If Akron’s frontcourt of Demetrius Treadwell and Zeke Marshall taught coach Billy Taylor anything, it’s that Ball State needed to recruit big to compete.
Bruising forwards like Aaron Adeoye, Matt Kamieniecki and Bo Calhoun were all brought in to give the Cardinals a physical presence in the paint.
That inside-out approach emerged as the team’s identity early this season on its way to the No. 5 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
“Winning the league comes down to power,” Taylor said. “You have to have physical guys that can score in the low post. You see from the top of the league — some of the most physical teams are the top four seeds.”
While Taylor is committed to that approach, it can cause mismatches for his team defensively.
When Ball State plays Buffalo in the second round of the MAC Tournament today at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the mobility of Will Regan and the opposing forwards is a main focus.
In the Cardinals’ 66-63 loss to the Bulls on Jan. 23, Regan hit four of his team’s seven 3-pointers, including one with 12 seconds left that secured the win.
“It’s been a difficult adjustment for us at times giving up some threes,” Taylor said. “If we can make an impact on the boards with our more physical four-men, and also with our four-men scoring the ball around the basket, that can force teams to adjust.”
While Taylor hopes to counter Buffalo’s perimeter scoring with his team’s size, Calhoun is one player who could play big minutes if Ball State struggles to do so.
Taylor said his 6-foot-5-inch freshman has the lateral speed and motor needed to both patrol the paint and extend out to contest shots on the perimeter.
It’s a role the South Bend, Ind., native is very familiar with.
Calhoun said he’s often the one imitating stretch-fours in practice when Ball State runs a scout team, so he knows how to defend them better than anyone.
“I try to just make them drive, force them off the 3-point line or force them off that spot,” Calhoun said. “Close out hard and smart and don’t give them that shot.”
Those 3-pointers were the difference in the first game and Calhoun hasn’t forgotten.
As the higher seed in the tournament, he said there’s some unfinished business between his team and Buffalo.
“We look forward to the challenge because we still feel like we owe them because they shouldn’t have beaten us,” Calhoun said.
