In the Cardinals' final contest of 2024, Ball State defeated Anderson today 89-76. After the game, head coach Michael Lewis didn’t treat it as a victory.
“I believe in basketball gods, except for today,” Lewis said. “Because if there were truly basketball gods, we would've lost today.”
But his criticism went beyond the game as Lewis compared Anderson’s roster – a Division III team – to his own. When he shook Ravens’ head coach Carter Collins’ hand after the game, he asked him about what his coaching experience was like.
“I said, ‘It must be a ton of fun coaching your team,” Lewis said. “[Collins] said it is every day, and I'm envious. He's got a group. Here's what they've done. They understand how to win and they're all about winning. They don't care about all the individual stuff.
“They've had a chance in two years to win four conference championships, and they’ve won four conference championships. They won two regular-season titles and two tournament titles. Our minds overall were so far away from what it was going to take to win tonight that we should have lost the game. They beat us in every way.”
Yet while the Ravens have figured things out the past few seasons, Ball State's situation is in a completely different state. Lewis said the Cardinals' first practice after Christmas was one of the best he's seen in his coaching career. Though he was pleased then, he's still searching for what changed coming into today's game.
"We started 1-4, then then we went to Florida [and now] we're back to .500," Lewis said. "The MAC (Mid-American Conference) office will be happy that were bowl eligible now, since that's what they're concerned about. But we're a long way from being a good basketball team. We took a major step back today."
But while the sloppy win is the most recent example of the Cardinals’ (6-6) struggles this season, it isn’t the first. According to Lewis, it probably won’t be the last.
“We continue to fight some of the same things that we've fought all year,” Lewis said.
The Cardinals’ final contest of the year opened in their favor as the red and white led 13-5 six minutes into the matchup. After a timeout, Lewis made some substitutions. Following the changes is when the problems first appeared.
A few minutes later, Ball State only led 13-11.
“I thought we started the game the right way,” Lewis said. “... I was kind of pleased, other than with a player or two, with what we had going on. I started substituting, and it went downhill quickly, which is really disappointing.”
But the problems did not stop at the Cardinals’ two-point lead. At the 9:15 mark, Anderson freshman guard Nolan Swan hit a layup, giving Anderson a 20-18 lead. The rest of the first half continued to go the Ravens’ way as the black and orange led 43-39 at halftime.
“We just beat Evansville by [37 points]. This should have been another 40-point win,” Lewis said. “... It took everything we had to win this game.”
During the second half, Ball State began to find success. Junior guard Jemahri Hill led with 25 points while senior center Payton Sparks followed with 23. Sparks also tallied a career record as he became the 35th Ball State player to reach 1,000 career points. He did so on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first half.
“I never really thought I'd score that many points,” Sparks said. “I don't even think about that ever anyway, but it's a cool place to be in.”
While the Cardinals grabbed a 55-50 lead at the 14:19 mark and never lost the lead again, there were still negative moments that had the Worthen Arena crowd groaning.
“How else do you explain the performance today? Like, we're top 20, top 30 in turnover percentage,” Lewis said. “You turn it over 16 times against a team that did not guard you. How else do you explain that?”
But while the win itself highlighted the Cardinals’ continued issues, the performance comes five days away before MAC play begins. Ball State’s first game will be against Kent State Saturday, Jan. 4. The game will start at 2 p.m.
The Flashes have the best non-MAC record in the conference (9-3), and while some may see the game as a good test, Lewis said it doesn't matter who the Cardinals play at this moment.
“We could go play in Anderson's league right now, and it'd be a good test,” he said.
Sparks and Hill see the answer to their issues as a simple one: move forward.
“I feel like we just took a half a step back today,” Hill said. “We moved in the right direction but this game kind of set us back. It's not gonna hold us back. So we're good to go. We got a few days for practice and we'll be ready for the next day.”
To Lewis, it doesn't matter what their upcoming schedule looks like. It doesn’t matter their level of opponent or who’s on the other team. The Cardinals themselves can’t win games, and to end 2024 with that mindset, it’s something the third-year Ball State head coach is concerned about.
“We just don't have the mindset that it takes to win at this level consistently,” Lewis said. “It's too difficult for us. It's too hard to overcome some of our individual wants for what the team needs."
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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