MVCfans.com

Each week we will open a poll for users to predict the end of season finish for the MVC 2016-17 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.

Southern Illinois was recently selected as the likely 6th place finisher (results: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4518 )

Week 6 - Who will finish in 5th place during the 2016-17 MVC mens basketball season?
-You are choosing the team that you believe will finish in 5th place for this regular season. Poll open until Monday, October 3.


Official MVCfans.com - Predictions:
10th Place - Drake
9th Place - Evansville
8th Place - Bradley
7th Place - Loyola
6th Place - Southern Illinois
5th Place - .....

I personally foresee Indiana State finishing lower than this (7th). I know they have Brenton Scott and it seems like they're losing a lot; and i haven't heard much hype about what they have coming in. I've always looked at Lansing as similar to Moser in how he emphasizes defense, but at times the offense can disappear. I'm curious to hear what Tree fans have to say!

I must say I've enjoyed the budding rivalry between LU and the sycamores post Arch Madness 2015. I know that loss took a toll on the Sycamores and it was a primary motivating factor during the last offseason. The double OT game at Gentile last season was easily one of the most fun games I've attended.

This seems like the right spot for ISUB if you ask me. They have more pieces to the puzzle than Loyola or Southern Illinois. They also don't have the upside that MSU has. I could see MSU finishing on Thursday, but if their talent comes together they could contend. Kendrix, Dixon, Miller, and Church were all impressive underclassmen last year.

As for ISU I think beyond having one of the best 3-5 players in the league I am intrigued by their front court. Murphy and Rickman were thrown to the wolves with the Bell injury last year and showed some promise. With Bell returning that is 3 good sized bigs to work with. Bunschoten (sp?) had some impressive games down the stretch and will play a lot at the 4. Having Bronson Kessinger added to the fold there will help as well.

Blers wrote:I personally foresee Indiana State finishing lower than this (7th). I know they have Brenton Scott and it seems like they're losing a lot; and i haven't heard much hype about what they have coming in. I've always looked at Lansing as similar to Moser in how he emphasizes defense, but at times the offense can disappear. I'm curious to hear what Tree fans have to say!

I must say I've enjoyed the budding rivalry between LU and the sycamores post Arch Madness 2015. I know that loss took a toll on the Sycamores and it was a primary motivating factor during the last offseason. The double OT game at Gentile last season was easily one of the most fun games I've attended.

The Trees really are an unknown at this point. So it's not surprising people think they will finish lower than predicted. I think they will finish anywhere from 4-6. Lansing has kept all of his teams out of Thursday games (No matter how bad they might have played at times) except for 2012 but if you remember that was a crazy year bc we had all the middle teams in a tie and it came down to a missed basket for us against Creighton bc a miss sent us to 7th place and a make would of put us at 3rd. So I believe Sycamores will stay out of Thursday games again this year. Obviously B. Scott is our best player but what most MVC fans might not realize we are one of the more deeper frontcourt teams. The player we would be talking about would be Kessinger but if you are not aware his senior year he was pushed on a breakaway dunk and broke his leg (Same injury as Kevin Ware and Paul George) so he missed half his senior year and redshirted last year for rehabbing. He is back to full strength now but the question remains is can he get back to basketball shape and show the potential we all saw about 2 years ago. We also get Bell back as he missed all of last year bc of Achilles. So with that said all the attention is focused on Barnes I believe. True freshman PG who will see the floor as backup to Clemons. There's also Franklin who is an athletic scorer I'm hearing but he is a juco so we will see if he hits that wall when conference play hits. Niels and Van Scyoc were inconsistent last year for there first full year with us so we are hoping they will be consistent this year. You are correct about Lansing and the reason why the offense disappears is because guys sometimes stop moving the ball and we don't know how to feed the post at times. Lansing gives the guys a lot of freedom on the offense end so it usually ends in somebody make a play (good or bad). It's just players out there playing and reading the defense. The games have been fun between us other than that butt whooping we got as you said. That double OT game from a basketball fan perspective was exciting but from a Sycamore perspective I wanted to pull what little hair I had left out. I think Lansing is a great X's and O's coach but his recruiting is limited by his resources which isn't a lot. Not every sycamore fan may feel this way but just my opinion.

Appreciate the report jturner38! I've heard that your front court may end up being a strength but haven't heard much specifically, so that clears it up somewhat for me! I'm sure i'd be pulling my hair out as well if the ball bounced the other way in the 2OT game. The fact that your team fought back back from 10 down in the closing minutes probably shaved a few years off my life.

I'm curious as to who the second threat will be next year, if there is someone as of now that is. Obviously Scott will be leading the offense, but who does he defer to when he doesn't get good looks? Clemons is clearly an all grit player, his rebounding is INSANE for his size; but I've read he's not an offensive powerhouse. Thoughts?

I voted Illinois State here...apparently. I meant Indiana State.

Blers wrote:Appreciate the report jturner38! I've heard that your front court may end up being a strength but haven't heard much specifically, so that clears it up somewhat for me! I'm sure i'd be pulling my hair out as well if the ball bounced the other way in the 2OT game. The fact that your team fought back back from 10 down in the closing minutes probably shaved a few years off my life.

I'm curious as to who the second threat will be next year, if there is someone as of now that is. Obviously Scott will be leading the offense, but who does he defer to when he doesn't get good looks? Clemons is clearly an all grit player, his rebounding is INSANE for his size; but I've read he's not an offensive powerhouse. Thoughts?

Judging by JC numbers and reports Donovan Franklin is the best candidate to be Scott's sidekick this season, Barnes in the future.

I'm going with Indiana State here because it is the last team left that I don't see contending for the championship. I'm not completely sold on Missouri State's chances, but from everything I've read, they could be a contender. WSU, UNI, and IlSU should all be contending for the title.

Wufan wrote:I voted Illinois State here...apparently. I meant Indiana State.

Blers wrote:Appreciate the report jturner38! I've heard that your front court may end up being a strength but haven't heard much specifically, so that clears it up somewhat for me! I'm sure i'd be pulling my hair out as well if the ball bounced the other way in the 2OT game. The fact that your team fought back back from 10 down in the closing minutes probably shaved a few years off my life.

I'm curious as to who the second threat will be next year, if there is someone as of now that is. Obviously Scott will be leading the offense, but who does he defer to when he doesn't get good looks? Clemons is clearly an all grit player, his rebounding is INSANE for his size; but I've read he's not an offensive powerhouse. Thoughts?

With the lack of front court players last year I think Lansing had to have his guards rebound. Clemons just went up and beyond. His role changes a bit so look for him to score more. He will probably attack the basket and not shoot much. Second threat will be Franklin. I'll be seeing the team scrimmage tomorrow so I will get a glimpse of what the team will look like.