Busting Brackets
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Missouri Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By TJ Miller

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 4: Matt Hein #5 and Phil Fayne #10 of the Illinois State Redbirds defend against Cameron Krutwig #25 of the Loyola Ramblers during the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Championship at the Scottrade Center on March 4, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 4: Matt Hein #5 and Phil Fayne #10 of the Illinois State Redbirds defend against Cameron Krutwig #25 of the Loyola Ramblers during the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Championship at the Scottrade Center on March 4, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Matt Lottich of the Valparaiso Crusaders looks on during his team’s game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 28, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Crusaders defeated the Rebels 72-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Matt Lottich of the Valparaiso Crusaders looks on during his team’s game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 28, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Crusaders defeated the Rebels 72-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

8. Evansville

2018-19: 11-21, (5-13)

There is some reason for some optimism heading into year two for Walter McCarty with Evansville. Leading scorer KJ Riley is back, along with two solid frontcourt returners John Hall and Evan Kuhlman. Noah Frederking is also a solid player with the ability to knock down the three and should provide key minutes.

If there’s an X-factor for the Aces it could be transfer Sam Cunliffe. The 6-6 guard averaged 9.5 PPG at Arizona State before playing at Kansas and could provide a big boost to the Purple Aces. Coastal Carolina transfer Artur Labinowicz will also be eligible and has shown early signs of looking like a nice player in the backcourt. Evansville played at the quickest tempo of any Missouri Valley team last season and I could see them repeating this feat this season. Both Cunliffe and Labinowicz fit the bill as guys who can shoot on a dime so I’m excited to see how Coach McCarty integrates these two.

7. Valparaiso

2018-19: 15-18, (7-11)

Valpo has struggled so far in its first two seasons as a member of the Missouri Valley. A 13-23 record certainly qualifies as so-so at best. However, Valparaiso enters this season with a couple of really good players to build around in Ryan Fazekas and Javon Freeman-Liberty. Fazekas was a solid contributor at Providence for two seasons before deciding he wanted a change of scenery. He struggled with injuries last season but still managed to knock down a team-high 48 triples in just 20 games. Fazekas has good height at 6-8 and will arguably be one of the toughest players to guard in the MVC.

Speaking of difficult guys to guard, Freeman-Liberty is coming off a terrific freshman season. The Chicago native averaged 11 points per game and also proved himself as one of the best defenders while leading the Missouri Valley in steals. Both Fazekas and Freeman-Liberty were selected as members of the preseason All-MVC second-team so the Crusaders need big things out of this pair. One potential concern will be an unproven frontcourt for Valparaiso.

The departure of Derek Smits might allow more offensive freedom for this team, but he was a solid scorer and the teams leading rebounder. Look for Valpo to play some small ball and rely on tenacious perimeter defense to compensate for a lack of interior depth.