With men's basketball teams shooting the 3-point shot effectively against Ball State University this year, some Cardinals' fans are wondering if coach Billy Taylor will change his defense to neutralize opponents' long-range attacks.
However, Taylor said he looks at his defense in a different light.
"You basically have to make some decisions as to who you want to shoot the ball," Taylor said. "We want it to be lower-percentage shooters taking shots."
This season the Cardinals' height disadvantage, with no starter taller than 6-feet-5-inches, has hurt Ball State on the perimeter more than it has in the paint. This is due to Taylor's remedy for the height disadvantage, which calls for collapsing defense on the inside.
"We've obviously had to try to protect the painted area," Taylor said. "We don't want to have our front line sitting next to me in foul trouble every game. We're constantly trying to help in the paint and hoping that we have enough speed to still get out and contest shooters."
Taylor's defensive philosophy will be tested when his Cardinals play on the road against Kent State University at 7 p.m. The Golden Flashes lead the Mid-American Conference in field goal percentage, shooting 47 percent from the floor.
"The thing with Kent is they're very efficient offensively," Taylor said. "They're dangerous because they're efficient in their 3-point shooting, but they also score a lot in the painted area."
In the last three games, senior guard Peyton Stovall has averaged half of his season mark of 13.4 points per game.
"Peyton's struggled the last few games," Taylor said. "Teams have been doing a pretty nice job on him. We'll take a look at what teams are doing to him and see if there's some things he can do offensively to get in a better flow. He's just got to get himself back into that comfortable rhythm."
Trying to snap a four-game losing streak, the team's confidence may be a concern. However, Taylor said he will show his team they are not far from success.
"There's a lot of mistakes that we're making," Taylor said. "Our guys can see that if we can get ourselves to play better that we'll win some games."
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