Confidence often goes hand-in-hand with continuity on the court and coach Billy Taylor has switched up his starting lineup twice over the past four games looking for it.
While it's easy to pinpoint offensive production as the problem area, team continuity is a little harder to fix.
"I think we're just looking to get five guys on the court playing together playing with energy at one time," sophomore forward Matt Kamieniecki said. "Just trying to get the right pieces to fit together."
As senior point guard Randy Davis recovers from an Achilles injury and red-shirt sophomore forward Tyler Koch returns from a death in the family, the lineup may change again when Ball State takes on Bowling Green on today in Worthen Arena.
No matter who plays, Ball State will need consistent perimeter shooting against a team who is known for its 2-3 zone defense around the Mid-American Conference. During Ball State's four-game losing streak the team has averaged 55.75 points per game, nine points below its season average.
"We've always seen zone from BG when we've played them, historically," Taylor said. "They've got a good zone. They do a nice job of putting pressure on shooters and giving you opportunities to the middle that look like opportunities. Then they collapse on you very quickly and force you into turnovers. We just have to be smart and selective when attacking their zone."
Amidst the struggles over the past four games, one thing the Cardinals aren't struggling to do is create open shots. They've just missed them.
In Monday's press conference, Kamieniecki said his teammates shoot well in practice, it's just about transitioning that to the game.
"We'll get open shots [against the zone] which leads to openings on the interior as well," Kamieniecki said. "If we go in-and-out and our shooters shoot and miss, we can get the offensive rebound. They can shoot with more confidence knowing one more pass here or there gets them another shot. Against zones, if you're open, really, you've just got to knock them [shots] down."
Zones do allow for more open shots, but Ball State hasn't handled that defense well this season. Against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 14, the team shot a conference season-low 33.3 percent from the field. That included 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from the 3-point line as Eastern Michigan sat back in a 2-3 zone.
Taylor said the low percentage stemmed from his team's willingness to settle for tough shots.
"For our shooters, against Eastern [Michigan] we had a lot of opportunities from 22, 23 feet — well beyond the 3-point line — where we had the opportunity to move in," Taylor said. "Whether we're just beyond the line or take a step inside it, there's nothing wrong with a long two if it's a 17 to 19 foot shot. For our guys, understanding floor spacing against a zone — where you're going to get your shots from [is important]."
That pattern held true over the past four games as well. Taylor said his players are getting good shots, but are pulling up from too deep for a reasonable success rate.
Ball State is 10th in the MAC in 3-point shooting at 31.4 percent. In three of the past four games, the team shot less than 25 percent from behind the arc.
However, Taylor said he is encouraged by the recent play of his team. Ball State battled back from an 18-point second half deficit to lose by six on Saturday to Miami.
"When you play as hard as I think we did on Saturday," Taylor said. "You stop thinking about missed shots and you just go out and play."
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