ST. LOUIS -- For the first time in 11 seasons, UNI has been picked as the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball race by a voting panel consisting of coaches, sports information directors and media.

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UNI, the defending MVC regular-season champion, was last picked to win the MVC in 2009-10, and the Panthers didn’t disappoint that season, earning a regular-season title with a 15-3 mark.  The Panthers also won the State Farm MVC Tournament that year and then advanced to the Sweet 16 with wins over UNLV and the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Kansas.  Although the Panthers have not been picked to win The Valley since that historic 2009-10 season, it should be noted that UNI has been picked in the league’s upper division every year since, earning NCAA Tournament berths in 2015 and 2016.
 

With a strong group of returning student-athletes and an impressive crop of incoming talent, the league is in a great position to repeat the success of the 2019-20 campaign, which saw as many as six league teams in line for post-season bids before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all post-season events last March.

If last year’s Arch Madness tournament -- the 30th-straight rendition in the city of St. Louis -- is any indication, we can expect a wild and competitive season in 2020-21.

The 2020 State Farm MVC Tournament (one of just 12 NCAA DI conference tournaments completed last March) was the maddest one on record as for the first time in league history the top seed (UNI) and No. 2 seed (Loyola) lost their first games. Drake became the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed, and Valpo became the first league team to reach the State Farm MVC Championship game after playing on Thursday night’s opening round.




Bradley -- picked third in this year’s poll -- won its second-straight MVC Tournament, marking the first time the Braves had won back-to-back league tournament titles.  The Braves join eight others who have defended their MVC Tournament crowns, last accomplished by UNI (2015-2016).  Bradley also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for only the second time in its history and the first time since 1954 and 1955.

The 2019-20 MVC men’s basketball season marked a resurgence for the nation’s second oldest Division I athletics conference as the Missouri Valley Conference finished 11th in the NET rankings as a league, moving up three spots from 2018-19.  Notably, eight of the league’s 10 schools were 162 or better in the final NET rankings. Only three league schools were 162 or better in 2018-19. Led by UNI’s league-best 48 NET ranking last year, five league schools had final NET figures that were better than the league leader in 2018-19 (Loyola was 131 that season.)

Collectively, the league won 71.1 percent of the time at home during league play last season (after winning 90.2 percent of its home games in non-league play). That 71.1 percent winning percentage matches the best in the MVC since 1999-00, and it was the best in the NCAA.



Loyola -- the league’s second choice in this year’s poll -- is led by one of four returning first-team all-MVC selections in Cameron Krutwig.  Last year, he became the first player in the storied history of the MVC to finish a season ranked in the top five in the league in scoring (5th- 15.1), rebounding (2nd- 8.1), assists (3rd- 4.2) and field goal percentage (3rd- .563).  With 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 78-70 victory over Vanderbilt, he became the first Valley center to record a triple double since 1989.

Austin Phyfe and AJ Green of UNI were also repeat first-team picks.  Last year, Green became just the third sophomore to earn the Larry Bird Trophy, presented to the MVC men’s basketball Player of the Year.  Green and Phyfe -- also a sophomore last year -- became the first pair of sophomore teammates to earn selection to the league’s first-team unit since Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet of Wichita State did it in 2014.  

Notably, Green led the league in scoring with his 19.7 average. After scoring the fifth-most points by an MVC freshman in league history in 2019, Green had 610 points this past year and cracked the league’s Top 10 for points for an MVC sophomore. 

Phyfe, meanwhile, led the league in rebounding and field goal shooting, connecting on 67.1 percent of his tries last year.

Tyreke Key of Indiana State also was a first-team all-MVC selection a year ago after averaging a team-high 15.6 points per contest. The fourth-fastest player to join the 1,000-point club in program history, Key sits 16th all time with 1,255 career points scored with a chance to jump into the top-10 -- needing just 200 points.

