MISSOURI VALLEY MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Murray State
- Illinois State
- UIC
- Belmont
- Valparaiso
- Bradley
UNRANKED: Drake, Evansville, Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Murray State has not experienced the success they had in the OVC since moving over to the Missouri Valley. This went from a program that was oftentimes inside the bubble and occasionally in the rankings to not landing anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament. Could that be changing this year? They are the preseason favorites to win the league despite losing four starters from last year’s 20-win team. Roman Domon returns after having a very solid year as a freshman who was both a solid scorer and rebounder a year ago. Christian Jones was a double-digit scorer for George Washington last year and was a solid portal pickup. I do think Murray has some solid players on their roster, and I am impressed with what Coach Ryan Miller did in his debut season last year…but I am a little surprised they are the preseason favorites.
-I like this Illinois State team. They won 22 games a year ago, finished 3rd in the standings, and had a nice run in the NIT last year. Three starters are back, including Chase Walker (who was a solid scorer/rebounder as a PF) and Johnny Kinziger (who averaged over 11ppg and was a dependable outside shooter). They appear to have some solid guys transferring in as well, so they have a shot at finishing on top.
-UIC is the team I like. The job that Coach Rob Ehsan has done since taking over has been phenomenal. Last year was their best season in a while, they were playing really well down the stretch and made it to the conference tournament championship game, and all five starters are back. Ahmad Henderson is a player to watch and Andy Johnson is a solid outside shooter. Benny Gealer was a double-digit scorer for Stanford last year, as well as a very good outside shooter, and he joins the Flames’ roster this year. This is my pick to win the league. They had a good end to the season last year, everyone is back, and they even added a few pieces.
-Belmont has managed a 20+ win season in every season but one since 2005-2006, which is nothing short of remarkable. They won 26 games last year, which was clearly their best year since joining the MVC, and they have two starters back from that team. Having said that, they may struggle this year. They do not appear to have any prolific scorers and this is a team that is typically really good offensively. You do not want to pick against a program that has been as successful as they have for as long as they have, but it may be a long year for the Bruins.
-I am quite excited about this Valparaiso team. Like UIC, they have not been good for a while, but also like UIC, they have been getting better and have some really good players on their roster this year. JT Pettigrew and Rakim Chaney both return after averaging double-figures a season ago and they have some promising looking transfers. I do not think they will end up contending for 1st place, but this is a program that is going in the right direction under Coach Roger Powell.
-Bradley has managed 20+ wins for each of the last four seasons, which is a nice little run, but they have not made it to any NCAA Tournaments in that time. This year may be a building year for them seeing as how only one starter is back. Trevon Payton and Xander Alarie were both solid portal pickups as both managed double-figures a year ago, so Bradley does have some guys who can step up.
I’m not sure why they only ranked the top-six, but…whatever…
-Drake was just 14-20 last year. They would have had a great year had their coaching staff and nearly every player in their rotation from 2024-2025 stuck around and not gone to Iowa. Drake basically watched their team make it all the way to the Elite Eight last year wearing Iowa’s uniforms. Three starters are back, and Jon Carroll joins the roster after having a solid year at Morehead State, so the Bulldogs should improve some.
-Evansville was pitiful last year and it is hard for me to think they will be much better this year. They won just 7 total games and were 3-15 in MVC play. They will be relying on some non-D-1 transfers to make contributions this year.
-Indiana State had a miserable season last year and then lost their entire starting lineup…which may not be a bad thing since it is a chance for them to start over. Karmani Gregory is a player to watch. He put up big numbers for USC Upstate last year. They have some other solid transfers from non-D-1 and I think the Trees will be better this year than they were a year ago.
-Northern Iowa: they are always the team I’m big on! They are always my dark horse! And last year, they won the conference tournament! But this year…no one is back. Kyle Green takes over as coach, and I admittedly know nothing about him. They did pick up a couple of solid players in the portal, particularly Greyson Uelmen (who had a big year for North Dakota last year), but there are just too many question marks surrounding this team.
-It has been a long time since Southern Illinois made any real noise and chances are we will not be hearing much from the Salukis this year either. Scott Nagy is a solid coach (607 wins puts him #17 among active D-1 coaches), but he has been tasked with rebuilding the roster. He did pick up some guys who put up big numbers at non-D-1 schools last year, so if they can adjust and compete at this level then we may see the Salukis have some success.
