On Monday, Sept. 29, the Missouri Valley Conference released a preseason men’s basketball poll that wasn’t really a preseason men’s basketball poll. Instead of having all 11 schools on it like it did in years past and every other conference still does, it only included the Top 5.

Then on Wednesday, Oct. 15, the Missouri Valley Conference opted to release a 39-player watchlist instead of the usual preseason all-conference teams. Both decisions received uproar from fans and media alike.

Paul Oren, founder of The Victory Bell, an online publication covering Valparaiso University athletics, decided to make his own preseason poll and all-conference teams. Almost immediately after the watchlist was released, Oren sent out an email to 18 other journalists that cover schools in the MVC, myself included, asking us to make our own preseason polls and all-conference teams and turn them in to him so he can tabulate the final results. The following is what I turned in:

Full/final poll results can be found at dailyegyptian.com 

Preseason Missouri Valley Conference Poll

• Bradley Braves

Are you familiar with the phrase “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride?” The Bradley Braves sure are. The last two years, the Braves have fallen just short of winning the conference championship thanks to the Drake Bulldogs. This year’s mix of returners like junior guard Demarion Burch, transfers like former Wright State guard Alex Huibregste, and freshmen like guard Montana Wheeler, are the reason this should be the year the Braves add to the trophy case.

• Illinois State Redbirds

Illinois State are the prohibitive favorites in many people’s eyes, including the official MVC preseason poll, but I’m not sold. Yes, they have two of the conference’s best players in junior guard Johnny Kinziger and junior forward Chase Walker, but they had those two last year and finished 10-10 in conference. Someone has to step up as a third scoring option for this team to be as successful as everyone says they will be, especially after losing guard Dalton Banks to graduation. That being said, having two superstars like Walker and Kinziger should be enough to get the Redbirds a bye in the conference tournament in March. 

• Northern Iowa Panthers

There’s a reason Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson is about to start his 20th season in that role. He wins. A lot. It feels like every December, people have questions about the Panthers, and every March they seem to have answered them. With quite a bit of last year’s core coming back, including All-MVC 3rd Teamer Trey Campbell, UNI should be able to continue that trend. 

• Murray State Racers

The Murray State Racers are going to be a true test of building a team in the transfer portal. First year head coach Ryan Miller does not have a single player returning from last year’s roster. Not only that, only two players have ever even played on the same team, with center Fred King and guard Mason Miller being teammates on last year’s Creighton squad. The whole roster is littered with MVC-caliber players, but can they play as a team?

• Drake Bulldogs

Realistically, this Drake Bulldogs team probably should be a spot or two lower. They have a first year head coach in Eric Henderson and they’re relying on transfers that need a bounce back year, such as Loyola-Chicago transfer Jalen Quinn.  Even with that information, I cannot count the Bulldogs out. They’ve won the last three conference tournaments, including last year when they were in a similar situation. While that won’t necessarily be the case this year, watch out for Drake to surprise some people.

• Belmont Bruins

• Southern Illinois Salukis

• Indiana State Sycamores

These three teams could finish in any order between the three of them and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. One of them could even nab the fifth spot from Drake. The Salukis especially are an interesting case. Nearly all of last year’s core is back and they bring in a loaded transfer class, including former Seton Hall forward Prince Aligbe and Jacksonville State transfer guard Quel’Ron House. All three teams will live and die by guard play, and that will lead to plenty of up and down moments for these squads. If any of them get hot late in the season, some top-seeded teams may go down early in St. Louis. 

• Evansville Purple Aces

• Illinois-Chicago Flames

• Valparaiso Beacons

The long and arduous rebuild continues for these three schools. All three have bright spots to look forward to this season. For the Purple Aces, it’s last year’s MVC Defensive Player of the Year Connor Turnbull. For the Flames, it’s junior guard Ahmad Henderson II. For the Beacons, it’s sophomore guard Justus McNair. Even with those superstars, it will be tough for any of the three squads to break through what may be the deepest MVC in quite some time.

MVC Preseason All-Conference Teams

First Team

Illinois State Forward Chase Walker

Illinois State Guard Johnny Kinziger

Northern Iowa Guard Trey Campbell

Belmont Guard Tyler Lundblade

Bradley Guard Alex Huibregste

Walker, Kinziger, and Campbell are the only returning All-Conference players from a year ago, and Lundblade is expected to be one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. No need to overthink those choices. The fifth spot for me came down to Huibregste and Evansville forward Connor Turnbull. While Turnbull was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, I don’t see him making enough of an offensive jump to go from no All-Conference to first team in a year. Meanwhile, Huibregste was an offensive machine at Wright State last year, averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting 42.3% from the field and 37.5% from three-point territory.

Second Team

Evansville Forward Connor Turnbull

Drake Guard Jalen Quinn

Murray State Guard Brayden Shorter

Murray State Guard Layne Taylor

SIU Guard Quel’Ron House

Quinn should bounce back pretty well after a solid, if unspectacular, year at Loyola-Chicago last season. Both Shorter and Taylor come to Murray State after ripping up the level they were at last season. Shorter was an All-Conference performer at Division II Washburn, averaging 15.5 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds per contest. Taylor showed off his offensive prowess at Central Arkansas, making the Atlantic Sun’s All-Freshman team while averaging 17.4 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game, while adding in 2.2 assists per game and 1.1 steals per game. House benefits from me having seen him in person. House making the All-Freshman team in Conference USA last year as a Jacksonville State Gamecock and his 29-point outburst in the team’s exhibition vs. Austin Peay meant I had to find a spot for him.

Sports reporter Eli Hoover can be found at [email protected] or on Instagram at @hoovermakesart

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