The final member of this year’s first-team unit is from two-time defending tournament champion Bradley.  The 2019 MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Elijah Childs missed 12 games with an injury last season but still earned second-team all-conference accolades after averaging 14.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He enters his final campaign on campus ranked fifth in school history in career blocks, 14th in career rebounds and 48th in career points.






Pollsters have accurately predicted the league’s regular-season champ six of the past-eight years, but only 18 times out of 35 total since 1985-86.  A total of 30 of those 35 predicted champs have gone on to post-season play, with 21 of those 30 playing in the NCAAs.


BRADLEY
Having lost its chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament due to the global pandemic, there is unfinished business for Bradley in 2020-21. It starts with becoming just the second team in conference history to win three-straight tourney titles and return to NCAA March Madness to show fans what they missed from the Braves in 2020.
The Braves title defense begins with six returning letterwinners and two starters from a season ago. In addition to starter Elijah Childs, Danya Kingsby also returns after starting 25 games in his first season at BU, averaging 7.2 points and 2.1 assists per game. Meanwhile, junior forward Ja’Shon Henry and sophomore guard Ville Tahvanainen look to build on impressive campaigns.

DRAKE
 Drake heads into the 2020-21 season on the heels of back-to-back 20-win seasons for just the third time in program history. The Bulldogs’ 44 wins over the last two seasons mark the fourth winningest two-year era of Drake men’s basketball, and head coach Darian DeVries aims to maintain that momentum heading into his third season at the helm.
The Bulldogs return five of their top seven scorers from a season ago, including Roman Penn, who earned third team All-MVC honors and a spot on the MVC Newcomer team. The point guard led the league in assists with 5.6 per game while scoring 12.0 points per game. D.J. Wilkins, a two-year starter, also returns after averaging nearly nine points per game. 

EVANSVILLE
Head coach Todd Lickliter enters his first full season at the helm of the Purple Aces program and will look to four returners who started 12 or more games last season.  A trio of seniors starters include Evan Kuhlman, Noah Frederking and Sam Cunliffe.  Cunliffe is the top returning scorer after posting 11.2 points per game.  Prior to Lickliter rejoining the team, Kuhlman posted 4.2 PPG, but upped that average to 9.1 over the final stretch of the season.  Junior Jawaun Newton is another who played his best basketball late in the season – in the final 13 games under Coach Lickliter – Newton posted 8.7 PPG after scoring 3.2/game in the first two months of the season.  Six newcomers join the squad including fifth year senior Jax Levitch, who joins UE from UNC Asheville and Samari Curtis – a midyear transfer from Nebraska.

ILLINOIS STATE
The Illinois State Redbirds will look to rebound from a down season a year ago, as the squad returns five players who all started during the year and brings in a talented group of newcomers for the upcoming season. 
Key returners include forward Keith Fisher III (9.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg), All-Freshman team honoree DJ Horne (8.7 ppg, 44 assists), All-Bench team honoree Antonio Reeves (7.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Dedric Boyd (6.1 ppg) and Abdou Ndiaye (1.1 bpg). 
The newcomers to the program for the season include a junior college All-American, a state Co-Player of the Year, a second team All-State honoree and a handful of All-Conference honors. New to the squad include Junior College transfers Josiah Strong, Dusan Mahorcic, and Alex Kotov; and freshmen Howard Fleming Jr., Emon Washington, and Alston Andrews.

INDIANA STATE
Eleventh-year head coach Greg Lansing returns a wealth of experience from last season’s 18-12 team, including first-team All-MVC selection Tyreke Key. The Sycamores will also look for forward Jake LaRavia to continue his upward trends following a strong freshman campaign.  LaRavia earned a spot on this year’s pre-season Second Team after being named to the league’s All-Newcomer and All-Freshman teams a year ago.
Lansing returns seven letterwinners from a year ago, including four starters. Cooper Neese (7.3 PPG) and Tre Williams (7.2 PPG) join Key and LaRavia while the Sycamores will also have Cam Bacote, Cobie Barnes and Keon Sellers returning. ISU added seven newcomers, including two graduate transfers in Tobias Howard Jr. (Towson) and Randy Miller Jr. (North Carolina Central). 

