Official 2015-16 MVCfans.com Prediction - 6th Place

[jackwagon]

Well said wufan! Isub could very well end up 6th. However I don't think the gap is nearly as far as voting as shown. Uni and isub have similar rosters, with the slight coaching edge to uni. Why is one regarded as clear cut 2nd or 3rd with the other at distant 6th and close to 7th?

[shockalot]

Well said wufan! Isub could very well end up 6th. However I don't think the gap is nearly as far as voting as shown. Uni and isub have similar rosters, with the slight coaching edge to uni. Why is one regarded as clear cut 2nd or 3rd with the other at distant 6th and close to 7th?

While I put ISUb at 6th, it was not an easy selection as I could also see them doing better than that. While UNI has issues that, in my opinion, will probably keep them from finishing as high as 2nd, when you do a comparison of the two there are factors that most would see as tipping the scale toward UNI being more likely to finish higher than ISUb. I think Lansing is a very good coach and underrated by some, but Jacobson has so far been able to prove he is a top Valley coach, were as Lansing still needs to provide more clear evidence. That tends to come in post season play and there is a significant difference in performance between UNI and ISUb there, and that weighs in UNI's favor both in terms of simple perceptions as well as the benefits that a team gets in terms of cohesion and confidence which again would seem to favor UNI. Looking at personnel, while there may not be much evidence of a huge gap, UNI does seem to have at least a slight edge in it's guard units (1,2, 3) experience, cohesion, and depth, if not shear skill.
Just because the voting makes it look like there is a big difference, I don't think it is necessarily the case. That's is part of the reason I love college basketball so much. You just never can tell when an overlooked team or under rated team might become an upstart and smack down their supposed betters.
On the other hand, when you get a team that is legitimately a top ten or better program, they generally beat the upstarts as well, though sometimes in close games.

[Wufan]

The only thing that's an easy choice in #2-6 is that I will put UNI above ISUb every time. It could be 2 and 3 or 5 and 6 or 2 and 6, but UNI gets the nod from me based on my agreement with the above post.

[Rambler63]

I went with Indiana State for 6th. I think they overperformed last year more than any other team in the league, and they lost height and experience in the front court from last year. Coaching experience and strategy might keep them close to the 5th spot, but the talent deficit is significant.

I agree with ahunte1 about 2nd through 5th-- my guess is there will probably be one or more tiebreakers sorting out UNI, ISUr, UE, and Loyola in those spots. Before the Lynch transfer, I would have had ISUr an easy 2nd. Might as well pull 5 through 2 out of a hat. If any of those teams can rise up and sneak a home win over WSU, they've got a huge leg up.

[Cdizzle]

If any of those teams can rise up and sneak a home win over WSU, they've got a huge leg up.

I think it will be more important for those teams to not drop a turd @MSU. Those are the games that make the difference.