Eighteen schools participated in ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday this weekend. Of the 18, four of them were Mid-American Conference schools. And, like the other three MAC competitors in the field, Ball State lost its non-conference game.
In an attempt to break Western Kentucky's national-best home winning streak of 34 games, Ball State fell short, 84-79.
After the game, Ball State coach Tim Buckley blamed both rebounding and his team's care of the basketball as areas that plagued the Cardinals in Saturday evening's contest.
"We knew we would have to take care of the ball and keep them off the offensive boards," Buckley said. "We didn't do a very good job of that."
The Cardinals (12-13) had 16 turnovers for the game and only 15 offensive rebounds compared to Western Kentucky (19-8) who finished with 20 rebounds on the offensive end.
Six of Ball State's 16 turnovers came in the first five minutes of the second half -- after committing only six in the whole first half. In those same five minutes Western Kentucky outscored Ball State 13-1 .
Another area that kept the Hilltoppers ahead of the Cardinals was 3-point shooting. Western Kentucky finished with five 3-point baskets, most of which came at crucial times for the Hilltoppers. Heading into Saturday's game, Ball State was ranked No. 1 in the MAC in 3-point field goal defense.
Also ranked No. 1 in scoring in the MAC heading into Saturday's game was Chris Williams. Heading into the game he averaged 24 points to lead the conference. Saturday he did not disappoint, tallying 33 points.
"Chris is a phenomenal offensive player," Buckley said. "He is a great scorer of the basketball. He has been in a groove as of late and we have had to continue to ride him."
Another player the Cardinals' rode Saturday was junior Robert Owens. Owens finished the game with another career high in scoring, this time with 23 points. The junior forward also added eight rebounds.
Owens and Williams were the only two players in double figures for the Cardinals. For the Hilltoppers, however, four players reached double digits.
"Western Kentucky is a good team with good players," Buckley said. "They are very well coached. If they are fortunate enough to make the NCAA tournament, I would not want to have to play them."
David Boyden led the Hilltoppers with 27 points, while Patrick Sparks (18), Filip Videnov (12) and Jamal Brown (11) also cracked double figures.
The other three teams from the MAC that competed in Saturday's Bracket Buster action were Kent State, defeated by Hawaii, 79-78; Bowling Green, defeated by Illinois-Chicago, 83-72; and Marshall, defeated by Illinois State, 57-53.
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