A little late on the preview today, but we will get it in Jersey Shore style before the women's game begins. We are live at the VC, and will be throughout this evening's game with the Cover It Live chat.
The 4-2 Ball State Cardinals are here for the nightcap, while the Cougars enter the game 1-5, fresh off a crushing defeat to Cal State Fullerton Saturday.
Tonight has the potential to be bad.
Ball State comes into this one a few days after they blew out a fellow Ohio Valley Conference school on the road. Saturday, They defeated UT Martin 71-48.
The Cardinals two loses came on the road at good schools. They lost by 10 to No. 16 Arizona and just three at the defending Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Indiana State Sycamores.
They also own wins over IUPUI, Texas Southern and some school named Calumet College. They beat them 74-38 though.
Ball State boasts a potential NBA Draft pick in 6'9 senior Jarrod Jones.
Jones is going to probably kill the Cougars. I'll come out and say that. He averages 19.5 points a game and leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game. He is a 61 percent shooter and while he doesn't take the three very often, he can hit them. He is 4-4 on the year. He has taken the most free throws on his team and is not the guy you want to foul. He is 25-30 on the year. It's hard to take him out of the game too. He is averaging 31 minutes and has committed just 12 fouls in six games. He is a smart player who can shoot better than anyone else in this gym tonight. His height at 6'9 makes him bigger than anyone on the Cougars. I just don't see him being stopped.
The obvious key for SIUE is to shut down Jones, but that probably isn't possible.
Jauwan Scaife (10 points per game) Jesse Berry (9.3 ppg) and Randy Davis (8.7 ppg) are all impact role players, and on any given day if for whatever reason Jones doesn't have it, they can turn to someone else.
Indiana State was really the only team able to contain Jones. Scaife scored 15 for the Cardinals, while Jones had seven.
This is the fourth meeting between the Cougars and Cardinals and Ball State has won the previous three. Last season, Ball State beat the Cougars by 30 in Muncie. They are very capable of making that happen again. This is a team that I think has a legitimate chance of winning the MAC. They won 19 games last year, and having Jones as a senior and so much around him may be enough to push them over to the top.
Mark Yelovich has been the big gun for the Cougars all season long. He has done it quietly, and hasn't had that incredible break out game scoring. Tonight would be a good night for Mark to do it.
Keys to the game:
Stop Jones - While it is not going to happen, you have to focus on him. He is a beast.
Defensive intensity - Ball State shot 70 percent against UT Martin. You can't let them do that again under any circumstances. The defense broke down against Cal State Fullerton and allowed too many open looks. A team like this will punish you for that.
Move the ball around and take smart shots - 7 assists was not enough against Fullerton.
If Kris Davis is in the game, let him shoot.
Currently, Bradley leads the SIUE women 10-9 at the first media timeout. We will be back for the live chat in between games. I'll tweet some updates from the women's action. Shout out to this group of the Cougars for downing Carbondale in overtime. Who is little sister now?
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