Preseason Poll & All-Conference Teams Announced

by **TylerDurden** » October 2nd, 2024, 8:36 am

https://mvc-sports.com/news/2024/10/2/b ... orite.aspx

No surprise here as Bradley is picked as the favorite. Duke Deen is preseason POY.

From the release:
ST. LOUIS - Bradley has been tabbed the favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference 2024-25 men's basketball title. The preseason poll and teams, as voted on by Valley head coaches, communications directors and a media panel, is being unveiled on Wednesday, Oct. 2, as part of a Media Day Special on The Field of 68, hosted by national basketball personalities Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster.

Bradley received 46 first-place votes and 597 total points to outdistance UNI, which received two first-place tallies and 527 total points. Murray State received the remaining first-place vote and 473 total points to finish third in the preseason poll. Illinois State (4th, 397), defending Arch Madness champion Drake (5th, 388), and Belmont (6th, 373) were tightly bunched for the next three positions.

Southern Illinois earned 337 points for 7th in the poll, followed by defending regular-season champion and NIT runnerup Indiana State (8th, 207), Evansville (9th, 199), Valparaiso (10th, 173), Missouri State (11th, 116) and UIC (12th, 110).

The Braves finished third in the MVC regular-season race last year and were last picked to win the MVC in 1999-00. Since the MVC has been announcing a preseason poll prior to the 1985-86 campaign, Bradley has been picked as the league favorite four previous times (1986, 1988, 1996, and 2000).

The league has new faces on the sideline and on the court in 2024-25 with five new head coaches in The Valley (Drake, UIC, Indiana State, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois) and only one returning player of 16 who were named to last year's first-, second-, or third-team all-MVC units. That player is Duke Deen of Bradley, who has been tabbed as the league's Preseason Player of the Year. Deen is joined on the first-team squad by teammate Darius Hannah, while Zek Montgomery returns to Peoria and earned a spot on the league's preseason Second Team.

UNI also had three student-athletes on the league's preseason units, including Tytan Anderson (First Team), Trey Campbell (Second Team), and Jacob Hutson (Second Team). Third-place pick Murray State had two preseason all-league picks: JaCobi Wood (First Team) and Nick Ellington (Second Team), as did fourth-place pick Illinois State: Johnny Kinziger (First Team) and Malachi Poindexter (Second Team).

Valparaiso's Cooper Schwieger, the 2023-24 MVC Freshman of the Year, landed a spot on the league's six-player First Team. Newcomers Ali Dibba of Southern Illinois, Cam Manyawu of Drake, and Bennett Stirtz of Drake were tabbed to the MVC's Third Team, and they were joined on that five-player unit by Kennard Davis Jr. of Southern Illinois and Filip Skobalj of UIC

In March 2025, The Valley will conduct its 35th St. Louis-based postseason men’s basketball championship. With 35-straight years at the same neutral site, the State Farm MVC Tournament is the second-longest neutral site tenured collegiate tourney in the nation (following only the Big East in New York City).

Pollsters have accurately predicted the league’s regular-season champ only six of the past 12 years, and only 18 times out of 39 total polls (beginning with the 1985-86 preseason picks). A total of 33 of those 39 predicted champs have gone on to post-season play, with 23 of those 33 playing in the NCAAs (including 2023-24 preseason pick Drake last year).

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by **MissouriValleyUnite** » October 2nd, 2024, 8:43 am

1 Bradley (597)
2 UNI (527)
3 Murray St (473)
4 Illinois St (397)
5 Drake (388)
6 Belmont (373)
7 SIU (337)
8 Indiana St (207)
9 Evansville (199)
10 Valparaiso (173)
11 Missouri St (116)
12 UIC (110)

by **Adunk33** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:04 am

Media day is all virtual this year and on the Field of 68's YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtImfrmhJfM

I would've preferred the traditional media day with press conferences and coaches fielding questions from guys who are ingrained in the league. Your Paul Oren's and Wyatt Wheelers of the world. To this point, interviews have been pretty weak.

by **TylerDurden** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:20 am

Adunk33 wrote:Media day is all virtual this year and on the Field of 68's YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtImfrmhJfM

I would've preferred the traditional media day with press conferences and coaches fielding questions from guys who are ingrained in the league. Your Paul Oren's and Wyatt Wheelers of the world. To this point, interviews have been pretty weak.

