Mpst every body is pikoing REDBIRDS to beat us out of MVC title and the NCAA bid !! I disagree--WHY ?? Redbirds will at sometime in season revert to lack of discipline and go PLAYGROUND--Has happened a lot

Again,WE HAVE SO MANY GUNS !!

Wait what? lol. Most publications have Loyola winning the MVC. The Lindy’s magazine I picked up today dubs the Ramblers 18th. Loyola garnered 29 1st place votes to ISU’s 10 in the MVC preseason poll. 70% picked Loyola on MVCFans.

I actually think we are getting too much love. The MVC is going to be stronger than it was last year. In terms of pure talented athletes, I think ISU has more of them than us. If we would have lost in the MVC title game, I think everyone would hsve been picking ISU this year.

Having Clayton, Townes, Krutwig, Williamson and Porter as our coach back from the final four run gives us the big game experience factor that puts us over the edge to be the MVC front runner but with the talent all the other Illinois teams bring back this year, I think winning the Valley this year would be a far bigger accomplishment than winning it last year.

We are on the right track but talent-wise, we are not head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. This is not like when Butler was in the Horizon League and had the best 1 through 5 position players on the court every time they played a conference game. We have undeniably the best point guard and arguably the best center in each conference matchup, but our success is going to depend a lot on how those other three position players perform on a nightly basis.

And there is some pressure on Aher/Negron or whoever else is playing in the Ingram/Jackson position this year. Some unproven talent looking to fill pretty big shoes.

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You both forgot about our secret weapon, Sister Jean. Las Vegas values the Jeanster's halo effect at 3 ppg when figuring the spread.

And Vegas also is taking into account my seat reassignment to nearer the court. Still crunching numbers, but I understand the move is worth another +2 for the Ramblers for its motivational and referee-intimidation value.