Ohio's DeVaughn Washington, Morehead State's Kenneth Faried and Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry have three things in common.
Every player faced Ball State this season.
Each player is above 6 feet 6 inches tall.
And each one of them has hurt Ball State in the paint.
Despite preseason All-Mid American Conference Jarrod Jones and senior Malik Perry's presence inside, opposing big men have exposed Ball State's front line during the 2010-11 season.
The Cardinals' next big challenge comes against possibly the most versatile offensive weapon yet.
Miami of Ohio's Julian Mavunga should give Ball State all it can handle when they travel to Oxford today.
Mavunga comes in averaging a team-leading 14 points and 6.7 rebounds for the RedHawks this season.
"He's an all-around player," Perry said. "One thing about good players is you're not going to stop a good player, you just have to contain them. He can post up, he can shoot the three and he can dribble-drive off the right side. You just have to contain him and make it hard for him."
Both Perry and coach Billy Taylor said Mavunga has the ball in his hands about 90 percent of the time, so double teaming him is out of the question.
Mavunga leads Miami in both assists and turnovers this year, so limiting his good looks could be key.
Taylor said the other problem Mavunga poses is that he's a willing passer. Even if they contain his scoring, he can still have an impact.
"Mavunga is the focal point of their offense," Taylor said. "On the low block or the perimeter, Mavunga is going to have the ball in his hands and is going to make plays."
Forward Nick Winbush and guard Orlando Williams have taken over 200 3-pointers this season, so Ball State needs to close out to shooter when Mavunga gives it up.
Miami's is 9-12 overall, but 4-3 in the conference. Coming off three straight losses, Perry said records and defensive game plans don't matter. It is all about getting back to playing Ball State's style of basketball.
"A champion is not made just at home," Perry said. "When you get into the MAC Tournament, which is basically a neutral site game, you have to play through anything and everything that happens away. It has to be tough-minded basketball for 40 minutes."
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