Deep down, we're all fifth graders. Morehead State took down Ball State in a curiously-scheduled Ohio Valley Conference team on a Monday night mid-January. Well, it was that or nothin'.
Ball State had a chance to force overtime in the final shot. And you'll experience the last seconds the way I did: by reading the text on the Internet:
00:12 — Timeout
00:04 — Turnover by Jauwan Scaife
00:04 — Steal by Kenneth Faried
00:04 — Turnover by Kenneth Faried
00:00 — Missed Layup by Randy Davis
WASN'T THAT A GREAT FINISH GUYS? (Even the radio feed cost cash money.)
And, like that missed bucket, there was little going for the Cardinals on offense. A tame 33% shooting night and 42.4 OR% couldn't cushion a 10-point halftime lead (wherein Morehead was only able to muster 15 points).
Against a team with the nation's leading rebounder, Faried (13.7 boards/game), Ball State boxed out rather stunningly even though Faried brought down 15, since the rest of the Eagles could only total 11. Jarrod Jones had 10 rebounds to go with 14 points, more than anyone else in the gymnasium.
Ball State Takeaway: Morehead's a solid team. They beat Kent State, College of Charleston, and only lost to Florida by six. It would've (and should've) been a resume padder for their at-large hopes, but now at five losses (including their first defeat at home), even running through the MAC 16-0 is going to require selection-committee-wheel-greasing. For them to be twentysomething-and-six, should falter in the conference tournament, that doesn't seem like enough. The quality wins, as they like to call 'em, aren't there. But they still are the conference fave.
Today's games:
7:00 p.m. — Buffalo at Western Michigan
7:30 p.m. — Bowling Green at Toledo (TV: SportsTime Ohio/ESPN3.com)