Busting Brackets
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 8
Next
ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 9: Wyatt Lohaus #22 of the Northern Iowa Panthers and Noah Thomas #14 of the Drake Bulldogs chase down a loose ball during the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 9, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 9: Wyatt Lohaus #22 of the Northern Iowa Panthers and Noah Thomas #14 of the Drake Bulldogs chase down a loose ball during the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 9, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

2. Northern Iowa

2018-19: 16-18, (9-9)

Ben Jacobson has impressively finished in the top half of the MVC (5th or better) in twelve of the thirteen seasons he’s coached at Northern Iowa. He’s also had seven top-three MVC finishes in that time. With that said, the Panthers are just 46-50, (25-29 in MVC play) the last few seasons after back to back NCAA Tournament Round of 32 performances in 2015 and 2016.

Look for UNI to contend for the Missouri Valley once again as 2019 MVC Freshman of the Year AJ Green will spearhead a squad that returns four of five starters. Some of Jacobson’s best past teams have shot it well and locked down opponents defensively. Trae Berhow and Tywhon Pickford give the Panthers two hard-working, athletic guards who are tough to match up against. Another solid returner is Spencer Haldeman, who is almost as dangerous a shooter as AJ Green.

Both Luke McDonnell and Isaiah Brown are seniors and have made significant strives each year in Coach Jacobson’s program. McDonnell finished 2nd for the Panthers in rebounding last season and Brown is a 6-7 do-it-all player who was named to the MVC All-Defense Team in 2018-19. It’s tough to keep Ben Jacobson down and I love this team’s chances to finish near the top of the league if not take 1st place outright.