Men’s basketball seeks fifth consecutive MAC win for first time since ‘03
The last time the Ball State University men’s basketball team won a game was Jan. 10 against Central Michigan University.
The Cardinals were 2-0 and alone at the top of the Mid-American Conference West Division standings.
Since Jan. 10, Ball State is 0-11 with an average losing margin of 8.91 points per game. The Chippewas are 8-3 since losing to Ball State and are tied for first place overall in the MAC. Ball State comes to McGuirk Arena at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Chippewas are attempting to win their fifth consecutive conference game for the first time since the 2002-2003 season.
“We feel like we let one get away (at Ball State),” said senior guard Austin Keel. “But they’ve got to come to McGuirk, where we’re (14-1), so it should be a good game and hopefully we’ll come out on top.”
CMU has already broken a program record with 14 home wins this season with the only loss coming to Bowling Green by two points in overtime.
While CMU’s 18-point loss to Ball State was its largest loss of the season, Head Coach Keno Davis said he doesn’t believe Saturday’s game is a revenge game for his team.
“I don’t really feel that way,” Davis said. “When you get upset, you feel like there might be a revenge game. I didn’t think that was an upset, I thought they were the better team that day. It’s our goal to be the better team when we play them on Saturday.”
CMU led the Cardinals in the first meeting 52-51 before a 7:08 Chippewa drought without a field goal. Ball State ended the game on a 32-13 run.
Five of Ball State’s nine players scored in double digits, including Zavier Turner’s team-high of 21 points. The 6-8, 228-pound Matt Kamieniecki had 10 rebounds against CMU, but has missed the past four games with a back injury.
Keel said the team has grown since the Jan. 10 meeting. Even as the only senior on the team, Keel said he is surprised at how fast the team’s growth has materialized into wins.
“There’s definitely a little more expectation just because for the most part we’re favored to win these games,” Keel said. “You still have got to go out there and put the ball in the hoop. I knew that we were building something strong and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
Sophomore Braylon Rayson scored 23 points in Wednesday’s 68-66 win over Northern Illinois, where the Chippewas needed a late basket to hold on to beat the 10-14 (4-9 MAC) Huskies.
“We’ve got to play against every team like it’s the championship game,” Rayson said. “We can’t take anyone lightly.”
A win for CMU Saturday would give the Chippewas five straight MAC wins for the first time since March 2003. It would also be the first time CMU has a win against every MAC West team in a single season since 2009-2010.
