Ball State University's men's basketball team suffered its worst loss of the season, a 26-point loss at the hands of Western Michigan University on Wednesday night.
The team's coach, Billy Taylor, said his team didn't respond well to its first league win and the team's captains, Peyton Stovall and Anthony Newell, blamed themselves for the defeat, despite 31 combined points.
The task for the Cardinals now is building themselves back up for Saturday's home contest against Eastern Michigan University.
"After we beat Central Michigan, we had a short turnaround for Western," Taylor said. "You don't have much time to celebrate your wins. Similarly, after the loss [Wednesday], we don't have much time to mourn our loss."
Taylor said he appreciated his captains' taking the blame for Ball State's performance Wednesday night but he stated that everyone on the team must step up for the Cardinals to be successful.
"I appreciate them stepping up and taking that personal responsibility," Taylor said. "It's a team game. Everybody's accountable, certainly not just those two guys. We call upon them to do a lot of things on the floor. But we need all five guys working together."
While Ball State enters Saturday's game licking its wounds, Eastern Michigan has won two straight Mid-American Conference games, including a road win at Northern Illinois University on Wednesday night.
Unlike Ball State's first three league opponents, Eastern Michigan enters the game a noted three-point shooting team, shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc. The Eagles' sixth man, Jarred Axon, made seven of them against Northern Illinois on the way to 23 points.
"Their guards are terrific three-point shooters," Taylor said. "If we can control the ball a little more and not get broken down, I think it will help us in terms of our three-point defense."
Although the Eagles' main strength lies in their guards, Taylor was quick to point out Eastern Michigan's top forward, Justin Dobbins, who averages 11 points a game.
"I think Dobbins is very talented on the block," Taylor said. "He's a little bit underrated because their guards are so good and shoot the ball really well. He can be quite a handful. He's 6-foot-8-inches, 240 pounds, so he'll certainly be a tough cover for us."
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