More National Press

by **BirdmanBB** » November 10th, 2011, 1:07 pm

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/preview2011/story/_/id/7215093/king-court-takes-look-nation-season-begins-college-basketball

Missouri Valley Conference: The league hasn't been this strong since 2006, when four schools (Wichita State, Bradley, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois) received NCAA tournament bids. Look for Wichita, Creighton, Indiana State and UNI to all be in the mix this season.

Three teams no one is talking about but should be
1. Iowa State: Royce White, Chris Allen, Melvin Ejim, Scott Christopherson, Tyrus McGee … consider this your warning, Big 12.
2. Oregon: Success depends on Tony Woods and Olu Ashaolu down low.
3. Creighton: Can Doug McDermott lead the Bluejays back to the NCAA tournament?

-nice pic of Doug in the article too.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7211292/what-expect-mid-majors-2011-12-college-basketball

Missouri Valley
My pick: Creighton

Creighton is stacked, with Doug McDermott on the verge of an All-American campaign in just his second season. He led Creighton in rebounding and scoring as a freshman -- even though he initially had expected to redshirt. Antoine Young is a talented ball handler (2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio) who will steady the BlueJays in a tough conference.

Contenders: Wichita State won the NIT title -- and 29 games overall, a record for the program -- last season. The Shockers lost All-MVC player J.T. Durley, but the other top contributors return. A solid recruiting class should help them maintain their post as the conference's top offense, too. Forget Indiana State's blowout loss to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Sycamores weren't supposed to be there in the first place. After coaches picked Indiana State to finish in the bottom half of the league, it ran through the conference tourney to earn an NCAA tournament bid. Four starters from that squad are back.

X factor: Northern Iowa has had three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins. That streak will continue if the Panthers fill the gaps created by the departures of Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Lucas O'Rear.

Preseason MVP: Doug McDermott, Creighton

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

Lunardi's bracket projection. Creighton picked to win the conference and a 13 seed. He also has Wichita St. in at 12 for the play in round.

All in all, it seems like a lot of people are high on the valley this year. I hope we don't dissapoint. It all starts on friday.

**Sponsor**

by **SubGod22** » November 10th, 2011, 1:19 pm

It'd be nice to see Lunardi as high on the Valley as everyone else. It's a shame we can't get any respect from him.

But he's not that good at what he does anyway, so maybe I shouldn't care.

by **Jays26** » November 10th, 2011, 1:33 pm

BirdmanBB wrote:http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/preview2011/story/_/id/7215093/king-court-takes-look-nation-season-begins-college-basketball

Missouri Valley Conference: The league hasn't been this strong since 2006, when four schools (Wichita State, Bradley, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois) received NCAA tournament bids. Look for Wichita, Creighton, Indiana State and UNI to all be in the mix this season.

Three teams no one is talking about but should be
1. Iowa State: Royce White, Chris Allen, Melvin Ejim, Scott Christopherson, Tyrus McGee … consider this your warning, Big 12.
2. Oregon: Success depends on Tony Woods and Olu Ashaolu down low.
3. Creighton: Can Doug McDermott lead the Bluejays back to the NCAA tournament?

-nice pic of Doug in the article too.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7211292/what-expect-mid-majors-2011-12-college-basketball

Missouri Valley
My pick: Creighton

Creighton is stacked, with Doug McDermott on the verge of an All-American campaign in just his second season. He led Creighton in rebounding and scoring as a freshman -- even though he initially had expected to redshirt. Antoine Young is a talented ball handler (2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio) who will steady the BlueJays in a tough conference.

Contenders: Wichita State won the NIT title -- and 29 games overall, a record for the program -- last season. The Shockers lost All-MVC player J.T. Durley, but the other top contributors return. A solid recruiting class should help them maintain their post as the conference's top offense, too. Forget Indiana State's blowout loss to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Sycamores weren't supposed to be there in the first place. After coaches picked Indiana State to finish in the bottom half of the league, it ran through the conference tourney to earn an NCAA tournament bid. Four starters from that squad are back.

X factor: Northern Iowa has had three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins. That streak will continue if the Panthers fill the gaps created by the departures of Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Lucas O'Rear.

Preseason MVP: Doug McDermott, Creighton

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

Lunardi's bracket projection. Creighton picked to win the conference and a 13 seed. He also has Wichita St. in at 12 for the play in round. All in all, it seems like a lot of people are high on the valley this year. I hope we don't dissapoint. It all starts on friday.

If the Jays win the league and live up to expectations, I would be very disappointed if they ended up a double diget seed.

by **SubGod22** » November 10th, 2011, 1:43 pm

Jays26 wrote:
BirdmanBB wrote:http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/preview2011/story/_/id/7215093/king-court-takes-look-nation-season-begins-college-basketball

Missouri Valley Conference: The league hasn't been this strong since 2006, when four schools (Wichita State, Bradley, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois) received NCAA tournament bids. Look for Wichita, Creighton, Indiana State and UNI to all be in the mix this season.

