Head coach James Whitford said the Nov. 21 matchup against Coppin State and Nov. 23 against Southern Utah, both beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, will have a familiar atmosphere for the Cardinals.
“When we get to Las Vegas, those two games [Coppin State and Southern Utah] almost mimic what a Mid-American Conference Tournament would feel like,” Whitford said.
Last season, Ball State was knocked out of the MAC Tournament in the first round after finishing 21-14 and completing the fourth-largest turnaround in the NCAA in terms of wins. The Cardinals were 13-6 at Worthen Arena, 6-8 in true road games and 2-0 at neutral sites.
Whitford’s nonconference scheduling philosophy is straightforward.
“We really try to accomplish two things with our nonconference schedule,” he said. “Number one, we want to schedule enough home games, and number two, we want to find a tournament to play in.”
Before heading to Las Vegas for the Main Event, Ball State will play at St. Louis University Nov. 11 and at the University of Alabama Nov. 18. Times for these games are still to be determined.
St. Louis finished the 2015-16 campaign with an 11-21 record (5-13 Atlantic 10). Alabama was 8-10 in the Southeastern Conference (18-15 overall) and capped off the season with a first round exit from the NIT Tournament.
“Playing teams like St. Louis and Alabama on their home floor is a good test for us,” Whitford said. “We are traveling to play against good teams in a hostile environment early in the season.”
The Cardinals’ schedule isn’t completely set yet, but Whitford said they are in the process of finalizing the last few games.
“We hope to release the rest of schedule early this week,” he said.
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