MVCfans.com

Each week we will open a poll for users to predict the end of season finish for the MVC 2014-15 basketball season. We will work in reverse order, concluding with the predicted MVC champion chosen by our users between the last two teams remaining in week 9.

Drake was selected as the 9th place finisher (results: posting.php?mode=edit&f=2&p=79500 )

Week 3 - Who will finish in 8th place during the 2014-15 MVC mens basketball season?
-You are choosing the team that you believe will finish in 8th place for this regular season. Poll open until Monday, September 15.


Official MVCfans.com - Predictions:
10th Place - Loyola
9th Place - Drake
8th Place - .....

I think that the team that finishes here will be pretty disappointed with their season. Maybe Bradley finishes here and expects it, but I think Ford plays for his job and earns his salary this year. I think a team that expects to finish 3-5 slides into this spot.

Given how some of these recent seasons have played out the team in this spot may end up being only a game or two away from a Top 4 finish. This wouldn't surprise me in the least.

With the injuries continuing to pile up on Bradley, I'd like to change my vote.

Not a good year for Geno to get unlucky with injuries. He needs all hands on deck to save his job.

Not much love for ISUB.

I am not in that club.

I understand the thought that ISUB will be down, but they aren't total stiffs.

Gant and Smith are both really good. Kitchell and Brown are very serviceable.

Beyond that who knows? Certainly they don't appear to be a team that's likely to weather some injuries but otherwise, unless all the kids are stiffs, I think they'll be more competitive than the norm seems to think.

Going with Bradley for 8th & Illinois State up next for 7th. These two spots could easily flip and 7-10 could be filled with any of these four teams. I agree with Ricardo, ISU Blue will not be in the bottom four and most likely will finish in the top half.

Indiana State without Odum is like Moby without Dick.

I have a lot of, apparently misplaced, faith in Ford's ability to put a winner on the court. I'm going to go with that one more year before I totally give up on him. I mean, how can a guy be that good in the MAC and then, to use a Gordon Ramsey term, suck bollocks in the mVC?

With the talent Bradley has on their roster this year they should not be an 8th place team. The big question though is how the newcomers will transition to D1 and how they will play as a team.

Cdizzle wrote:With the injuries continuing to pile up on Bradley, I'd like to change my vote.

Not a good year for Geno to get unlucky with injuries. He needs all hands on deck to save his job.

Luckily there haven't been any significant season-ending type injuries though. Most of these guys should be ready to go once the season starts.

ptownbraves wrote:With the talent Bradley has on their roster this year they should not be an 8th place team. The big question though is how the newcomers will transition to D1 and how they will play as a team.

Cdizzle wrote:With the injuries continuing to pile up on Bradley, I'd like to change my vote.

Not a good year for Geno to get unlucky with injuries. He needs all hands on deck to save his job.

Luckily there haven't been any significant season-ending type injuries though. Most of these guys should be ready to go once the season starts.

I understand. But when you have a team of (seemingly) talented newcomers, one of the most important parts of their season is the 3 months prior to the start of games. They need to practice, learn, and get a feel for each other. That part isn't happening, which can kill a group of newcomers. It can also lead to a team that absolutely tanks the non-con and is a significantly tougher out come conference season, which poses a real problem to a league whose at-large candidates are fighting an uphill battle.

Also, while these injuries haven't been season-ending, they have been the type that tend to linger or reoccur. Hopefully that isn't the case for any of Bradley's players, but it's another factor to consider.

I'm pulling for Bradley. I was a fan of the Ford hire, and I still want to be. But I beat the Bradley drum all off-season last year and they burned me real bad. Bradley, to me, is the key to the Valley ever gaining a consistent meaningful presence on the national scene. WSU and Bradley have always had the resources to be a consistent winner if they ever put it together. WSU finally has. Bradley needs to.