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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL
- Missouri State
- Bradley
- Northern Iowa
- Loyola Chicago
- Drake
- Indiana State
- Illinois State
- Evansville
- Valparaiso
- Southern Illinois
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Cameron Krutwig – Loyola Chicago, JR C
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MVC 1ST TEAM
Darrell Brown – Bradley, SR G
Tulio Da Silva – Missouri State, SR F
AJ Green – Northern Iowa, SO G
Tyreke Key – Indiana State, JR G
Cameron Krutwig – Loyola Chicago, JR C
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MVC 2ND TEAM
Jordan Barnes – Indiana State, SR G
Elijah Childs – Bradley, JR F
Keandre Cook – Missouri State, SR G
Ryan Fazekas – Valparaiso, SR G/F
Javon Freeman-Liberty – Valparaiso, SO G
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MVC 3RD TEAM
Zach Copeland – Illinois State, SR G
Gaige Prim – Missouri State, JR F
Lamont West – Missouri State, SR F
D.J. Wilkins – Drake, SO G
DeAndre Williams – Evansville, SO F
Lucas Williamson – Loyola Chicago, JR G
NOTES FROM DAVID. The Valley wasn’t quite as strong as what we’re used to seeing last year. I don’t think we were expecting them to put a team back in the Final Four, but I also don’t think we thought that the only NCAA Tournament representative would wind up as a #16 seed. Part of the reason for that was parity. The two teams that tied for first place (Drake and Loyola Chicago) each lost six games, and Bradley (who went on to win the conference tourney) had eight losses. This is usually one of the better UTR leagues, so hopefully it’s a little stronger this year.
Missouri State is the preseason favorite according to the coaches and media. They return just two starters from a team that went 10-8 in league play last year and tied for 3rd place, but they do add a couple of transfers and a rather strong recruiting class.
Brian Wardle is entering his 5th season at Bradley, and while it hasn’t been easy he did manage to win Arch Madness and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament last year. They return their top three scorers, and a fantastic outside shooter in PG Darrell Brown, so the Braves should be one of the favorites to win the league.
I know I say this every year, but Northern Iowa is a team that I’m really big on. Ben Jacobson hasn’t been consistently dominant, but he has put together some fantastic teams at UNI, and has four starters back from a team that finished 9-9 in league play a year ago and won six of their last eight before losing by 3 PTS to Bradley in the MVC Championship game. The media and coaches have them as 3rd, but I think they’re wrong. They’re my pick to win the league.
Loyola Chicago came back down to Earth after their Final Four run. While they did tie for first place and make the NIT, they failed to win 20 games against a schedule that was, quite frankly, not that tough. They do have Cameron Krutwig, who is one of the best players in the conference, and with two other starters back they should be able to compete in this league.
Not a whole lot of love for a Drake team that won 24 games a year ago, and has four starters back. I can’t say that I totally understand what some of the media and coaches are looking at. They were poised to be one of the more intriguing stories in college basketball last year, but lost their point guard to an injury and just weren’t the same after that. They return quite a bit of experience and if they can stay healthy they should be one of the better teams in the conference. Yet, the coaches and media picked them 5th. Whatever!
Indiana State also returns four starters, and experience alone should help them improve on just a 7-11 conference record from a year ago.
Evansville, Valpo, and Southern Illinois will likely all be playing in the opening round of Arch Madness this year! Southern Illinois, sadly, no longer has Barry Hinson as their head coach. He was entertaining! His barbecue sauce was awesome! We will certainly miss him!
