2024-25 rankings

[Da Coach]

College basketball analyst Bart Torvik posts an early ranking based on the current known rosters of D1 teams, for what it's worth. This will obviously change as more teams add to their rosters.
Bradley is ranked well ahead of the other 11 MVC teams - https://barttorvik.com/trankpre.php

Bradley is ranked # 69.
The next highest MVC teams are Murray State at # 116 and UNI at # 117, and everyone else is way down the list.

69. Bradley
116. Murray State
117. Northern Iowa
165. Belmont
172. Drake
182. Illinois State
193. UIC
217. Valparaiso
224. Evansville
247. SIU
295. Indiana State
308. Missouri State

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

Ultra 1 bid league. Hopefully we won't have to rely on St. Louis.

[egib52]

Ultra 1 bid league. Hopefully we won't have to rely on St. Louis.

Technically if the Valley is a 1 bid league, you always have to rely on StL

[Stevezall]

I see UAB rated very high at #39! Did coach Wardle sign a home and away series with them....if so we should get them at home this year!!!!

[houstonbrave]

I’m pretty sure it was a buy game -we don’t get them to Peoria

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

Technically if the Valley is a 1 bid league, you always have to rely on StL

That's not true at all. The Valley can be a 1 bid league and we can absolutely secure our fate before we go to St. Louis. Of course if we lose it would then turn into a 2 bid league by nature of default. Much like what many thought was going to happen this last year.

My point is, it seems like we are the only team with any type of possibility at an at large. It looks like the Valley is going to have a severely down year.

[egib52]

That's not true at all. The Valley can be a 1 bid league and we can absolutely secure our fate before we go to St. Louis. Of course if we lose it would then turn into a 2 bid league by nature of default. Much like what many thought was going to happen this last year.

My point is, it seems like we are the only team with any type of possibility at an at large. It looks like the Valley is going to have a severely down year.

That doesn't make any sense. You called it an "ultra 1 bid league", thus if it is a 1 bid league, the only one that would go is the automatic qualifier which is the winner of Arch. If we could still go it would be a 2 bid league.

[houstonbrave]

I think our strategy should be to schedule difficult (as much as we can )- not stupid difficult but very challenging. If we have marquis wins then we have hope of an at large but we obviously plan on a valley reg season and tourney win. It’s all we can do to give us the best resume. Every thing else we can’t control.

[egib52]

I think our strategy should be to schedule difficult (as much as we can )- not stupid difficult but very challenging. If we have marquis wins then we have hope of an at large but we obviously plan on a valley reg season and tourney win. It’s all we can do to give us the best resume. Every thing else we can’t control.

As Indiana State showed, unless we can get some road games at tournament teams that we win, our best shot is building a team with depth that can win 3 games in 3 days.

[Stryker]

As Indiana State showed, unless we can get some road games at tournament teams that we win, our best shot is building a team with depth that can win 3 games in 3 days.

Concur. The key being if we want an at-large, not losing to the only good teams on our schedule this year, like Indiana State did.

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

That doesn't make any sense. You called it an "ultra 1 bid league", thus if it is a 1 bid league, the only one that would go is the automatic qualifier which is the winner of Arch. If we could still go it would be a 2 bid league.

It absolutely makes sense. We seem to be the only team even remotely capable of an at large. Our league will be projected to be a 1 bid league. The very low chance of multiple bids doesn't negate the comment. This is very clearly (at least from a projection stand point) the lowest the valley has looked, maybe ever. We have been a (recently) perennial one bid league (whether we like it or not) and this year is further supporting that. The Valley is simply not a multi bid league this year, unless a flukey scenario plays out. It would require us earning our first at large bid in 18 years and losing in the final. The longest of longshots. Right up there with all the other one bid leagues.

[egib52]

It absolutely makes sense. We seem to be the only team even remotely capable of an at large. Our league will be projected to be a 1 bid league. The very low chance of multiple bids doesn't negate the comment. This is very clearly (at least from a projection stand point) the lowest the valley has looked, maybe ever. We have been a (recently) perennial one bid league (whether we like it or not) and this year is further supporting that. The Valley is simply not a multi bid league this year, unless a flukey scenario plays out. It would require us earning our first at large bid in 18 years and losing in the final. The longest of longshots. Right up there with all the other one bid leagues.

My point is your original post called it a one bid league, thus it wouldn't matter what we did prior to StL. If you said the only way the MVC was a 1 bid league unless a team goes nearly undefeated until Sunday in StL, that would be different. Just commenting on what you posted.

[MacabreMob]

69 in ANY ranking for the leader of the MVC is not gonna be enough to get an at-large - period. One bid league - period.

69 does NOT mean "oh, well if they schedule up and win some of those tougher games, then win the conference with no bad losses and make it to championship but lose" blah blah... that would likely not bring a ranking of 69. So based on these rankings - it is exactly what it looks like - a one bid league - period.

Now if anyone wants to change the scenario and suggest a team schedules up and wins some big games, etc... bringing a ranking into the Top 50 - THEN it MIGHT be a two bid league.

[Da Coach]

The MVC is not going to be as good this coming season. It's hard to replace as many of the top talented players as the MVC lost and remain as competitive.
15 of the 16 players on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd All-MVC teams will not be returning in 2024-25 (Duke Deen is the only one who is).
But teams have done a pretty good job of refilling their rosters, and the drop-off won't be as big as it could have been. We should hear about more commitments to MVC schools in the next few days.

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

69 in ANY ranking for the leader of the MVC is not gonna be enough to get an at-large - period. One bid league - period.

69 does NOT mean "oh, well if they schedule up and win some of those tougher games, then win the conference with no bad losses and make it to championship but lose" blah blah... that would likely not bring a ranking of 69. So based on these rankings - it is exactly what it looks like - a one bid league - period.

Now if anyone wants to change the scenario and suggest a team schedules up and wins some big games, etc... bringing a ranking into the Top 50 - THEN it MIGHT be a two bid league.

Amen. You can't say the league won't be a one bid league based off of the extraordinarily low probability of it happening. We are what we are and the Valley is what it is. I'm not sure why there's so many who take such offense to the realities of the situation. The Valley is going to have a ROUGH year next year. Hopefully we shine.