Ball State (9-10, 3-4) came off of a big comeback-road win over Central Michigan. But in the Cardinals’ next matchup at Northern Illinois (5-14, 1-6) the road team seemed to have lost all momentum. The red and black struggled on both ends of the floor, which led to a floundering loss at the hands of the Huskies, 66-76. The Cardinals may have overlooked NIU’s previous 0-6 record in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.
“I’m not sure our guys respected Northern Illinois the way they needed to,” Ball State head coach Michael Lewis said. “There’s so much parody in this game that if you aren’t wired up to play every night, nights like this will happen.”
Within the first five minutes of game time, Ball State had started the game shooting just 16 percent from the field with only two shots falling. While the offense got off to a slow start, so did the defense. The lineup of the Cardinals presented matchup problems in favor of Northern Illinois.
While the defensive matchups for the red and black weren’t in their favor the offensive ones, on paper, leaned towards Ball State with the height advantage in the post.
However, both seniors Payton Sparks and Ben Hendriks were never able to establish their presence down low, combining for 12 points on 3-for-9 shooting between the two.
“They were able to spread us out and stretch us,” Lewis said. “We wanted to combat that by really pounding it inside early. We just weren't able to finish the baskets.”
While the offense struggled to gain its footing, the defense wasn’t able to succeed in its efforts either, in particular with the defense of the three-point arc.
Of the Huskies' 31 shot attempts in the first half, 18 of them came from long range making eight of them and ending the night shooting nearly 50 percent on 13-for-27 shooting.
“[Northern Illinois] is one of the higher-end three-point shooting teams in our league,” Lewis said. “We had to be able to defend the three-point line and to be able to do that you’ve got to be able to defend the basketball. We couldn't defend the basketball.”
Graduate student Ethan Britain-Watts was able to keep the Cardinals within arms reach at the break leading offensively with 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting to help the red and black only trail by 11 going into the locker room.
In the second half, Ball State cut the lead to single digits multiple times but couldn’t get over the hump. There were a plethora of opportunities presented for the Cardinals at the free throw line, but as a team the red and black shot just 13-for-28 from the charity stripe.
“You're going to step up, you're going to miss one. Can you step up and compete and get dialed in to compete the next time you step to the free throw line and make the shot?” Lewis said. “I think that's a reflection of where our minds were today because we had no business going 13 of 28 from the free throw line in a 10-point loss.”
Ball State was never able to find momentum offensively or get the stops needed to maintain competitiveness throughout. Despite having four players hit double figures, the typical offensive showing from the Cardinals was not there.
The mental aspect of the game is one that’s often overlooked but one that the visitors fell victim to in the loss.
“I've got to find another way to communicate to these guys and let them know my concerns heading into this game,” Lewis said. “Obviously, those didn't get communicated clearly enough. Otherwise, we wouldn't have played as poorly as we did.”
Contact David Moore with comments at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63.
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