Ball State takes first conference loss to Kent State
By Conor Hockett / January 12, 2013In what seemed like the first time all game, Kent State’s Chris Evans got a clean look.
In what seemed like the first time all game, Kent State’s Chris Evans got a clean look.
After losing to IUPUI on Dec. 23, it seemed Ball State was headed toward a Mid-American Conference season with a record under .500, a stat that hasn’t translated to success in league play.
Ball State had a one-point lead when Brittany Carter went up for a shot at the top of the key with just 22 seconds left, and everybody in Worthen Arena believed Carter was going to attempt her tenth three-pointer.
Almost two weeks after being outrebounded by 20 against Valparaiso, Ball State played with increased intensity in their 62-59 win over Miami (OH).
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Jesse Berry stood near the bench, peeking his head in at the video monitor to see if the shot counted.
Nonconference records don’t mean much for Mid-American Conference teams that rarely get at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, but success, or lack of it, in the first half of the schedule is often indicative of what to expect in league play.
It was an afternoon of firsts for Ball State.
Heading into their game Saturday at Valparaiso, Ball State’s women’s basketball team has won just one game on the road this season, compiling a 1-5 record away from Worthen Arena.
The team’s game plan was not executed. The team’s focus was elsewhere. The team’s effort was questioned.
After blowing a chance to knock of Purdue in West Lafayette on Tuesday, Ball State gets another chance at an in-state rival on Sunday.
Brittany Carter went 0-of-3 from behind the 3-point line in the first half of Tuesday’s game.
The old adage in sports is ‘numbers never lie’. In this age of sports, numbers reign supreme, with saber metrics taking over baseball and QBR determining legacies in football and the plus-minus ruling playing time in basketball.
When Ball State released its first-ever nonconference schedule to include games at IU, Butler and Purdue, it was clear the team’s gauntlet of tough road games would lead to either marquee wins or deflating losses.
After a disappointing road loss on Sunday, the Ball State women’s basketball team will try to regroup for a quick turnaround game on Tuesday evening against Wyoming.
Illinois State’s Jamie Russell went into the weekend leading her team in scoring, and Ball State made stopping her its goal at Sunday’s game.
Ball State players and coaches stressed the importance of not falling in love with 3-point shots against South Dakota’s zone, but ironically it was the long ball that saved the win on Saturday.
With eight days in between games, the Ball State women’s basketball team used the extra downtime to focus on the student part of student-athlete.
Whether it’s playing a team similar in skill level or the same opponent twice in one season, coach Billy Taylor’s philosophy to nonconference scheduling has always been to simulate Mid-American Conference situations.
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