Cardinals report: Notes, quotes

March 25, 2008
The Sports Xchange

Notes, quotes · Strategy and personnel · Getting inside

FINAL RECORD
6-24, 5-11 MAC West, fifth place.

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Ball State's resolve was amazing for a team that lost a school-record 24 games. The players never quit, and their desire and attitude showed up well on the defensive end of the court.

Their aggressive, hustling style resulted in low-scoring games that gave them a legitimate chance to win half of the games they lost.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The Cardinals were one of the most inept offensive teams, not only in the MAC, but in the nation. They struggled to score 60 points in a game, mostly because of subpar shooting. They ranked next-to-last in the MAC in field-goal percentage (.400), last in free-throw percentage (.653) and last in scoring (57.8).

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Our main goal this year was to lay the building blocks and the foundation, in terms of the way we're going to compete and handle ourselves on and off the court. I think we did that. We played with class and integrity. I liked the effort our kids gave us, and they fought for us. I would like to have won some of those close games and gotten over the hump, but unfortunately that didn't happen." -- BSU coach Billy Taylor, on how his first season unfolded.