Agreed. Dauster and Goodman are fine, but they don't know spit about the MVC.

The continuing demise of local journalism is at play here. Smaller staffs, lower budgets, more responsibilities. These ain't the good ol' days.

by **tribecalledquest** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:30 am

TylerDurden wrote:
Adunk33 wrote:Media day is all virtual this year and on the Field of 68's YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtImfrmhJfM

I would've preferred the traditional media day with press conferences and coaches fielding questions from guys who are ingrained in the league. Your Paul Oren's and Wyatt Wheelers of the world. To this point, interviews have been pretty weak.

Agreed. Dauster and Goodman are fine, but they don't know spit about the MVC.

The continuing demise of local journalism is at play here. Smaller staffs, lower budgets, more responsibilities. These ain't the good ol' days.

It happens all the time - but the desire for "national attention" is a drug that a lot of teams/leagues can't turn down. And it's not even worth it, really - and it comes by sticking it to your loyal, local people.

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:32 am

Tuned in for a few minutes but gotta work. Goodman asked Cuonzo what the biggest difference between Cuonzo 1.0 and Cuonzo 2.0 is. He said compassion because back then athletes didn't have to deal with the cruelty of social media. Pretty much saying that sports fans on social media are often unhinged nutjobs without saying it (which is true).

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:39 am

Prohm up. Goodman mentions that Prohm told him he only took the job because Murray St moved into the Valley. Prohm said he loves the challenge of it being the same job he loved with the same expectations, but now moving up into a top-10 league.

Prohm says if you get a good player in Murray, KY, because of the community and how they embrace the players, that their players are well taken care of and have a good chance of staying. He's implying that Murray's doing well in NIL.

by **BCPanther** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:53 am

TylerDurden wrote:
Adunk33 wrote:Media day is all virtual this year and on the Field of 68's YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtImfrmhJfM

I would've preferred the traditional media day with press conferences and coaches fielding questions from guys who are ingrained in the league. Your Paul Oren's and Wyatt Wheelers of the world. To this point, interviews have been pretty weak.

Agreed. Dauster and Goodman are fine, but they don't know spit about the MVC.

The continuing demise of local journalism is at play here. Smaller staffs, lower budgets, more responsibilities. These ain't the good ol' days.

That's just it. Outside of Oren, Wheeler and Cole Bair (CR Gazette), there aren't any long time Valley beat writers left. UNI had another really good one at the WCF Courier but Lee Enterprises moved him to a statewide Iowa beat. Disheartening.

As for the poll, looks about right. Surprised UIC isn't a bit higher because I think they had a decent run in the portal but, then again, Ehsan failed big time at a much better job so maybe it makes sense.

by **Mikovio** » October 2nd, 2024, 9:59 am

Only 46 of the 49 voters ranked Bradley 1st? That Evansville video coordinator has no idea the fury he just unleashed in Wardle's office right now.

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » October 2nd, 2024, 10:08 am

BCPanther wrote:That's just it. Outside of Oren, Wheeler and Cole Bair (CR Gazette), there aren't any long time Valley beat writers left. UNI had another really good one at the WCF Courier but Lee Enterprises moved him to a statewide Iowa beat. Disheartening.

As for the poll, looks about right. Surprised UIC isn't a bit higher because I think they had a decent run in the portal but, then again, Ehsan failed big time at a much better job so maybe it makes sense.

In the last few years, we've lost a bunch of the long-time Valley beat writers. 4, maybe?