Heading into the first game of the Mid-American Conference portion of the men's basketball schedule, Western Michigan University was sitting at a lowly 3-10 overall record.
Three MAC victories later, however, the Broncos (6-10, 3-0 MAC) suddenly stand alone atop the MAC West Division standings and head into tonight's game against Ball State University at Worthen Arena looking more like the team that was voted preseason MAC West Division favorites.
Coach Billy Taylor said Western Michigan has taken advantage of its tough non-conference schedule this season.
"In the non-league part of the schedule, we all played very difficult, challenging schedules to prepare us for MAC play," Taylor said. "Western was similar to that - they played a tough schedule, and it really got them prepared and they have come out and played with great passion so far."
With a win against the Broncos, the Cardinals (7-8, 2-1 MAC) would tie Western Michigan as first place in the MAC West, something Taylor said will be a tall task.
In its last game against Northern Illinois University, Western Michigan hit 14-of-28 3-point shots, tied for second-most made 3-pointers in a game in program history.
"[Western Michigan is] a physical team, they're very aggressive, they've got great guard play and they made 14 3's the other night against Northern," Taylor said. "They're just playing extremely well, playing with great confidence."
The Broncos are led by junior guard David Kool. Kool, a preseason All-MAC selection and a First Team All-MAC performer last season, is the MAC's all-time leader in free throw percentage at 88 percent, and his .917 free throw shooting performance his freshman year was the fourth-best by a freshman in the history of the NCAA.
This season, Kool leads the team and is fourth in the MAC with a 16.9 points-per-game average. Kool is also fifth in the MAC with 2.13 3-pointers made per game.
Senior guard Shawntes Gary leads the team with 6.1 rebounds-per-game and is second in scoring to Kool with 10.8 points per game.
Tonight's game - the first of a two-game homestand for the Cardinals - begins at 7 p.m.
Central Michigan 71, Ball State 65
The Cardinals had their own MAC winning streak snapped at two games with a 71-65 loss at Central Michigan University on Saturday, moving Ball State out of a first-place tie with Western Michigan atop the MAC West standings.
For the second straight game, the Ball State bench performed at a high level, outscoring the Central Michigan reserves 36-13. The Cardinals were led by senior guard Laron Frazier's 18 points off the bench. In Tuesday's 60-54 win against Northern Illinois, the Cardinal's bench outscored the Huskies' bench 28-5.
Ten first-half turnovers for the Cardinals helped the Chippewas take a 13-6 run into halftime with a 27-23 lead. Then, with 17:28 remaining in the second half, Ball State starting freshman guard Randy Davis was ejected from the game for a flagrant foul.
Television replays showed Davis, who was on the ground battling for a loose ball with Central Michigan junior guard Robbie Harman, receiving an elbow to the right eye from Harman before retaliating to take a shot back at Harman's head. Davis was ejected from the game and Harman, who received no penalty for his actions, would go on to make two free throws to increase his team's lead to 34-28.
Taylor said Monday that after reviewing the film of the incident that he felt punishment should have been handed out to both parties.
"It was a physical game, it was two guys really battling for a ball, and it got to be excessive contact for both of them," Taylor said. "I just would've liked to see it been an equal penalty for both players."
Davis, Taylor said, apologized to his coach and his team following the game and won't be punished further.
"It was very tough on Randy," Taylor said. "You talk about somebody who is an intense competitor, very much a team guy - he felt like he let his team down."
Following the scuffle, Ball State was able to cut the Central Michigan lead down to four points several times before finally coming within two points with 1:17 remaining in the game as the Chippewas led 65-63 following a 3-pointer from senior guard Brandon Lampley.
The Central Michigan offense was then able take advantage of the Ball State full-court defensive scheme to easily score a layup and a dunk with a minute remaining - coupled by two Harman free throws - to ultimately take control.
"That's something that you're going to give up when you're pressing, like we did," Taylor said. "We got some steals and we forced some turnovers, got easy points out of the pressure, but we also gave up two pivotal layups - a layup and a dunk - that essentially put the game out of reach."
The Chippewas (4-11, 1-2 MAC) were led by junior guard Jordan Bitzer's game-high 21 points. Harman finished with 15 points and six assists, while junior forward Jacolby Hardiman had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Freshman center Jarrod Jones had 15 points for Ball State, while Lampley added 14 in the loss. Freshman Mo Hubbard had four points and a game-high eight rebounds off the bench for the Cardinals.
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