Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Conference #10 - THE Missouri Valley

Conference Winner:  Wichita State

Another year, another top 10 team for the Shockers.  Sure they lose Tekele Cotton and Darius Cotton but they bring back the core of the team in Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker.  Holding up the front court are returning big men Shaq Morris and Zach Brown, both who grew a lot last year.  Rounding out the starting lineup and six man are Evan Wessel and freshman Markis McDuffie.  McDuffie is rail thin ay 6-8, 185 but should fit in well with the rest of the team.  Any concerns about depth should be answered in December when Kansas transfer, Connor Frankamp becomes eligible.  This guy is the prototypical mid-major shooter who reminds me a lot of Rotnei Clarke who went from Arkansas to Butler.  I hesitate to call this a final four team but it wouldn’t “shock” me if they made the elite eight

Possible At-Large:  Evansville

Here’s another shocker as I have the Purple Aces picked to finish second in the Valley.  The Aces improved a ton last year and finished the season by winning the “C” league tournament, the CollegeInsider.Com Bowl…or something.  Either way, it was a huge success for a program that has been down for a long time.  Looking to build on this Evansville return all 5 starters and most of the reserves.  An at-large is going to come down to the non-conference slate and whether they can get a split with Wichita State.

Others Worth Watching:

Illinois State

Northern Iowa

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