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MVC 2026-2027 predictions

There are exactly 60 days until the first official games of the 2026-27 season (Nov. 2 is the start date).
I've revived this old thread from April because 2026-27 conference previews and picks are starting to appear, and they reflect the uncertainty of predicting college basketball in this era of rampant transfers, NIL, a surge in foreign players. Here are a couple I've seen in the last day or two-
College basketball blogger Demario Hutchinson picks Bradley 6th-
https://twitter.com/x/status/2094999561450250399

This one, Shootyhoops.com, is quite extensive and detailed. He picks Bradley 10th, and does not put a single Bradley player on any of the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd All-MVC teams, nor recognize any BU players or coach with any other postseason award-

Feel free to comment. And, there will be a lot more profiles and picks in the coming couple months, leading up to the official MVC Preseason poll some time in October. I wonder what kind of cheap, abridged version we'll get this year?
Recall that for the first time in history, the MVC only released the top 5 picks last year. Bradley was picked #4-

2025-26 MVC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL (Top-Five)
Illinois State [34] ….. 487
UNI [8] …………...… 442
Murray State [4] ...… 385
Bradley …………….. 370
Belmont ……………. 344
Link- https://mvc-sports.com/news/2025/9/29/mvc-mens-basketball-preseason-special-airs-on-field-of-68.aspx

But also recall that Bradley overachieved and finished the 2025-26 season in 2nd place, ahead of every one of the three teams picked higher than the Braves.-
www.espn.com

Men's College Basketball Standings - 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings - ESPN

Visit ESPN for the complete 2025-26 NCAAM season Missouri Valley Conference standings. Includes winning percentage, home and away record, and current streak.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

If anyone sees any other picks, post them here.
 
Da Coach said:
There are exactly 60 days until the first official games of the 2026-27 season (Nov. 2 is the start date).
I've revived this old thread from April because 2026-27 conference previews and picks are starting to appear, and they reflect the uncertainty of predicting college basketball in this era of rampant transfers, NIL, a surge in foreign players. Here are a couple I've seen in the last day or two-
College basketball blogger Demario Hutchinson picks Bradley 6th-
https://twitter.com/x/status/2094999561450250399

This one, Shootyhoops.com, is quite extensive and detailed. He picks Bradley 10th, and does not put a single Bradley player on any of the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd All-MVC teams, nor recognize any BU players or coach with any other postseason award-

Feel free to comment. And, there will be a lot more profiles and picks in the coming couple months, leading up to the official MVC Preseason poll some time in October. I wonder what kind of cheap, abridged version we'll get this year?
Recall that for the first time in history, the MVC only released the top 5 picks last year. Bradley was picked #4-

2025-26 MVC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL (Top-Five)
Illinois State [34] ….. 487
UNI [8] …………...… 442
Murray State [4] ...… 385
Bradley …………….. 370
Belmont ……………. 344
Link- https://mvc-sports.com/news/2025/9/29/mvc-mens-basketball-preseason-special-airs-on-field-of-68.aspx

But also recall that Bradley overachieved and finished the 2025-26 season in 2nd place, ahead of every one of the three teams picked higher than the Braves.-
www.espn.com

Men's College Basketball Standings - 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings - ESPN

Visit ESPN for the complete 2025-26 NCAAM season Missouri Valley Conference standings. Includes winning percentage, home and away record, and current streak.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

If anyone sees any other picks, post them here.
Click to expand...
Shooty also does a viewer poll that shows this result

1 Murray State
2 Illinois State
3 Belmont
4 UIC
5 Valpo
6 Bradley
7 InSU
8 Evansville
9 Drake
10 UNI
11 SIU
 
yoda said:
Shooty also does a viewer poll that shows this result

1 Murray State
2 Illinois State
3 Belmont
4 UIC
5 Valpo
6 Bradley
7 InSU
8 Evansville
9 Drake
10 UNI
11 SIU
Click to expand...
Yeah, when I saw his article, that "viewer poll" was based one single person's entry.
To be honest, I am not at all bothered by anyone who picks Bradley 10th or 11th. In fact, I'm not surprised because of the mass turnover of talent, and the fact that so few of the new Bradley players have any significant mid-major D1 experience. Add to that, the injury to Georgi who Coach Wardle himself has suggested might have been Bradley's top scorer. Heck, they may be right to pick BU so low. I do think Bradley is better than 9th, 10th, or 11th, but time will tell.
 
Basketball stat "expert" Bart Torvik has some rankings for MVC teams and players= LINK


Here's how he ranks players, #1 is a UIC transfer from Stanford
Timo appears to be the top ranked Bradley player and players new to DI don't appear to be included
There's also an injury report out of ISU on the fall's first practice - Johnny Kinziger sprained ankle...


IMG_7323 (1) (1).png
 
yoda said:
Here's another 2026-27 MVC Preview, this guy places Bradley to finish in the #4-7 range in the standings.
He's got Murray State, UIC and ISU in the top tier - spots #1-3

benjaminmichael.substack.com

Missouri Valley Conference Preview - Men's College Basketball '26-'27

Evan Bradds is already a leading candidate for an ACC job
benjaminmichael.substack.com benjaminmichael.substack.com
Click to expand...
I have no idea how we compare to the other teams in the Valley at this point considering all the new players on the team. I do expect Bradley to be a lot better as far as rebounding and scoring inside the paint. I expect the defense will be good once again because of our staff. The big factor as far as winning a lot of games will be how will this team shoots the 3 point shot.
 
Conference USA Preseason Men's basketball poll- Missouri State picked 8th, slightly ahead of FIU and Delaware.

1791511888980.png
 
Kenpom is out with his preseason rankings- https://kenpom.com/

Not very good numbers for the MVC.
Kenpom MVC rankings:
97) Murray State
106) UIC
127) Illinois State
138) Belmont
140) Valparaiso
142) UNI
146) Drake
170) Bradley
184) SIU
196) Indiana State
260) Evansville
 
Kenpom is also not very mid-major-friendly.
Here are the top mid-majors-
44) Grand Canyon
54) Saint Louis
55) VCU
61) High Point
63) Dayton
70) Nevada
72) Saint Mary's
77) New Mexico
85) Memphis
90) Wichita State
91) UC San Diego
92) Santa Clara
94) South Florida
97) Murray State
99) George Mason

Since the re-formed Pac-12 is considered a mid-major by most, here are where the 9 members are ranked-
14) Gonzaga
51) Utah State
59) Boise State
74) San Diego State
81) Colorado State
98) Oregon State
100) Texas State
102) Washington State
162) Fresno State
 
yoda said:
someone said that Kenpom preseason rankings are notoriously inaccurate
Click to expand...
Brilliant insight. Bradley's ranking is an excellent example. His preseason algorithm doesn't fairly measure the qualities players who have not played at Division I before, like incoming freshman, D2 transfers, juco transfers, foreign players, players coming off a freshman redshirt year, and players coming off an injury year. Bradley has 12 of those players on their roster.
 
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