How long before Belmont or Murray State win MVC?

by **mvfcfan** » March 23rd, 2022, 5:38 pm

Regular season or tournament championship count for this poll. So what's your expectation?

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by **valleydays** » March 23rd, 2022, 7:08 pm

3-5 sounds about right since it could be either. Murray State looks to be headed for at least a partial rebuild and Belmont couldn't win the OVC this year. Both have shown their down periods are few, and they both understand that they won't be able to win here with no less than at least pretty close to their best.

by **BCPanther** » March 23rd, 2022, 7:22 pm

Belmont loses like their top 6 guys. That's a pretty strong rebuild.

by **Campbellproud** » March 23rd, 2022, 8:33 pm

BCPanther wrote:Belmont loses like their top 6 guys. That's a pretty strong rebuild.

Ouch. That’s gonna hurt.

I think a few years sounds about right. Murray lost their coach and Belmont it looks like lost their team. Add to that joining a more competitive league with more travel, and that’s a big adjustment period for those two teams, as it would be on any team joining under those circumstances. But I expect them to be more or less competitive right away. It’s a hard league to win in a year like this where the top half could and did beat other teams in the top half every week. They will never run the table in the MVC like they are used to doing in the OVC, but I imagine once they get their bearings like will remain top programs in the league.

by **SalukiWorld** » March 23rd, 2022, 11:01 pm

I think Murray seems to recruit to an MVC level already or potentially above it. They might lose a lot this offseason but can also reload quickly via the transfer portal. Depends on the new coach obviously.

Think Belmont needs to get more athletic to compete in the MVC than they have been in the OVC. They got bullied a lot by the more athletic teams like Morehead State and Murray when I watched them this year. Reminds me a bit of what SIU is going through with a bit more shooting talent on Belmont.

by **Adunk33** » March 24th, 2022, 9:20 am

Unfortunately, Murray lost their coach at a bad time. Top two players seem to be gone as well.

I think both can come in next season and finish top half due to how weak the bottom is (Evansville, Indy State, UIC, are locks for 10-12). There will be a pretty significant log jam in the middle. I see a ton of parity in a wide open league next year.

by **Majik45** » March 25th, 2022, 7:53 am

There are a lot of teams losing a lot of players for next year. It's going to be a wide open MVC race.

by **Drakey** » March 29th, 2022, 9:01 am

I would like to change my vote. I didn't realize Murray was going to be a first year program.

by **BEARZ77** » March 29th, 2022, 10:39 am

Majik45 wrote:There are a lot of teams losing a lot of players for next year. It's going to be a wide open MVC race.

I agree; right now I wouldn't know who to make a favorite out of until we see rosters solidify more. Could look very different in a couple months based on portal movement either way .

by **05Racer** » March 30th, 2022, 9:51 am

Can't speak to Belmont's situation, but Murray has had all but one scholarship player enter the transfer portal, so it's looking rather bad. Prohm may be able to recruit a decent roster out of the transfer portal but the lack of continuity will decimate attendance. We've had this happen before when Cronin left in 06 and it was not until four seasons later that we won the OVC, and the conference was even weaker then before Belmont came in. This is not the OVC, so I'll say five or more years for us. Belmont it's hard to tell but since coming to D1 they've lived off their system and their coach. Rick Byrd anticipated the importance of the three point shot before most of the basketball world. Now everybody is shooting two dozen three pointers a game and Rick Byrd is retired so I can't say I'm terribly optimistic about them either.