MVCfans.com

We thank everyone for their active participation on this site for the past 4 years. As we start our 5th season, it is time to start looking ahead to the 2014-15 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season with our user vote to rank the MVC teams. We will work in reverse order, predicting the 10th place finisher this week and concluding with the predicted MVC champion chosen by our users between the last two teams remaining in week 9. Following the team rankings, we will vote on the individual awards and compare them to the media selections.

Here are previous MVCfans.com results (predicted / actual):
2010-11: Wichita State / Missouri State
2011-12: Creighton / Wichita State
2012-13: Creighton / Creighton
2013-14: Wichita State / Wichita State

Week 1 - Who will finish in 10th place during the 2014-15 MVC mens basketball season?
-You are choosing the team that you believe will finish in last place for this regular season.
Poll open until the evening of Monday, September 1.

Looks like Loyola recruit Marlon Jones didn't qualify academically and won't be playing this year.

http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m- ... 14aaa.html

TheDrake wrote:Looks like Loyola recruit Marlon Jones didn't qualify academically and won't be playing this year.

http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m- ... 14aaa.html

That's a big blow! He was a top 150 type of player at a position that Loyola needed help.

That's going to hurt.

Did we skip the voting for 11th? I have a candidate.

Awesome! When I was a kid Thanksgiving was exciting because it started the countdown to Christmas break, this poll begins my countdown to BASKETBALL!

Wufan wrote:

TheDrake wrote:Looks like Loyola recruit Marlon Jones didn't qualify academically and won't be playing this year.

http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m- ... 14aaa.html

That's a big blow! He was a top 150 type of player at a position that Loyola needed help.

I don't think he was really expected to ever step foot on campus. St. John's was his last hope and when they pulled he picked a hometown team that couldn't pass on him. Hate when you see that happen for both the school and the kid but just as in life when things seem to good to be true, they usually are.

Marlon may have known and the coaching staff may have known, but I was unaware and expecting him to be a major contributor from day one.

I haven't finalized my preseason MVC power rankings, but I don't think Loyola finishes last.

MVCfans wrote:I haven't finalized my preseason MVC power rankings, but I don't think Loyola finishes last.

In the country? Maybe.

Here's what we know:
1. Loyola was 10-22 last year, 4-14 in the Valley. They finished in 10th place by 2 games in the weakest Valley field in the last 15 years.
2. They have not won a road game since January of 2013 (0-18). They have not exactly played murderers row on the road in that period.
3. Five Loyola players transferred out following last season, and while none of them were All-league, or really even very good, 4 of them were 6'8" or taller. That leaves Loyola with one player on their roster taller than 6'7", and he's a freshman.
4. Porter Moser is their coach. In 5 years coaching in the Valley, Porter has finished as high as 6th, once, 8th, and 10th 3 times. As a coach, in conference games (i.e. games he does not get to choose the opponent) Moser has a career record of 57-111 (.339). If you take out his 3 years in the Sun Belt, it falls to 32-92 (.258).

If Loyola wasn't joking about financing a better athletic department as they joined the Valley, they should probably, you know, hire an Athletic Director, and get started on a coaching search for MBB.