Three teams no one is talking about but should be
1. Iowa State: Royce White, Chris Allen, Melvin Ejim, Scott Christopherson, Tyrus McGee … consider this your warning, Big 12.
2. Oregon: Success depends on Tony Woods and Olu Ashaolu down low.
3. Creighton: Can Doug McDermott lead the Bluejays back to the NCAA tournament?

-nice pic of Doug in the article too.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7211292/what-expect-mid-majors-2011-12-college-basketball

Missouri Valley
My pick: Creighton

Creighton is stacked, with Doug McDermott on the verge of an All-American campaign in just his second season. He led Creighton in rebounding and scoring as a freshman -- even though he initially had expected to redshirt. Antoine Young is a talented ball handler (2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio) who will steady the BlueJays in a tough conference.

Contenders: Wichita State won the NIT title -- and 29 games overall, a record for the program -- last season. The Shockers lost All-MVC player J.T. Durley, but the other top contributors return. A solid recruiting class should help them maintain their post as the conference's top offense, too. Forget Indiana State's blowout loss to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Sycamores weren't supposed to be there in the first place. After coaches picked Indiana State to finish in the bottom half of the league, it ran through the conference tourney to earn an NCAA tournament bid. Four starters from that squad are back.

X factor: Northern Iowa has had three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins. That streak will continue if the Panthers fill the gaps created by the departures of Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Lucas O'Rear.

Preseason MVP: Doug McDermott, Creighton

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

Lunardi's bracket projection. Creighton picked to win the conference and a 13 seed. He also has Wichita St. in at 12 for the play in round. All in all, it seems like a lot of people are high on the valley this year. I hope we don't dissapoint. It all starts on friday.

If the Jays win the league and live up to expectations, I would be very disappointed if they ended up a double diget seed.

Those are my exact thoughts on WSU as well as CU. If we finish first and second and play in the finals and have the season that both expect, there's no way in hell that we're 12 and 13 seeds.

by **valleychamp** » November 10th, 2011, 2:28 pm

I'm struggling to see the logic behind Lunardi putting CU as a 13 seed as the conference champ finishing ahead of WSU, yet he has WSU as a 12.

by **SubGod22** » November 10th, 2011, 2:31 pm

valleychamp wrote:I'm struggling to see the logic behind Lunardi putting CU as a 13 seed as the conference champ finishing ahead of WSU, yet he has WSU as a 12.

I think he has WSU winning the conference, CU winning in STL.

by **valleychamp** » November 10th, 2011, 2:35 pm

SubGod22 wrote:
valleychamp wrote:I'm struggling to see the logic behind Lunardi putting CU as a 13 seed as the conference champ finishing ahead of WSU, yet he has WSU as a 12.
I think he has WSU winning the conference, CU winning in STL.

Still doesn't make sense. According to his link, WSU is the absolute last team in the tournament, yet they have a better seed than CU.

by **SubGod22** » November 10th, 2011, 2:39 pm

valleychamp wrote:
SubGod22 wrote:
valleychamp wrote:I'm struggling to see the logic behind Lunardi putting CU as a 13 seed as the conference champ finishing ahead of WSU, yet he has WSU as a 12.
I think he has WSU winning the conference, CU winning in STL.

Still doesn't make sense. According to his link, WSU is the absolute last team in the tournament, yet they have a better seed than CU.

That would be your difference between the last at-large bid and someone who only got in because of the auto bid. It makes perfect sense if he thinks the Valley is that bad. Auto bids won't play in that play in game.

by **WSUbballer** » November 10th, 2011, 4:25 pm

valleychamp wrote:
SubGod22 wrote:
valleychamp wrote:I'm struggling to see the logic behind Lunardi putting CU as a 13 seed as the conference champ finishing ahead of WSU, yet he has WSU as a 12.
I think he has WSU winning the conference, CU winning in STL.

Still doesn't make sense. According to his link, WSU is the absolute last team in the tournament, yet they have a better seed than CU.

As Sub explained, it actually makes total sense. Just because a team is the last at-large in the field, doesn't mean they are worse than the conference's automatic. Remember, just because a team wins in St. Louis, doesn't mean they performed better over the course of the season. Not hard to understand.

Now, this doesn't mean I agree with Lunardi. A preseason bracket is just about as meaningless as his final bracket. It's just a throw of darts. I don't feel WSU will be the best team in the league this year, but that doesn't mean Lunardi agrees. He may also think that CU's non-con may not help them much for an at-large resume.

by **DoubleJayAlum** » November 11th, 2011, 9:07 am

valleychamp wrote:
SubGod22 wrote:
valleychamp wrote:I'm struggling to see the logic behind Lunardi putting CU as a 13 seed as the conference champ finishing ahead of WSU, yet he has WSU as a 12.
I think he has WSU winning the conference, CU winning in STL.

Still doesn't make sense. According to his link, WSU is the absolute last team in the tournament, yet they have a better seed than CU.

It makes sense and a version of it has happened before (2007, the last time the conference got two teams in).

SIU won the regular season title. SIU and Creighton played in the championship game of the tourney and CU won, clinching the autobid. SIU got a higher seed (a four if memory serves) while Creighton got a lower seed.