Santa Barbara.
Although the men's basketball schedule is tough this year, it's still not as bad as last year's ridiculous schedule that gave the team as many frequent flier miles as Paris Hilton has boyfriends. The women's schedule went the opposite way.
Last year, when the women's team was 14-2, I said the national rankings were right to leave out the Cardinals. If the Cardinals start 14-2 this year, they had better be ranked.
Unlike last year the Cardinals play the University of Louisville, Butler, Temple University, and most likely University of Nevada in Las Vegas. All those teams are winning programs. As are Indiana University and Illinois State University who are again on the Cardinals' schedule. To have a 14-2 record, the Cardinals will have beaten at least four of those teams which justifies a top 25 ranking. But that is assuming they will be 14-2, which they won't be.
They'll be close, but with two teams who made the 2007 NCAA Tournament and another who made the WNIT in the out-of-conference schedule, the Cardinals will probably have three or four losses by that point.
Although the record might be slightly worse, the women's team should make the NCAA Tournament. WNIT was last year, the NCAA Tournament is this year. Bowling Green is down this year and the Cardinals have to replace just one starter, which Kiley Jarrett should do. They won the MAC West last year; they will win the entire MAC and the MAC Tournament this year giving them an automatic bid into March Madness.
So what will both teams' season records be? The men's team will take a 5-7 record into the MAC schedule and finish with a 12-16 record, making it 7-9 in the MAC. The women's team will double the men's wins. It'll be 10-3 before going 14-2 in the MAC, making it 24-5 for the season, which should warrant a top-25 ranking.
The women will win the MAC and the MAC Tournament getting a 10 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The men will finish fourth in the MAC West and lose in the second round of the MAC Tournament ending their season.
The women's team will soar and the men's will be on the way up with a real head coach.
Write to Levin at levintblack@gmail.com
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