MAC Basketball Season Preview: Ball State Cardinals

An extensive if not comprehensive look at all 12 Mid-American Conference college basketball teams. The opening game is November 10, so we better get started.

Last year: 15-15 (8-8), T-3rd MAC West; lost to OHIO in MAC tournament first round; no postseason tournament

This year: Picked first in MAC West (12 of 24 first place votes); Picked by 2 of 24 to win the MAC tournament

Coach: Billy Taylor enters his fourth season with the Cards. His record: 35-54.

First Game: Sunday, November 14 vs. Eastern Illinois

Can a cardinal dribble a basketball? The bird? No. The religious official? Better than you'd think, especially ever since the rectory installed that new playground.

Departures

Brawley Chisholm (graduated)
Myron Green Jr. (transferred)
Will Hauser (???)
Dusty Mills (also ???)
Terrence Watson (graduated)

Transfers (sitting out this year)

Tyler Koch (Wright State)

Returning Award-Winners

Jarrod Jones (All-MAC Honorable Mention)
Jauwan Scaife (All-MAC Freshman Team)

Big Nonconference Games

11/20 @ Butler
11/25 vs. St. John's

A Paragraph of Thought on Ball State Basketball

Well, I can certainly see why everyone's high on this team. Those that left weren't big-time contributors, and those who remained are gonna get better. Theoretically. They'll be much better than a .500 team who occasionally fails to score 45 points and/or loses to Toledo — or both! You saw them taper down the stretch last year, and that's what tired young minds have a tendency to do. Don't look for too many 70-point, 80-point games out of this team — in fact their scoring might look kinda foul — but just call 'em the Miami of the West. Win ugly, watch someone new step up every night, and move onto the next game.