Twas the night before Ball State and....

[Raiderfan]

all thru the house, not a Raider fan was sleeping not even the mouse.

Ok, so my attempt at being a poet failed miserably. I have to admit, I am anxious about tomorrow nights game. If we can find a way to win at Ball State it will having believing that we can compete for the HL championship. A road win at one of the top MAC school is comparable to win a road game at one of the top HL schools.

It is going to take one heck of and effort to win tomorrow. Since PB is going with only 6 or 7 players we can't afford any foul trouble, particularly Dashaun or Zach. If we can weather the storm the first 5 to 8 minutes then we can settle down and compete. I hope we can keep it close early and take the crowd out of it. Their experience of playing in front of Arizona's crowd should help them.

I have a feeling that Vova is going to have a good game tomorrow. Just a feeling.

[bballraider]

It is going to take one heck of and effort to win tomorrow. Since PB is going with only 6 or 7 players we can't afford any foul trouble, particularly Dashaun or Zach.

I agree DaShaun or Zach getting foul trouble could hurt us. But PB going with only 6 or 7 players is not really a factor when it comes to foul trouble. The guys that are on the bench are good players. Unlike years past, when one of our starters got into foul trouble, we were in trouble. Most of our bench players outside the playing rotation were not what I would call good D1 players then. I would cringe when I saw a few of them report to the scorers table.

This year is different, we have depth, even if the guys on the bench are not getting a lot of playing time, they are D1 talent, and I do not cringe when I see them come in. In fact, I look forward to seeing what some of them can do if given the playing time. So if we do get into foul trouble I hope Coach B decides to use his bench a little more to keep the players on the floor fresh.

So yes, it is bad if one of our stars gets into foul trouble, but unlike past years, it is not the end of the game at that point. We still have enough talent on the bench and the floor to compete with the teams we are playing. And because of this depth, I think the game will still be in close to the same shape as it was when one of our players had to sit because of foul trouble.

As far as weathering the storm the first 5 to 8 minutes, I am going to look on the positive side and hope that BSU cannot weather the storm in the beginning. Except for Arizona, the Raiders have gotten off to good starts in their games, and that has helped carry us through to the 3 wins we have. Hopefully we come out of the gates like we did against Toledo and never look back.

And finally, I agree with you on Vova, he matches up very well with the Cardinals players he will face, and both he a Drew should do quite well.

GO Raiders