Tables will be turned in Ball State matchup

Under normal circumstances, IU would be heavily favored in Saturday's matchup with in-state foe Ball State. \nBut the No. 15 Cardinals, with wins over then-No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA, have turned normalcy on its side -- maybe even upside down -- for the 2 p.m. meeting in Assembly Hall. And IU coach Mike Davis knows it. \n"They'll come in here favored," Davis said after Thursday's practice. "Ball State's going to be a tough game. They're a really good basketball team. It's going to be tough."\nRough-and-tumble contests have grown on IU (5-2), which fended off Notre Dame 76-75 Tuesday in its home opener. Things won't be easier Saturday, thanks to an upstart Ball St. bunch that is holding its highest ranking in school history and doesn't rely on a primary scorer. \nInstead, the Cardinals (4-1) use a three-man attack, a solid bench and are full of well-kept secrets that are slowly working their way out of second-year coach Tim Buckley\'s bag. \n"It's good when you have three guys who can score," Buckley said. "Our bench has been a big key to early success. It's played a great role. When we've gone to the bench, we've gotten stronger."\nThe bench hasn't had to work too hard.\nSenior guard Patrick Jackson, whose drive and lay-up in the final seconds sealed Ball State's 93-91 win over Kansas at the EA Sports Maui Invitational, leads the Cardinals with 20.8 points and 4.4 assists per game and shoots 46 percent from three-point range.\nHis backcourt mate, junior Chris Williams, transferred from Loyola-Chicago and is scoring 18 points per game. Current Mid-American Conference West Division Player-of-the-Week Theron Smith is the Cardinals' third-leading scorer at 17.2 points per game. \nThe Cards' guards, similar to backcourts IU faced at Charlotte and against Notre Dame, have IU on edge. \n"They have a lot of quick guards and a lot of good shooters," IU junior guard Tom Coverdale said. "We're going to have to come ready to play, or they're going to beat us."\nMeanwhile, it's Smith, a 6-foot-8 power forward with the ability to shoot from anywhere on the floor, who has Davis' attention.\n"Smith is a good player that causes problems for any (power forward) in the country," Davis said. "He's a really good one-dribble, pull-up shooter. And in the post, he's a good player."\nBall State has shown the ability to run the floor and did so in all three games in Maui. Davis said the tempo of the game doesn't matter to him, but it would appear a grind-it-out style would benefit the defensive-minded Hoosiers. \nNotre Dame forward Ryan Humphrey sliced the IU defense in the second half of Tuesday's game, single-handedly keeping the Irish within striking distance and ballooning Notre Dame's second-half shooting percentage to 62 percent. \n"We give up the post too easy," Davis said. "Our guys can block shots, but sometimes we depend on that more than getting position."\nDavis said the Hoosiers have used this week to improve their interior defense, and the Cardinals' ability to go inside and outside will stretch the IU defense. IU has the talent to return the favor, especially if the Hoosiers can get the same production from forward Jared Jeffries, who poured in a career-high 28 points against Notre Dame. \nJeffries has garnered the majority of the attention of opposing coaches, and Buckley is no different, calling the sophomore "one of, if not the top sophomore in college basketball."\nBall State might double team Jeffries and the rest of IU's interior players once they get the ball, but it's IU's balance that concerns Buckley. Like Ball State, IU has a balanced attack, with five players scoring eight or more points per game.\nBuckley bursts into a laundry list of possible Hoosier snipers when discussing his game plan and the remnants of IU's 65-50 Hoosier Classic victory last season.\n"(Junior Kyle) Hornsby hurt us last year. He can bust game wide open," Buckley said. "(Senior Dane) Fife is playing with confidence, and when you add that to his already tough demeanor, it makes him difficult to compete against. Their depth of size with (sophomore George) Leach and (junior Jeff) Newton can make it tough inside."\nEach of those players is likely to see considerable minutes, although Davis isn't sure of his starting unit. He did say, though, that Coverdale, who began Tuesday night excluded from Davis' top six players but still played 30 minutes, has returned to the top. \nNo matter who plays, Buckley isn't worried about fatigue -- they welcomed IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne to Muncie Thursday -- is intent on playing "shirts and skins" Saturday and plans to pretend the more than 17,000 fans are clad in red and white on Ball State's behalf. \nIU and Davis have finally caught their collective breath after starting the season with six consecutive games away from Assembly Hall and are trying to mount a two-game winning streak and pick up momentum. \n"They have the same team from last year, and the added Williams," Davis said. "They were good last year. They had to improve and they have. This will be a good measuring stick for us. It's a game we have to win"