Ball State 4-2 in past 6 contests despite defensive struggles

<p>Member's of the Ball State men's basketball team prepare to return to the floor after a timeout against Valparaiso on&nbsp;Nov. 28, 2015, at Worthen Arena. DN PHOTO AMER KHUBRANI</p>

Member's of the Ball State men's basketball team prepare to return to the floor after a timeout against Valparaiso on Nov. 28, 2015, at Worthen Arena. DN PHOTO AMER KHUBRANI

Statistics (Ball State - Buffalo)

Field- goal percentage: 48.8 - 47.3

3-point percentage: 22.2 - 23.8

Free-throw percentage: 66.7 - 73.1

Points: 64 - 76


When the final buzzer sounded on Jan. 26, Buffalo guard Lamonte Bearden finished with 18 points, six assists and four steals against the Ball State men's basketball team.

Ball State had just lost 76-64, giving the team its seventh loss for the season and the third in the Mid-American Conference.

That’s not the issue head coach James Whitford is necessarily worried about, in the past six games the Cardinals' defense has had issue containing opposing point guards.

Jaaron Simmons, Thomas Wilder, Eric Washington, Kellon Thomas, Ty Toney and Bearden are names circulating in coach Whitford’s head right now. These are the point guards from the last six opponents who have beat Ball State's guards.

“[Bearden] is the fifth straight point guard to absolutely blitz us off the dribble,” Whitford said.

So far in MAC play, conference guards have combined to average 21.5 points per game, 3.3 assists per game and 2.6 steals per game.

“Point guards in this league can’t wait to play us right now,” Whitford said.

Bearden and his Bulls teammate affected the Ball State defense to a point where Whitford called for zone defense.

“We tried everything, we never play zone,” Whitford said. “We couldn’t get a stop in the final eight or nine minutes of the game — they just kept taking us off the dribble.”

The Cardinals have switched from its usual starting lineup over the past two games for defensive purposes. Ball State has played its past two games without a point guard, as sophomore shooting guard Francis Kiapway replaced usual starter junior Naiel Smith.

That move was made in light of the resurged offense of sophomore shooting guard Jeremie Tyler, who has averaged 9.6 points per game in conference play. In comparison, Smith has averaged 2.4 points per game in MAC play.

Senior point guard Jeremiah Davis saw 18 minutes against Buffalo. He turned in a team-high 13 points on 4-5 shooting with two assists and five turnovers. Kiapway started the game as the point guard finishing with six points and three assists.

Despite the defensive miscues, the Cardinals have managed a 4-2 record in the past six contests, but now need to focus their efforts on a well-coached Akron Zips team. Head coach Keith Dambrot has his Zips at 16-4 and 5-2 in the MAC after they defeated MAC West Divsion leader Northern Illinois 76-66.

Ball State is home against Akron at 1 p.m. Jan. 30.

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