Poll: Who finishes 9th?

[Kyle_Saluki_17]

I largely agree but I think people are underrating Evansville and possibly Valpo. Maybe I'm underrating SIU but I think SIU is in the same tier as the rest of the 5-8 or 9 schools. Valpo has brought in a lot of talent in the portal and their class looks good but of course with that many new pieces it's hard to tell how well they'll all fit together. Evansville though has a ton of returning talent and they're well coached. I would not be surprised to see them finish 5-6 and avoid Thursday. It will be a heck of a fight to stay out of Thursday among many of these teams. I'll keep repeating this: The top one or two Thursday teams are going to be really tough in their Friday matchups. I don't expect them to win but they won't go quietly.

Think you're underrating SIU. Really think they're in their own tier after the top 4 tier. In a normal season without Seniors returning, they'd be getting some Tournament buzz but they're kind of stuck this year but have the chance to build some momentum into that buzz for next year when all the Seniors graduate from other schools. They're bringing back like 93% of their minutes from last year and filled in the holes that they did have.

That's exactly where I'm at on SIU. I think they're REALLY good (Top 100) but just not up there with the 4 that all have a chance to be Top 50 or better.

As for Evansville, I think the lack of talent catches up this year with a regular schedule. They don't have the chance to beat on you and slow the game to a crawl and make you defend for 28 seconds on every possession for back to back days this year and that's going to expose them some.

Hopefully SIU can be a top 100 as you say and provide a Q2 opportunity against the big ones (and hopefully win a couple lol). SIU is absolutely spotted at the 5 spot in preseason. We will see how it plays out.

When you look at a team like Evansville… yea they did shock SIU one game last year but how did they do it? Simple. Their most talented player BY FAR, Samari Curtis, had an absolute career day. They don’t have him this year, and while they may be more consistent in what you see, their ceiling will be lower without him. They simply don’t have any players capable of taking over a game as well as he did.

[IllinoisState]

People are a lot higher on Evansville than I imagined they would be.

Evansville has 5 Seniors starting, I know their defense and depth are a concern but I think Lickliter will get the most out of this team again.

I have Indiana State 9th but they're one of those teams that could easily surprise depending on how their fast-paced system works in the Valley. I just don't think there's enough talent here outside of Key to put them above 9th. They have 3 D2 transfers that are probably going to get minutes.

Being seniors helps, but the end of last season was horrible for them.

[SalukiWorld]

People are a lot higher on Evansville than I imagined they would be.

Evansville has 5 Seniors starting, I know their defense and depth are a concern but I think Lickliter will get the most out of this team again.

I have Indiana State 9th but they're one of those teams that could easily surprise depending on how their fast-paced system works in the Valley. I just don't think there's enough talent here outside of Key to put them above 9th. They have 3 D2 transfers that are probably going to get minutes.

Being seniors helps, but the end of last season was horrible for them.

Yeah no doubt. I have them 8th and I'm guessing they finish 8th here too so I don't think people are that high on them. I think it's more respect for what they did last year and Lickliter getting the most out of them.

[Dawgbit]

I largely agree but I think people are underrating Evansville and possibly Valpo. Maybe I'm underrating SIU but I think SIU is in the same tier as the rest of the 5-8 or 9 schools. Valpo has brought in a lot of talent in the portal and their class looks good but of course with that many new pieces it's hard to tell how well they'll all fit together. Evansville though has a ton of returning talent and they're well coached. I would not be surprised to see them finish 5-6 and avoid Thursday. It will be a heck of a fight to stay out of Thursday among many of these teams. I'll keep repeating this: The top one or two Thursday teams are going to be really tough in their Friday matchups. I don't expect them to win but they won't go quietly.

Think you're underrating SIU. Really think they're in their own tier after the top 4 tier. In a normal season without Seniors returning, they'd be getting some Tournament buzz but they're kind of stuck this year but have the chance to build some momentum into that buzz for next year when all the Seniors graduate from other schools. They're bringing back like 93% of their minutes from last year and filled in the holes that they did have.

You are not paying attention if you think SIU will be an “also-ran” team this year. Losing both Marcus Domask and JD Muila tanked them last year. They have one of the best, if not the best, recruiting classes in the Valley, as well as an athletic 6-7 wing in Ben Coupet Jr. As long as they stay healthy they will be in the mix thanks to the coaching of Bryan Mullins.

[Adunk33]

I largely agree but I think people are underrating Evansville and possibly Valpo. Maybe I'm underrating SIU but I think SIU is in the same tier as the rest of the 5-8 or 9 schools. Valpo has brought in a lot of talent in the portal and their class looks good but of course with that many new pieces it's hard to tell how well they'll all fit together. Evansville though has a ton of returning talent and they're well coached. I would not be surprised to see them finish 5-6 and avoid Thursday. It will be a heck of a fight to stay out of Thursday among many of these teams. I'll keep repeating this: The top one or two Thursday teams are going to be really tough in their Friday matchups. I don't expect them to win but they won't go quietly.

Think you're underrating SIU. Really think they're in their own tier after the top 4 tier. In a normal season without Seniors returning, they'd be getting some Tournament buzz but they're kind of stuck this year but have the chance to build some momentum into that buzz for next year when all the Seniors graduate from other schools. They're bringing back like 93% of their minutes from last year and filled in the holes that they did have.

You are not paying attention if you think SIU will be an “also-ran” team this year. Losing both Marcus Domask and JD Muila tanked them last year. They have one of the best, if not the best, recruiting classes in the Valley, as well as an athletic 6-7 wing in Ben Coupet Jr. As long as they stay healthy they will be in the mix thanks to the coaching of Bryan Mullins.

For what it's worth, I have heard GREAT things about the locker room at SIU from someone with deep ties to the program. They said the staff is close and works perfectly together as a unit and all of the players are buying in to Mullins, "Floor burn U" mentality. They said the comradery in that locker room from top to bottom is one of the best they've ever been around. That's a great place for a team to start. I have SIU at 5th but they'll take a game or two from the top 4.

[Kyle_Saluki_17]

Think you're underrating SIU. Really think they're in their own tier after the top 4 tier. In a normal season without Seniors returning, they'd be getting some Tournament buzz but they're kind of stuck this year but have the chance to build some momentum into that buzz for next year when all the Seniors graduate from other schools. They're bringing back like 93% of their minutes from last year and filled in the holes that they did have.

You are not paying attention if you think SIU will be an “also-ran” team this year. Losing both Marcus Domask and JD Muila tanked them last year. They have one of the best, if not the best, recruiting classes in the Valley, as well as an athletic 6-7 wing in Ben Coupet Jr. As long as they stay healthy they will be in the mix thanks to the coaching of Bryan Mullins.

For what it's worth, I have heard GREAT things about the locker room at SIU from someone with deep ties to the program. They said the staff is close and works perfectly together as a unit and all of the players are buying in to Mullins, "Floor burn U" mentality. They said the comradery in that locker room from top to bottom is one of the best they've ever been around. That's a great place for a team to start. I have SIU at 5th but they'll take a game or two from the top 4.

This is good to hear, especially from a non-SIU fan. Some think that the word "culture" is overused, but I do believe that Mullins is truly bringing in the right kind of guys. Now it is just developing a team with the talent to win a championship.

[BCPanther]

Every coach in the country has a culture of playing fast where playing fast is the culture while we do it the right way in the culture in which we play fast to accentuate the culture of doing it the right way when we play fast within our culture of doing it the right way.