As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” That quote resonated with Ball State (9-6, 7-4 MAC) Saturday night, as the team ended its five-game win streak and fell 89-84 in overtime to Akron (5-10, 2-10 MAC).
Head coach James Whitford knows Ball State remains a long way from reaching its absolute potential. But their absences didn't stop him from reflecting on the positives that came out of the loss.
Losing their third consecutive game, Whitford said the Cardinals’ struggles against the Zips all came down to a lack of one element: chemistry.
Obtaining their fourth consecutive win Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals showed one important trait key to a team’s success: toughness.
Coming off an injury two years ago, redshirt sophomore guard Anna Clephane’s consistency and toughness help Ball State in the tightest of games.
Led by a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) from RedHawks’ redshirt junior forward James Beck, Ball State (6-6, 4-3 MAC) couldn’t match Miami’s (5-4, 2-2 MAC) physicality the rest of the way in its 81-71 loss to Miami (Ohio).
However, just like they have routinely for weeks, the Cardinals didn’t let that get in their way against Northern Illinois (2-10, 1-6 MAC). Ball State used depth to its advantage in a 78-58 victory at Worthen Arena, completing a season sweep of the Huskies.
Statistically, the Cardinals played well enough to win. But in conference games, numbers do not always tell the story. In this matchup, the outcome came down to which side took more advantage of its possessions.
From the time the ball tipped to when the final buzzer sounded, the Cardinals were dialed in.
The NCAA announced Monday that this year’s 67 men’s basketball tournament games including the Final Four will be played entirely in Indiana.
The Cardinals defeated the Zips 67-60, largely in part to a career-setting performance from Freeman. She set career highs in points (19), steals (five) and tied her career high in rebounds with six.
Ball State (2-3, 0-1 MAC) had a strong start and kept its intensity all four quarters, walking away with a convincing 98-42 win Monday night over Bellarmine (0-1, 0-0 ASUN).
Ball State never looked back, earning a 79-70 comeback win over Northern Illinois (0-4, 0-0 MAC).
A tale of two halves was the story Wednesday night, where Ball State Women’s Basketball (0-3, 0-1 MAC) lost 77-58 against Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan (2-1, 1-1 MAC).
The Cardinals committed 21 turnovers in their 73-49 loss to IUPUI (2-0, 0-0 Horizon) Monday.
A combination of offensive struggles, sloppy possessions and playing shorthanded led to Ball State Women’s Basketball (0-1, 0-0 MAC) starting its 2020-21 season with a 67-56 loss to Milwaukee (1-0, 0-0 Horizon).
Fast forward to Nov. 25. The Cardinals will walk on the court at Milwaukee for their season opener, with tipoff slated for 6:30 p.m.
Hazen is a role model for his team and knows while letting his teammates score on him isn’t a big deal, eyes are still on him.
The NCAA announced Monday it plans to hold the entire 2021 men’s college basketball tournament in one geographic location to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 and is in talks with Indianapolis to be the host city.
This begs the question — what should the league do heading into its 2020-21 regular season?
