MVC preseason media day /polls

[BuBrave2006]

Which team has the best chance of exceeding expectations (not just moving up a slot - I mean upsetting the apple cart altogether)?

Evansville

[BCPanther]

Which team has the best chance of exceeding expectations (not just moving up a slot - I mean upsetting the apple cart altogether)?

Evanville. The talent to be better than they are on paper is there. I do question trying to play fast in this league, however. Everybody says it when they get the job, do it when they play lesser competition and then the reality of league play happens. Loyola, UNI, etc just are simply not going to allow you to speed them up.

[BEARZ77]

Which team has the best chance of exceeding expectations (not just moving up a slot - I mean upsetting the apple cart altogether)?

Evanville. The talent to be better than they are on paper is there. I do question trying to play fast in this league, however. Everybody says it when they get the job, do it when they play lesser competition and then the reality of league play happens. Loyola, UNI, etc just are simply not going to allow you to speed them up.

I don't think you have to speed them up; just don't think you have to play the same way. Unfortunately, most of the coaches in this league have tried to beat those teams playing their game, and they're just better at it. Now granted, you have to have a roster that can play faster on both ends , and most MVC teams simply haven't. But I think we are seeing a transitional period in the Valley with coaches like Mac, Devries, maybe Muller, Ford [ clearly we didn't last year] wanting to play more up tempo offensively. Certainly Lusk, Marty, and many others weren't of that philosophy. WSU's last year in the Valley they averaged 77 ppg against UNI, while UNI averaged 55 pts against them. Clearly they didn't speed UNI up , but clearly they played at the pace they wanted to. I'm not saying any current teams have the same talent level as WSU did, but some are recruiting similar type players. The game is changing, I see on the UNI site much talk about playing 4 guards etc. I think Jake recognizes he has to adapt and what has traditionally worked in this league may not anymore. I think the coaching changes as much as anything could fuel a resurgence for the league because they aren't trying to do what has always been done just to stay safely competitive. Some want to force others to adapt to them. Just a thought.

[ACECARD]

Which team has the best chance of exceeding expectations (not just moving up a slot - I mean upsetting the apple cart altogether)?

Evanville. The talent to be better than they are on paper is there. I do question trying to play fast in this league, however. Everybody says it when they get the job, do it when they play lesser competition and then the reality of league play happens. Loyola, UNI, etc just are simply not going to allow you to speed them up.

BC, I would agree with what you say. I will also say the Aces aren't going to beat teams strictly with speed, but are going to be better shooters, better re-bounders, better at finishing shots, and with better athletes to play the game. Defense will determine how good the Aces will be this year. If we can hold teams to 65-70 points, we will be a tough out indeed.

[BCPanther]

The league ESPN schedule is out

The league and ESPN believe that Loyola, Bradley and UNI are the top three teams as they got all of the ESPN2 slots and the one non-wildcard 'guaranteed' ESPNU slot.

CBS Sports Net schedule out tomorrow.

[Mikovio]

Full TV slate is out. Not counting wildcards,

ESPN2: Bradley, UNI and Loyola get 2
ESPNU: Bradley and UNI get 1
CBSSN: Loyola gets 3, Bradley and MSU 2
MVC-TV: MSU and UNI get 5; Bradley and Drake get 4

I guess the TV networks and league office aren't as sold on MSU as the preseason prognosticators seem to be?

http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/2/me ... icago.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/1/ar ... twork.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/9/30/ar ... works.aspx

[MSUDuo]

Full TV slate is out. Not counting wildcards,

ESPN2: Bradley, UNI and Loyola get 2
ESPNU: Bradley and UNI get 1
CBSSN: Loyola gets 3, Bradley and MSU 2
MVC-TV: MSU and UNI get 5; Bradley and Drake get 4

I guess the TV networks and league office aren't as sold on MSU as the preseason prognosticators seem to be?

http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/2/me ... icago.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/1/ar ... twork.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/9/30/ar ... works.aspx

If I was an outsider I wouldn't be sold on us either. Time will tell. If we can take care of business heading into the Charleston Classic, then I would hope maybe getting a couple on the main network would be possible.

[BEARZ77]

Full TV slate is out. Not counting wildcards,

ESPN2: Bradley, UNI and Loyola get 2
ESPNU: Bradley and UNI get 1
CBSSN: Loyola gets 3, Bradley and MSU 2
MVC-TV: MSU and UNI get 5; Bradley and Drake get 4

I guess the TV networks and league office aren't as sold on MSU as the preseason prognosticators seem to be?

http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/2/me ... icago.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/1/ar ... twork.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/9/30/ar ... works.aspx

If I was an outsider I wouldn't be sold on us either. Time will tell. If we can take care of business heading into the Charleston Classic, then I would hope maybe getting a couple on the main network would be possible.

I think the Bears games in the Charleston Classic are somewhere on the ESPN network. It's interesting to see the various thoughts on the Bears; I have remained guarded until we see how we play in the noncon. My thoughts are our floor is probably a little lower than some of the other top MVC teams, but our ceiling looks higher as well given the schedule and potential on the roster.

[Drakey]

Full TV slate is out. Not counting wildcards,

ESPN2: Bradley, UNI and Loyola get 2
ESPNU: Bradley and UNI get 1
CBSSN: Loyola gets 3, Bradley and MSU 2
MVC-TV: MSU and UNI get 5; Bradley and Drake get 4

I guess the TV networks and league office aren't as sold on MSU as the preseason prognosticators seem to be?

http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/2/me ... icago.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/1/ar ... twork.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/9/30/ar ... works.aspx

As if the networks have any knowledge whatsoever about the Valley. This is probably orchestrated by the conference, and clearly shows a bias for certain teams in a league that is wide open. Why they only want to show three teams is puzzling to me. I think there are at least half a dozen teams which could win the Valley this year. Certainly MSU and Drake should get some of those games.

[Mikovio]

Full TV slate is out. Not counting wildcards,

ESPN2: Bradley, UNI and Loyola get 2
ESPNU: Bradley and UNI get 1
CBSSN: Loyola gets 3, Bradley and MSU 2
MVC-TV: MSU and UNI get 5; Bradley and Drake get 4

I guess the TV networks and league office aren't as sold on MSU as the preseason prognosticators seem to be?

http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/2/me ... icago.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/10/1/ar ... twork.aspx
http://mvc-sports.com/news/2019/9/30/ar ... works.aspx

If I was an outsider I wouldn't be sold on us either. Time will tell. If we can take care of business heading into the Charleston Classic, then I would hope maybe getting a couple on the main network would be possible.

I think the Bears games in the Charleston Classic are somewhere on the ESPN network. It's interesting to see the various thoughts on the Bears; I have remained guarded until we see how we play in the noncon. My thoughts are our floor is probably a little lower than some of the other top MVC teams, but our ceiling looks higher as well given the schedule and potential on the roster.

You're right about the Charleston Classic; I'm just counting the league games. In nonconference national TV the Bears will have those 3 games on ESPN/2/U/News depending on how it goes, the game @ Xavier is on FSN and @ LSU is SECN+. Bradley's 2 Ft Myers games are on FS1 and game @Memphis is CBSSN; Evansville plays Kentucky on the SECN; ISU Blue @ Louisville on ACCN; Loyola @ Vanderbilt is CBSSN.