After an off-season that was memorable for all the wrong reasons, Ball State University is as excited as any team in the nation to stop talking and start playing.
"We don't focus at all on last year," first-year Cardinals' coach Billy Taylor said. "We are not at all looking back. We want to make a great statement."
The Cardinals will get an opportunity to do just that when the Butler University Bulldogs visit Worthen Arena tonight for the men's basketball season opener.
Butler returns three starters, including senior guards A.J. Graves and Mike Green, from the Bulldogs team that began last season with ten straight wins, went 29-7, made it to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16, and lost to the eventual national champions, the University of Florida, by eight points. The Bulldogs also received 114 votes in the first Associated Press poll of 2007-08, which was the third-highest of unranked teams in the introductory poll.
The most vivid memory Ball State has of Butler is the Bulldogs' 65-41 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse last season. The Cardinals' 41 points was their lowest total since 1957 and the team shot less than 30 percent from the field. Mike Green scored 21 points against Ball State on that night.
Ball State's struggles in that match up could be attributed to Butler's unique clock-control game, which often calls for running the 35-second shot clock near its end offensively to work for a good shot.
Junior forward Anthony Newell said this time around Ball State will take what they can get from the Bulldogs.
"We're just going to take what they give us," Newell said. "If they give us that fast offense, we're going to run it like that. If we've got to slow it down a few times, that's what we're going to do."
Taylor said Ball State will be patient offensively to attempt to counteract the Bulldogs' tough defense.
"I think you have to be patient," Taylor said. "If you go down and take a quick shot, it doesn't usually work against Butler. They are a very strong defensive team."
Tonight's meeting with the Bulldogs will be the 99th in the all-time series, which Butler leads 61-37, including a current three-game winning streak against Ball State. Butler is Ball State's third most-common opponent in its history, behind Indiana State University and Western Michigan University.
"I'm excited to have Butler as our home opener," Taylor said. "It's a great challenge for our guys."
The Bulldogs are the first of three NCAA tournament teams from last season on Ball State's non-conference schedule, the others being Georgetown University and Purdue University.
Newell said he is excited about what he looks at as an opportunity for the Cardinals to make a name for themselves in those games.
"I think that it gives us a little exposure," Newell said. "Especially if you can knock one of those teams off. Those are good games to have. People know about Ball State, but they don't know about it enough."
Two seasons ago, Butler's visit was commemorated with a "Nest Appreciation Night" to honor the Cardinals' student section, and "The Nest" spilled all the way to the top of the arena.
Newell, who was a freshman that year, said he remembers that game and said his team will need similar support tonight.
"I hope and pray The Nest fills it up for us," Newell said. "I don't know if they know it, but it gives us another level of energy. I don't think I can ever get tired when I see The Nest piled up. That's one of the best things that can happen for us, right there."
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