Southern Illinois wins big over Henderson State. Wichitan Jack Crowder scored 12 points in 17 minutes. Tony Freeman started and scored six points in 22 minutes.
Evansville handles Hanover. Northern Iowa over Upper Iowa.
Bradley was supposed to scrimmage DePaul today. Drake and UMKC also supposed to practice behind closed doors.
ST. LOUIS – The Northern Iowa men and the Creighton women start 2009-10 as the preseason favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Voting by coaches, media and sports information directors make the Panthers the men’s favorite for the first time since 2005-06. The Creighton women are picked first for the first time since 2002-03.
Wichita State’s men were picked fifth. The Shocker women are ninth.
Men’s poll
Team (First-place votes) Total
1. Northern Iowa (38) 389
2. Creighton (1) 336
3. Illinois State 299
4. Southern Illinois 272
5. Wichita State 216
6. Bradley 208
7. Indiana State 173
8. Drake 105
9. Missouri State 92
10 Evansville 55
Preseason all-conference
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, G, Northern Iowa
Osiris Eldridge, G, Illinois State
Tony Freeman, G, Southern Illinois
Adam Koch, F, Northern Iowa
P’Allen Stinnett, G, Creighton
Josh Young, G, Drake
Honorable mention: Kevin Dillard, G, Southern Illinois; Clevin Hannah, G, Wichita State; Jake Kelly, G, Indiana State; Sam Maniscalco, G, Bradley, Toure Murry, G, Wichita State
Women’s poll
Team (first-place votes) Total
1. Creighton (34) 393
2. Illinois State (6) 340
3. Drake 296
4. Northern Iowa 253
5. Indiana State 250
6. Bradley 214
7. Missouri State 188
8. Evansville 108
9. Wichita State 97
10. Southern Illinois 61
I was more impressed than I expected by the Panthers. I don’t think they have a star, but they go at least eight deep and maybe 10. You can win a lot of games with that many good players. Everybody knows what to do and when to do it. They can give small teams problem with Eglseder and Koch. Rodenberg looks like a player who can really help inside. Might UNI be better with him instead of Eglseder? I can see Rodenberg’s minutes increasing. That appears to be very solid three-man combo in the lane. Lucas O’Rear is not tall, but he can play inside as well. I don’t see the Panthers as a challenger to Creighton or Illinois State for the MVC title. They could finish in the upper half easily. The win at SIU balances out a home loss to Indiana State. Read More »
The MVC coaches call covered the expected topics: 1) Valley RPI, 2) Injuries and semester additions and 3) “We’re still learning.” Read More »
Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall is still battling a sinus condition. I always wonder what affect a coach’s health has on a team. It is one of those things that shouldn’t matter, but perhaps it does. Players, especially young players, take all kinds of cues from their coaches, probably ones they don’t even realize. Factor in WSU’s losses in Texas? Maybe. Maybe not. Read More »
The John Beilein way gets another big win. We don’t need to make excuses for Wichita State, but it’s worth considering that playing against the changing defenses early in the season is a chore, whether you are UCLA or WSU. It reminds me of last season’s loss to Monmouth, which presented similar challenges last season in the Virgin Islands. At some point, WSU has to be able to beat those teams regardless of the degree of difficulty in preparing and adjusting.
- Illinois State plays three games in three days, a bench-busting scenario that seems to be more prominent on schedules recently.
- Duke blows out SIU late in New York. I thought SIU looked competitive for about 30 minutes. The final score doesn’t help the MVC’s rep. I saw nothing to make me think the Salukis won’t be a big factor in the MVC race. Now they get to play UCLA tonight.
- Sean Ogirri is off to a slow start at Wyoming.
Steve Pivovar of the Omaha World-Herald called Saturday to ask if I had called the Creighton Bluejays “soft” in a recent story. I did not remember writing that word. I picked the Bluejays first in the MVC, as did everyone else, and remembered pointing out their depth, their talented guards and their inexperienced big men. Read More »
The Shockers open the season today (Sunday) and I don’t think anybody knows what to expect. There is reason to believe WSU will be better. At this point, it’s largely faith in coach Gregg Marshall’s resume and numbers. There is also reason to believe the season will go through plenty of rough spots.
My guess: 17-13, 9-9 MVC. That’s wildly optimistic for a team that returns one starter from a ninth-place finisher. Read More »