After earning what was termed an "ugly victory" by coach Ronny Thompson against the University at Buffalo, Ball State University's men's basketball team will look to win consecutive games for the third time this season.
They will do so on the road against the University of Miami who is the Cardinals' long time rival in men's basketball. Despite the fact that the RedHawks have won the last six meetings between the programs, two have gone into overtime. Saturday will mark the tenth meeting between the two schools in which a team has not won by more than 10 points.
Ball State (8-15, 4-6 in the Mid-American Conference) and Miami (11-11. 7-3 MAC) are similar teams statistically. They are the two lowest scoring teams in the MAC and neither team allows more than 64 points per game. This match-up might favor the Cardinals.
"I don't think we have the kind of team that the game is just going to flow, or have the kind of team where the offense is just going to look poetically beautiful," Thompson said. "We have to scrap to get turnovers and get to the free throw line."
One person who won't like playing against a good defense will be junior guard Peyton Stovall. Stovall, who runs the point for the Cardinals, might find himself in a tiring situation for the second straight game.
"It is a hard feeling to have to play 33 minutes and to look to the left and look to the right and there's no one to pass to for 33 minutes," Thompson said, following the 79-73 win over Buffalo.
One thing the Cardinals will not have to worry about is D'Andre Peyton. The senior will be in his fourth game back after sitting out two games because of a suspension.
"The first day I was back at practice I felt like I was back, I fit right back in," Peyton said. "I didn't feel out of place."
Thompson said while Peyton needed to get his timing back after sitting out of the games and practices for a week, mentally he was as ready as ever.
"D'Andre doesn't let much get to him," he said. "D'Andre was fine, mentally he was fine. He was D'Andre."
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