Muncie, IN -- The Ball State Cardinals certainly will be excited to play December 30th's IPFW game. Not only will the Cardinals be ready after 14 days off from their last game against ISU, but Ball State will see senior guard Cedric Moodie back on the floor.
Moodie, who played in all 31 games last year with 15 starts and averaged 19.6 points last year off the bench, should soon find his way into the starting backcourt for the Cardinals.
Second year head coach Doug Noll will bring his Mastodans into Worthen Arena after visiting Marshall on December 28th.
IPFW is averaging 76.1 points per game while holding their opponents to 78.5, which is 8 points more than Ball State currently averages (70.5 ppg).
The Mastadons place three players in double-digit scoring. Leading the way for IPFW is 6-5 junior Nick Wise. Wise is averaging 18.9 points per game over 32 minutes of action and is the Mastadons main three-point threat. Brad Noll, a 6-0 sophomore, is averaging 33.8 minutes and 15. points per game. The other option of the triple threat is Matt Shepherd, a 6-7 junior. Shepard is averaging 14.3 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 rebounds per game. DeAngelo Woodall is a key roll player for IPFW. He averages 9.4 points per game as a starter.
The starting lineup has remained consistant throughout the year for the Mastodans. Expect to see Woodall, Noll, Shepherd, Wise and either Lindsay Henderson or Jim Kessenich start the ball game against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals should not have any trouble with IPFW. With the rebounding skills of Murray (9.6 rpg), Smith (9.5 rpg) and Jones (6.4 rpg) the Cardinals should control the glass and provide intimidation with size on both the defensive and offensive ends of the court.
This should be a game for Ball State to experiment with the guard situation. Maybe try to run Moodie at the point with Patrick Jackson as the shooting guard, or vice versa.
With IPFW concluding its final season as a Division II school to become part of the big boys next season let's hope the Cardinals are not overlooking them. It would be nice to see Rob Robbins and Corey Harris to get some excellent PT.
The Cardinals have 14 days off before they host IPFW on the 30th. The Mastadons will participate in Puerto Rico Holiday Classic on December 21,22 & 23, which will consist of three games, and visit Marshall before stoppping into Muncie. The rest for the Cardinals will help Coach Buckley develop his new offensive and defensive schemes with Moodie taking a crack at it.
BSU season stats
IPFW season stats
More to come as the days continue...
