by Ball State hosted the Little Rock Trojans on Saturday Nov. 15. The Cardinals came into this game 2-1 and Little Rock was 1-2.
Ball State is coming off a loss at Wisconsin, and Little Rock has lost two straight games. One of those is to Milwaukee, and the other is to a very talented Marquette team.
Little Rock came into this game as one of the favored teams to win their respective conference. The Trojans use a bigger rotation than Ball State normally does, and it showed throughout this game.
Handling the height
Ball State started this season knowing that they might have a disadvantage in terms of size against other teams. They used just one player who is taller than 6’7. Meanwhile, Little Rock has 7 players who see minutes that are over 6’7.
The height differences of these teams played a crucial factor in the rebounding battle. Ball State found themselves down in the rebounding category through 30 minutes in this game 25-10.
Ball State does still have an advantage. They were a much faster team than Little Rock. This caused Little Rock to fall back into a zone defense instead of them needing to match up with a quicker player. Ball State is a very quick team that can space the floor and add offensive versatility.
Allowing good shooting
The common theme of this game is the size mismatch. This was a big cause for Little Rock’s high shooting numbers.
Little Rock has plenty of good shooters, and those shooters are bigger than the players guarding them with their height advantage.
Little Rock ended the game by shooting 55% from the field for the game. A big reason for this is inside scoring. The Trojans scored 36 of their 68 points in the paint.
Struggle against the changing defenses
Ball State started the second half down two points, but Little Rock’s defense added intensity and complexity. The Trojans started trapping half quart and added pressure to Ball State’s decision-making.
Ball State had six turnovers in the first half and nine in the second half. Little Rock was bringing pressure and causing the Cardinals to speed themselves up.
The Trojans would use forward Tuongthach Gatkek on the top of their trap defense to force pressure on the Ball State guards. Gatkek is 6’9, and he is a very long defender.
Little Rock would also go between zone and man-to-man defenses to complicate Ball State’s offensive rhythm.
Little Rock ended up winning in Muncie against Ball State with a final of 68-62. Ball State and Little Rock now have the same record. They both sit at 2-2 after this game.
Little Rock plays next at Murray State on Nov. 18 while Ball State awaits their meeting with Indiana State on Nov. 22 in Terra Haute.
