The Ramblers were picked 7th in the preseason poll.

1. Wichita State (37) 413
2. Illinois State (4) 356
3. UNI (1) 348
4. Missouri State 278
5. Southern Illinois 228
6. Indiana State 219
7. Loyola 179
8. Bradley 110
9. Evansville 106
10. Drake 73

http://cdn.streamlinetechnologies.com/m ... 20Poll.pdf

This matches with the MVCfans.com polling. I still can't help but think that Loyola will be better than 7th this year in a league that should be pretty wild in that 4th through 7th (or 8th) tier. I really think we should be better than MSU, SIU, and Indiana State.

Thoughts?

I think we should at least be good enough to split with those three teams. The keys are avoiding a clunker loss (especially at home) and maybe getting a win or two vs Wichita, UNI, ISUr. It's asking a lot, but if you win 5 games vs Bradley, Drake, Evansville; split with the three you mentioned; and get a steal or two, that's a 10 win season, which puts you in the mix for a 4th or 5th place finish.

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If I were to make this list I would just swap us and Southern.

Objectively I can understand it. I doubt many voting actually saw the amount of wide open shots this team missed last year. Our whole team seemed to be in a shooting slump, and i expect that to even out somewhat this year. There's no way zone defense can be as effective as it was last season.

We will feature 7 new players, at least 5 of whom will be need to be heavily relied upon and we have no proven post presence (hopefully this has been remedied for years to come with next years recruits). From the outside looking in losing Montel is huge; he was unstoppable in some games. I've probably even discounted the impact his absence could have. Turk/Peterson are also big losses outsiders can point to.

While we don't have a Montel I think our bigs will do a better job helping to space the floor out and open room for the drive. Furthermore Granic and Kirby will also offer more viable depth than we had last year behind our starters (it hurts now to remember we lost Andres...that front court would likely be a force).

All that said I look at this team very favorably to the CBI team with a strong crop of Juniors, a senior with something to prove, undersized front court, and a lot of new talent. I think the team we see in November will be vastly different than what we see in February. As for the MVC I'm extremely high on Missouri State. I think they could be this years Evansville and put up a lot of points and surprise some in the league.

Long of the short: I got Ramblers 5th. But understand outside questions.

I agree with Blers about swapping SIU and Loyola. I don't know how SIU is going to finish better than 6th after losing Anthony Beane AND Bola Olaniyan. You don't just replace the league's 2nd best rebounder and 2nd best scorer, especially since the whole offense and defense were keyed off those two guys. Yes, Sean O'Brien is a good player, Leo Vincent is pretty good, Mike Rodriquez is quick, and Tyler Smithpeters can go for 15 points or so when he's hot, but those guys are not going to carry a team to a .500 record in a league with Wichita State, UNI, and Illinois State-- plus Bradley is on the brink of getting pretty good, and Missouri State might be a handful. Loyola lost to SIU at home by 10 (with Beane/Olaniyan combining for 34 of SIU's 72 points) and LU beat SIU by 14 in Carbondale last year even with Beene and Olaniyan. Just where are the wins for a top half finish going to come from after losing their top scorer and rebounder?

I think the high rating for SIU comes from respect for Barry Hinson. The low appraisal of Loyola comes from consistent inconsistency, and a low opinion of Moser around the league. Since LU has been in the MVC, there have been two years where the team has finished below expectations and one where they came out above. Injuries at key times to Doyle, Montel James, Earl Peterson, Jeff White, etc. and a revolving door in the frontcourt haven't helped.

You're preaching to the choir JCT. I agree on all counts. I like Rodriguez a lot for SIU, and O'Brien is certainly a work horse; but after that the most I hear about them is they have a really talented shot blocker out of JUCO; Thik Bol? I didn't realize Bola was second in rebounds either. Ouch. I think 8-10 is a likely conference record for them.

I also would understand outsiders unwillingness to bet on Doyle; this team goes as far as he takes them; and injuries have always hampered him. Given what we know this season that doesn't seem to be the case anymore and we have a much clearer picture of him. The added 10 pounds alone are going to be huge.

Worth noting that Moser talked at length about Custer at MVC Media day and how he'll help allow Milton play off ball. He also spoke about Jackson giving a lot of toughness down low.

He gave high praise to Matt Chastain, so it sounds like he will be playing a lot for us this coming year; but more surprisingly he talked about Bruno Skokna as someone who can contribute greatly to the offense as a point guard. I remember Ahunte noting that Bruno came up at the Tip-Off luncheon. To me he's been the biggest mystery since there wasn't much recruiting info on him and he was injured at the open practice; having him show up as a talented guard would be huge.

Here's the link for MVC Media Day if anyone's interested. We go on at the 44 minute mark!
http://www.espn.com/watchespn/player/_/id/2912347/