The Cardinals had to think, ‘If we only hit a few more free throws it would be over.’ Toledo hit double the amount of free throws––22–– and only missed seven.īall State ended up losing 72-70, and I am sure the Cardinals were wishing for a few of those to go in. In those two games, they were against highly-ranked teams in Toledo and Bowling Green.Īgainst Toledo, the Cardinals shot 11-17 (64.7 percent), and although that’s not that bad on paper, Ball State desperately needed more of those to drop. With Ball State losing two of its last three, there is one thing that sticks out to me. While it is a strategy that is one-sided when the Huskies are really hitting their shots it makes them an incredibly tough team to beat. Northern Illinois also split games against Ball State and Bowling Green, going 1-1 in the two-game series with each.Īlmost going against my last point, Northern Illinois has been able to really just shoot the ball as much as possible from beyond the arc. Winning over the MAC regular season champions Toledo has not been easy this year since the Rockets beat No. The Huskies played Toledo and Akron once this season and beat them both. The Huskies have shot 702 threes, more than any school, and made 242, one more than their first-round opponent, Kent State. It is something Northern Illinois does better than any other team in the tournament. The Ball State Women's Basketball team celebrates a three-pointer scored by sophomore Ally Becki in a game against Toledo Feb. In this tournament, it is going to be essential to adapt to the competition. So if it is a bad shooting night, turning around and focusing in the paint and being able to score that way is vital to winning the game. For example, Ball State sophomore Marie Kiefer single-handedly kept Ball State within striking range of Bowling Green March 1 with her 22-point and 11-rebound night.įrom what I have noticed of every MAC team I have watched, the ones that are dominant in the paint for all three aspects of the game have been able to easily beat their opponent or keep it close regardless of their field goal percentage. With the 3-point shot being used more and more as the game of basketball progresses into a shooting-heavy game, it is still more vital than ever to secure a win in the paint. Offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and points-in-paint all are within the category. The simple phrase “winning in the paint” has a heavy impact. If the Cardinals are hoping for a deep tournament run, limiting those turnovers against great defensive teams like Bowling Green and Toledo is essential.Įveryone loves a 3-pointer, but winning in the paint wins games Reporting for Ball State for this year, it has been especially true that slow and sluggish periods of play come off of these turnovers. On the other hand, the Cardinals are averaging 13.6 per game. 3 seed Ball State has forced 16.3 turnovers per game before the tournament. Oh and another short bit of information, the Falcons average 21.9 forced turnovers. 2 seed Bowling Green is scoring 23.4 points off turnovers compared to only 10.1 for its opponents. 1 seed Toledo, the Rockets are forcing 14.9 turnovers per game. That being said, as I look at the top teams in the tournament, they have a higher efficiency in creating said turnovers. If you create turnovers you are going to set yourself up to win,’ and yes, that is mostly correct. As I write this, I am thinking to myself, ‘Well yeah, no duh.
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