MVCfans.com

Who ya got?

Drake
Loyola
Indiana St
Illinois St

Probably Loyola, Bradley, Drake, and Evansville. I think the first 3 teams are just too young, and Evansville is playing for Marty's job which isn't a good sign. I also wouldn't be surprised to see one of the ISUs replace one of those teams in the bottom four as well.

Teams that can't possibly finish in the bottom 4 barring some sort of terrible tragedy no one wishes on any other sports team:
Wichita State
Northern Iowa

Teams that definitely shouldn't finish in the bottom 4 but have history that prevents me from putting them in category 1:
Evansville

Teams that could finish anywhere but no one in their right mind has a clue where that might be:
Missouri State
Illinois State
Indiana State
Southern Illinois
Bradley

Teams that should finish in the bottom 4, but have a slim chance of avoiding due to variances in categories 2 and 3:
Drake

Teams that can't possibly finish higher than the bottom 4 barring some sort of miraculous season that everyone should laud:
Loyola (the one in Chicago)

Strongly suspect Drake, Loyola and Indiana State will be three of the four.
The fourth Thursday team is more of a crapshoot, but whichever of Illinois State, SIU and Bradley gets the least from their large crop of newcomers will probably also play Thursday.

Is everyone banking on isub due to odum leaving? Since Lansing has been there they have always had a winning record. It could happen but many seem to think its a foregone conclusion

jackwagon wrote:Is everyone banking on isub due to odum leaving? Since Lansing has been there they have always had a winning record. It could happen but many seem to think its a foregone conclusion

Don't see enough dynamic players on Indiana State, particularly in the backcourt and on the wing, to excel in an improved MVC this season. A core of Smith, Kitchell and Gant is pretty underwhelming. Maybe Smith can take a large step forward this year; he'll need to unless there are newcomers ready to play at a high MVC level off the bat, which is not something you want to count on.

I'd say Drake, Loyola, Indiana St, Bradley.

I'm only confident about WSU, UNI, Evansville, and Missouri State, though.

siudawgs wrote:

jackwagon wrote:Is everyone banking on isub due to odum leaving? Since Lansing has been there they have always had a winning record. It could happen but many seem to think its a foregone conclusion

Don't see enough dynamic players on Indiana State, particularly in the backcourt and on the wing, to excel in an improved MVC this season. A core of Smith, Kitchell and Gant is pretty underwhelming. Maybe Smith can take a large step forward this year; he'll need to unless there are newcomers ready to play at a high MVC level off the bat, which is not something you want to count on.

I would think that Smith/Kitchell/Grant is one of the better returning front courts in the conference. The back court is underwhelming, certainly, but Indiana State, to me, should be fine. They don't have as high a ceiling, but they have enough pieces to not fall completely apart. Speculation into Bradley, SIU, and Ill. St are all based on potential. All three of them could completely fall of the map.

I'd pick Bradley, Loyola, and Drake to play on Thursday. WSU and UNI to avoid…The other five teams are all at high risk.

The Thursday night race is shaping up to be an exciting time.