Winning nine of its last 10 games and currently riding a six-game winning streak, Ball State is quickly separating itself from the rest of the Mid-American Conference.
Coming off a 60-51 victory against Eastern Michigan (4-13, 1-3 MAC) Wednesday night, the Cardinals increased their winning streak to six consecutive games, which hasn't been done since 2001-02.
To keep the ball rolling, Ball State will need to find a way to slow down Toledo's leading scorer, Malcolm Griffin (11.9 ppg), as it travels to Savage Arena, Saturday night.
Griffin has been on a scoring tear as of late. The past two games he's averaged 26.5 points.
"[Griffin] has played extremely well as MAC play has started," coach Billy Taylor said. "He's really playing with tremendous amount of confidence. He gets out and scores in transition and makes threes, which is a new part of his game this year."
Beyond defending Griffin, Ball State has become its own
worst enemy. Through the first four conference games the Cardinals are averaging over 15 turnovers.
Taylor said he understands the problem and has addressed it to his players.
"Our guys know that's unacceptable," he said. "Turning the ball over deals with lack of execution -- and we clearly need to be better."
Ball State (12-4, 4-0 MAC) is now receiving national attention because of its fast start to the 2010-11 campaign.
ESPN's Mark Adams, game analyst on the ESPN family of networks and former college basketball coach for 17 years, wrote on ESPN.com that Ball State is quietly on the rise behind leading scorer, and preseason All-MAC selection Jarrod Jones.
Taylor said he couldn't be more excited for his players. He said he hopes the team's recent success will have more people coming out to support the Cardinals as they have three home games next week.
"Not only are we proud, but hopefully our university is too," Taylor said. "When we get noticed it's exciting to get some national recognition. People are taking some account that we've put together a long win streak."
Read More
‘They've just got to become a team:’ Even with a win, questions still surround Ball State men’s basketball
By Zach Carter / 46 minutes agoBall State earned its first win of the year with a 87-60 victory over Franklin. But even with the win, head coach Michael Lewis did not like the Cardinals' performance.
4 takeaways from Ball State’s win over Franklin College
By Derran Cobb / 2 hours agoThe Cardinals finished their first game at Worthen Arena this season with a 87-60 victory over the Grizzlies Nov. 8.
Yorktown volleyball prepares for IHSAA 4A State Championship appearance
By David Moore and Zach Carter / 5 hours agoThe Yorktown Tigers are looking for their sixth 4A State Title since 2000.
