MVC preseason media day /polls

[PantherSigEp]

This Drake fan versus Bradley fan bickering takes me back to the good old days when you could count on a BU/DU grudge match on Thursday night in Saint Louis. Those days seem long gone now.

Someone with more free time than me should go through and compile a list of how many times each team has played on Thursday under the current format.

23 years in current format (started in 1997)

Drake has played in Opening Round 18 Times
Bradley has played in Opening Round 11 Times

They've played each other in Opening Round 6 times (Bradley is 4-2) (Played in Opening Round 4 times in 5 years- 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015)

Only 2 times have neither one of them played in the Opening Round: 2008 and 2017 (They played each other in the 4/5 Game in 2017)

18 times in 23 years?

Drake Night certainly is the correct moniker

[BEARZ77]

Program history makes for nice year books [ or not] , but unless you're a P-5 Blue Blood, doesn't account for much in today's college basketball. With the amount of player movement and relative age of most fan bases, it's a 2-3 year window on which perceptions are based. If Drake follows up last year with a solid top 2-3 finish in the Valley this year, then they will be perceived as one of the top programs. And given success is so much dependent on your coach/ coaching stability, everything can change in just one summer. Just the way it is.

[Mikovio]

Cunliffe might be the highest rated recruit in the Valley but I'm skeptical because he also averaged next to nothing at Kansas. But same for Milton Doyle and he turned out alright. More talent is always a good thing and hopefully all programs take a leap.

[ACECARD]

Cunliffe might be the highest rated recruit in the Valley but I'm skeptical because he also averaged next to nothing at Kansas. But same for Milton Doyle and he turned out alright. More talent is always a good thing and hopefully all programs take a leap.

A slight difference in the competition he faced at Kansas, and what he will face in the MVC. Plus there were a number of players better than he on that Kansas team, which limited his playing time. Won't be the case with the Aces. Possibly one, and maybe no one, better than he on the Aces.

[Mikovio]

It's certainly a different level of competition. And in fairness he had a decent frosh year at Arizona State. Hope he gives the Aces a boost.

[ACECARD]

It's certainly a different level of competition. And in fairness he had a decent frosh year at Arizona State. Hope he gives the Aces a boost.

Thanks. We all hope that he, and DeAndre, can keep the Aces out of Thursday.

[BigMacAttack]

Cunliffe might be the highest rated recruit in the Valley but I'm skeptical because he also averaged next to nothing at Kansas. But same for Milton Doyle and he turned out alright. More talent is always a good thing and hopefully all programs take a leap.

He was not eligible the first semester at KU. On a 31-8 team it would be hard to get playing time starting in January. He played in 15 games for KU and averaged 5 minutes a game.

[BuBrave2006]

Here's Evansville's Thursday history:

In 8 Crews Seasons UE played in 1 Thursday game - 2002
In 5 Merfeld Seasons UE played in 4 Thursday games - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
In 11 Simmons Seasons UE played in 5 Thursday games - 2008, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018
In 1 McCarty Season UE played in 1 Thursday game - 2019

11 Thursday appearances for UE - ie way too many - the stretch from 2002 - 2010 was probably one of the worst stretches of basketball any fan could ever endure.

I feel the 3 year Thursday night stretch will end this season.

It won't. I can't think of four teams who are worse than the Aces right now.

I would lay some hard money that Evansville doesn't play on Thursday this year. I've got them over Southern and ISUr for sure, and I expect them to finish ahead of Drake, ISUb and Valpo as well. (I am fully aware that I am significantly lower on Drake than everyone one else on here.

[ACECARD]

Even if they aren't better than Drake, they will be better than the other four, IMHO.

[siudawgs]

Recently came across this article on Indiana State freshman Jake LaRavia: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/c ... 351369001/

I know Barnes struggled a lot last year but if he can figure out he doesn't need to score 20-plus to help his team, there's no reason the Sycs shouldn't be in the mix to avoid Thursday. A starting five of Barnes, Key, Neese, LaRavia and Kessinger sounds pretty competitive to me, and there also appears to be the makings of a decent bench, as best I can tell.

If Indiana State can't flirt with an upper-half finish this year, Lansing will certainly have earned his walking papers.