Ball State University Athletics
Photo by: Michael Hickey
Men’s Basketball Rolling into Conference Play
December 31, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Winners of eight straight, Cardinals set to begin MAC schedule at home
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State men's basketball team enters Mid-American Conference play this week as one of the hottest teams in the country.
Only seven teams in the nation have a longer winning streak than the Cardinals' current eight-game run. The Ball State program hasn't seen that kind of a winning streak since the turn of the millennium on its way to the 2000 NCAA tournament.
The Cardinals last tasted defeat the day before Thanksgiving and will enter the new year and conference play with a record of 9-4 for the third consecutive season. That's one win shy of the school record for wins prior to league play (10 in 1988-89).
"The thing I feel good about as a coach is we've gotten a lot better in the last five or six weeks," Ball State fifth-year head coach James Whitford said. "It's predicated on our defense. We've gotten better on the defensive side of the ball. It's a long season, so obviously we have to keep getting better. The team that improves the most between now and March is the one that gives themselves the best chance to win the conference tournament."
This year, Ball State has reached the nine-win mark against a schedule that featured six teams currently rated among the top 150 in the country by Ken Pomeroy. That group includes Oklahoma (17), Notre Dame (24), Oregon (56), Bucknell (94), Dayton (133) and Valparaiso (142).
The Cardinals memorably defeated Notre Dame, then No. 8 in the country, and Valparaiso in back-to-game games on 3-pointers from Tayler Persons in the final seconds. The win at Notre Dame was the program's first-ever true road win over a top-10 team.
BSU could easily have defeated two of those other opponents, as well. The Cardinals suffered a buzzer-beating loss at Dayton in the opener. They were ahead for 27 minutes at Bucknell and led as late as the 2-minute mark before the Bison pulled out a four-point win.
That was Ball State's last loss. The team responded with a wire-to-wire victory at
Indiana State three days later and has not looked back since, going 4-0 against Division I opponents from the state of Indiana during the eight-game winning streak.
Now the Cardinals enter a MAC race that promises to be hotly contested. Eleven of the league's 12 teams have winning records, and the only one under .500 is defending conference tournament champion Kent State at 6-7.
Ball State will be tested right out of the game, opening with back-to-back home games against fellow 9-4 squad Eastern Michigan and preseason East Division favorite Buffalo. The Cardinals will then go on the road to face perennial contender Ohio and West Division favorite Western Michigan before returning home to host 11-2 Central Michigan.
It all starts Tuesday with Ball State and Eastern Michigan tipping things off at 7 p.m. from Worthen Arena, where the Cardinals have won nine games in a row.
"It's an exciting time," Whitford said. "I don't care what conference you're in, conference basketball is always a little bit special. I always feel that way, especially in our conference because it's such a dogfight. I think everyone is salivating a little bit to get started with what is going to be a really competitive league every night you play. It's going to be a lot of fun."
Only seven teams in the nation have a longer winning streak than the Cardinals' current eight-game run. The Ball State program hasn't seen that kind of a winning streak since the turn of the millennium on its way to the 2000 NCAA tournament.
The Cardinals last tasted defeat the day before Thanksgiving and will enter the new year and conference play with a record of 9-4 for the third consecutive season. That's one win shy of the school record for wins prior to league play (10 in 1988-89).
"The thing I feel good about as a coach is we've gotten a lot better in the last five or six weeks," Ball State fifth-year head coach James Whitford said. "It's predicated on our defense. We've gotten better on the defensive side of the ball. It's a long season, so obviously we have to keep getting better. The team that improves the most between now and March is the one that gives themselves the best chance to win the conference tournament."
This year, Ball State has reached the nine-win mark against a schedule that featured six teams currently rated among the top 150 in the country by Ken Pomeroy. That group includes Oklahoma (17), Notre Dame (24), Oregon (56), Bucknell (94), Dayton (133) and Valparaiso (142).
The Cardinals memorably defeated Notre Dame, then No. 8 in the country, and Valparaiso in back-to-game games on 3-pointers from Tayler Persons in the final seconds. The win at Notre Dame was the program's first-ever true road win over a top-10 team.
BSU could easily have defeated two of those other opponents, as well. The Cardinals suffered a buzzer-beating loss at Dayton in the opener. They were ahead for 27 minutes at Bucknell and led as late as the 2-minute mark before the Bison pulled out a four-point win.
That was Ball State's last loss. The team responded with a wire-to-wire victory at
Indiana State three days later and has not looked back since, going 4-0 against Division I opponents from the state of Indiana during the eight-game winning streak.
Now the Cardinals enter a MAC race that promises to be hotly contested. Eleven of the league's 12 teams have winning records, and the only one under .500 is defending conference tournament champion Kent State at 6-7.
Ball State will be tested right out of the game, opening with back-to-back home games against fellow 9-4 squad Eastern Michigan and preseason East Division favorite Buffalo. The Cardinals will then go on the road to face perennial contender Ohio and West Division favorite Western Michigan before returning home to host 11-2 Central Michigan.
It all starts Tuesday with Ball State and Eastern Michigan tipping things off at 7 p.m. from Worthen Arena, where the Cardinals have won nine games in a row.
"It's an exciting time," Whitford said. "I don't care what conference you're in, conference basketball is always a little bit special. I always feel that way, especially in our conference because it's such a dogfight. I think everyone is salivating a little bit to get started with what is going to be a really competitive league every night you play. It's going to be a lot of fun."
Players Mentioned
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