LOYOLA
 Loyola has a veteran squad that returns all five starters, all of whom are seniors, led by Krutwig.
Redshirt senior Tate Hall earned Third Team All-MVC accolades last year in his first year in Division I, while senior guard Keith Clemons was a steadying influence running the offense and wound up contributing 10.4 ppg for the year.  He finished strong, racking up 14.3 ppg over the final seven games. 
A pair of defensive stalwarts round of the crop of returning Loyola starters – guard Lucas Williamson, a 2020 MVC All-Defensive Team pick, and forward Aher Uguak.  Moser will have great depth, which includes the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in Marquise Kennedy, transfer Braden Norris (Oakland) and sharpshooting Cooper Kaifes, who missed last year due to a hip injury.

MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State will have a new-look team for head coach Dana Ford in 2020-21, with just three letterwinners returning from last year.  Gaige Prim, a second-team pre-season all-MVC pick this year, averaged 13.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game despite being hampered with a leg injury.  Prim -- the league’s top scoring newcomer a year ago -- was a member of the MVC’s All-Newcomer Team last year as well as a third-team all-league choice.
He’s joined by fellow returning letterwinners Isiaih Mosley and Ja’Monta Black.  Mosley started 10 games last year -- all in league play -- and averaged 10.4 points per game against Conference opponents.  Black started 20 games in his first season at Missouri State, contributing 5.3 points per game in league play.

NORTHERN IOWA
The Panthers will look to improve on the successful 2019-20 season after finishing with a 25-6 overall record.  Despite an early exit at Arch Madness, the Panthers had resume-building wins during the non-conference portion of the schedule, as they defeated South Carolina on a neutral site game at the Cancun Challenge and beat #23 Colorado on the road. UNI finished with a 14-4 mark in MVC play, winning the regular season title.   UNI’s 2020 men’s basketball title marks the third regular-season crown for the Panthers (2009, 2010, 2020).  
In addition to Green and Phyfe, UNI will have standout perimeter shooter and 2020 All-MVC Most Improved team member Trae Berhow back for his senior season as well as 2018 All-Freshman team member Tywhon Pickford.  Noah Carter and Antwan Kimmons each provided a spark last season for the league’s defending regular-season champs.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Two Saluki newcomers led the team as true freshmen last year. Marcus Domask was named the league’s Newcomer and Freshman of the Year, and he was also named to the All-MVC Second Team. Alongside Domask, guard Lance Jones had a great freshman year, averaging 9.3 points and 2.5 assists. 
Trent Brown, also a freshman in 2019-20, returns to the rotation after playing in all 32 games.  This year’s group of newcomers includes Ben Harvey, a transfer from Eastern Illinois who was a double-digit scorer there in 2018-19. In the post, SIU turns to J.D. Muila and Anthony D’Avanzo.  Muila was rated the No. 24 junior college player in the country while D’Avanzo is a grad transfer from DII Lewis College.  Jakolby Long also joins the SIU program.  He started his career at Iowa State and is a grad transfer from Southern Utah.

VALPARAISO
Last March, Valpo made its first conference championship game appearance since 2015, doing so after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll.
Three letterwinners from last year’s team departed, but the bulk of the squad remains intact as 11 returnees will join forces with six newcomers.  After scoring in double figures just once over his first seven games as a freshman, Donovan Clay hit that mark in 18 of the next 28 games. The sophomore is Valpo’s leading returning scorer and rebounder with averages of 9.4 and 4.6, respectively. He earned MVC All-Freshman Team honors a year ago. 
Senior Mileek McMillan and Clay lead a group of four returning starters that also includes Nick Robinson and junior point guard Daniel Sackey. In addition, sophomore Ben Krikke played a key role off the bench, and Eron Gordon was one of the team’s top three-point threats.