Primarily a collection of news links about all 12 Missouri Valley League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
It's time for the Braves to ascend to the top of the Missouri Valley — and
become one of the best mid-major teams in the process. Brian Wardle, in this
his 10th season in Peoria, Illinois, has his best team. And consider:
Bradley ranked 64th at KenPom last season.
Thanks to returning much of his roster (led by point guard Duke Deen and 5-man Darrius Hannah), Wardle can rely on veteran experience and
a locker room with great chemistry. The Braves have to overcome losing their
leading scorer (Connor Hickman) and best defender (Malevy Lyons), but seem to have most boxes checked for
a mid-major darling. Great size, culture established, good guard play,
capable 3-point shooting. The Braves have two MVC tourney championships
under Wardle but just one NCAA appearance because 2020 was ripped
away. Drake had been the Cinderella candidate in the Valley in recent years, and
now Bradley should take that mantle.
80. Northern Iowa
Ben Jacobson has been ping-ponging between good and bad seasons for almost a
decade. Here's UNI's win totals, starting in 2016 and up through last
season: 23, 14, 16, 16, 25, 10, 20, 14, 19. The Panthers haven't won at
least 19 games in back-to-back seasons since their two most recent NCAA
Tournament showings in 2015/16. While
Bradley
is clearly the preseason No. 1 in the MVC, Northern Iowa is a fair pick to
finish second — and have its best two-year push since 2016. Well-rounded
power wing
Tytan Anderson
and 6-4 point guard
Trey Campbell
will guide the way in Cedar Falls.
Over the past 20 years, with only a few exceptions, the MVC has placed at
least three teams in the top 100 of a variety of metrics by season's end. I
think 2025 will sustain the pattern. I've got Bradley in the top 50, Northern Iowa 16 spots north of this, and now we welcome the Murray State Racers
back into the top-100 club.
The team is one of my picks for one of the biggest turnarounds in the sport.
Steve Prohm's program won only 12 games last season. So, why so much faith?
Eight juniors and seniors will take up the entirety of the rotation, with a
reasonable expectation that this will be a top-two defense in the Valley. At
the 1 is JaCobi Wood, who won't exactly be Ja Morant, but I think he's poised to be one of only
a handful of guys in D-I to average 15/5/5. If it all comes together, he
could do that and creep up on 40% shooting from 3-point range.
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