After a 70-45 loss on the road to Marshall on Saturday, Ball State will try to secure its first win of the 2012-13 season at home tonight before a four-game road stretch.
Ball State coach Brady Sallee said his team will do its best to forget the loss and look to IPFW.
“It’s one of those things you’ve got to put behind you quick, because we’ve got a quick turnaround to play IPFW on Monday night,” Salleesaid. “So that’s where our focus has to go from here.”
Saturday’s loss at Marshall puts Ball State in dead last in the Mid-American Conference standings. Bowling Green is the only team in the MAC with an undefeated record.One area Sallee said he will look for improvement is in the rebounding category.
Marshall out-rebounded Ball State 56-20 Saturday night.
“If we come out on Monday and our effort is not better on the boards, we’re missing the boat a little bit,” Sallee said. “We’ll get that part of it figured out. If I know these kids, they will give us a little bit of better effort that way. Believe me when I tell you, they’re as frustrated and as bothered by it as anybody.”
Sallee said his team’s toughness will be challenged in tonight’s game.“That’s the beauty of college basketball: you don’t have much time to pout about a loss,” Sallee said.
“You have to rebound. That’s what tough teams do. We’ll see how tough we are.”IPFW will come into Muncie with a 1-1 record early in the season. Its loss came to SIU Edwardsville on Nov. 11.IPFW beat Grace on Nov. 13 for its first win of the season.Sallee said he believes it’s now Ball State’s turn to taste victory in 2012.“We’re just getting hungry to get a ‘W,’” Sallee said. “We’re playing at home. We’ll be eager to play better than we did [Saturday].”
After the IPFW game, Ball State will go on a four-game road trip, facing Bethune Cookman, Stetson, Murray State and Austin Peay in the next two weeks.Sallee said he didn’t think Saturday’s loss makes tonight’s game any more important to his team.
The Cardinals are 3-0 against IPFW all-time. The last time the two teams played each other was in the 2006-07 season when Ball State won 73-62.
The Cardinals will look to continue the streak at 7 tonight.
LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN
Ball State hosts IPFW still seeking first win
Sophomore guard Brittany Carter attempts to push past the Evansville defense on Nov. 9. The women’s basketball team will host IPFW at 7 tonight before a four-game road trip. DN FILE PHOTO JONATHAN MIKSANEK
