Official 2013-14 MVCfans.com Prediction - 6th Place

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

He has no clue, he hears no scuttlebutt.

I haven't really known of somebody on the inside of men's basketball since Alford left. I was referring to the news and info coming out of the Courts and things that can be gleaned from Facebook, Twitter, and talking to some mid level administrators at football and volleyball games. It gets a little old when you continually get mocked for simply passing along what you hear from some administrators and boosters. Conversely I think it is fair game to take shots at me for predictions and observations that I make. That's fine. I'm a big boy and I can handle that stuff.

[stl scooter]

Evansville has a pretty good core returning in Mockevicius, Sawvell, Wing, and Balentine. However, the question marks start to emerge from there. How good will the frontcourt depth be? Redshirt freshmen David Howard was supposedly the best offensive big-man in practice last year. Jaylon Moore has showed promise. The big question will be who runs the point? Boo Gibson and Jaylon Brown will need to learn quickly in the non-con if UE wants to avoid Thursday for a 4th straight year.

UE hasn't played on a Thursday (@Arch Madness) in a few years...maybe 2011?

[bleach]

Does anybody else see BU and MSU fans jockeying for position in this poll? So far, whoever got the second most votes for the previous position gets the most votes for the next.

[Wufan]

If Lusk weren't the coach of the Bears, would that change some perceptions?

Not mine. He doesn't help any, but doesn't hurt either.

IYes, we were putrid in 2012. In 2013 we were remarkably better. 8 conference wins (1 in STL) and 9 total. We gave WSU all it wanted in SPG and STL, even running off 19 straight in SPG. Shoulda, could, woulda against UE and BU on the road as well.

Markedly better is correct. You are currently a .500 ball club in 2013. For me, that's not good enough to say you are better than a mediocre club this year.

I'll admit, I don't know a lot about UNI, ISUb, BU, and UE other than what they lost. All 5 of these teams were fairly close last year and MSU easily brings the most back.

MSU was fairly close to Bradley, who was also 7-11 in conference. MSU was also fairly close to 7-11 Drake. They were not fairly close to 9-9 In St, 10-8 EU, or 11-7 UNI. They were closer to SIU than to the others.

I'll defend my team like everyone else but I'm probably on the "glass is half empty" side due to one factor so far: the coach. If he can prove to make that next big step forward, we should be ok. As lousy as our schedule was last year, this year's schedule is worse and really, if we've improved, we should be looking at at least 7 wins heading into conference. With road games against teams like ODU and ORU, may be we can steal one.

I'll probably slide them in at 4th. I think it's fair to see them make that jump. It wouldn't surprise me if we finish 2nd or in the play-in round.

Fair enough. MSU has added some new pieces and is on the upswing. I just don't think their ceiling is very high this year. Not much difference between 4th and 6th in the fall.

[uniftw]

Jacobsen could probably take a couple of managers, a couple of football players, and a couple of good intramural players and finish in the top half of the Valley. I have a lot of respect for Geno nd Marty, but those guys lost a lot. As long as UNI has Jacobsen, there are going to be some good coaches needing good recruits as Sr's to catch UNI.

We've actually had multiple football players on the basketball roster the past decade or so under Jacobson....including the starting RT for the NY Jets.

None of them have really ever played, but been on the roster.

Austin Howard 6'7 330 lbs (290 in college)
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player ... tin-howard
http://www.newyorkjets.com/team/roster/ ... a6d0b2b07/

and former NFL DE (currently playing in the AFL) Everette Pedeslaux 6'6 300lb

[rlh04d]

I chose Bradley as well. The real shame is that one of Bradley, Evansville, MSU will be picked to finish 4th.

You really think UNI and ISUb are that far ahead of BU, UE, or MSU?

I think ISUb is. It's not even close.

ISUb returns nearly everyone from a good team last year. Those three all ranged from okay to absolutely terrible and lost more than ISUb.

I've got the Aces here. I could see a four way tie with those three and Loyola just as easily, though.

[rlh04d]

We gave WSU all it wanted in SPG and STL, even running off 19 straight in SPG.

Meh. We played White and Wiggins for a combined 41 minutes in the game against MoSt. The guys that averaged about 3 minutes a game throughout the NCAA tournament. The game wasn't the struggle MoSt fans think it was

You might want to look back on the 2013 season again, though. You were putrid in 2013 as well, including one of the most horrific nonconference seasons I've ever seen from a Valley team. You won a Thursday night game -- that isn't really something to brag about for the next season, except that you were slightly better than a bad SIU team. I've said the numbers before, but MoSt fans are being fooled by the 7-11 record into thinking they were better than they were. Make no mistake, the Bears were the worst team in the Valley last year. Only a four game stretch going into January 8th kept them from being historically terrible.

If Lusk wasn't the coach of the Bears, I wouldn't have a different perception, unless by that you mean swapping him with Marshall, Jacobson, or Simmons.

On the other hand, though, if MoSt had lost that game to SIU, would MoSt fans have different perceptions? Because without the theoretical improvement of St. Louis to hang your hats on, you'd have to look at MoSt being 2-5 to end the conference season, with only home wins over Bradley and a collapsing ISUb, and an average scoring margin of -11.4 a game, and -18 in your losses. Seriously ... that's the "stretch" that you're claiming that you looked good down. That's not good.

7-11 looks okay, but that was after starting 3-1. 4-10 to end the year is not showing the kind of improvement you'd want to see from a team that was going to turn it around the next year. Especially when those 14 games had an average scoring margin of -10. MoSt just kept getting worse as the conference season went on -- until that tournament and that one win. If SIU had won that game, I think MoSt fans would have a very different perception.

Also, ISUb returns far more than MoSt.

[BEARZ77]

Also, ISUb returns far more than MoSt.

As they do WSU as well. But you better look again when you say they have so much more returning than MSU. Were they a better team last year, no doubt. But again I think people just keep underestimating the return of a fully healthy Gulley, the addition of an experienced Addo, and the maturation of those young players. But again time will tell.

[Wufan]

Also, ISUb returns far more than MoSt.

As they do WSU as well. But you better look again when you say they have so much more returning than MSU. Were they a better team last year, no doubt. But again I think people just keep underestimating the return of a fully healthy Gulley, the addition of an experienced Addo, and the maturation of those young players. But again time will tell.

…and the departure of your best player.

[bleach]

I'm not touting MSU to win anything special this year. I'm not gonna diss AD. I am gonna state flat out......our best player last year didn't graduate!