Missouri Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season
By Tim Edmonds
Who are the teams to beat in Missouri Valley Basketball for the 2020-21 season?
Notoriously one of the deepest and most competitive mid-major conferences in the country, Missouri Valley Basketball enters this season with even higher expectations than those of years past.
With some of the best players in mid-major hoops such as Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig, Northern Iowa’s AJ Green and Bradley’s Elijah Childs as well as seasoned head coaches in UNI’s Ben Jacobson, Drake’s Darian DeVries, and Loyola’s Porter Moser, the Valley has both the teams and individual talent to bring it into the national spotlight once again in 2020-21.
It’s these reasons why after over four years it looks primed to send a pair of teams to the NCAA Tournament, a rarity for mid-major conferences now in college basketball.
Aided by both a shortened non-conference schedule and the high preseason marks given to a few of the expected contenders (Loyola, UNI, Bradley) the Valley has the means to grab multiple bids to the Big Dance this year for the first time since Wichita State and Northern Iowa both punched their tickets in 2016.
Outside of UNI, Loyola, and Bradley, a few teams to watch include Bryan Mullins’ continued rebuild of Southern Illinois after an excellent first season, Dana Ford’s retooling of Missouri State after an underwhelming 2019-20, and Drake attempting to replace transfer Liam Robbins on the fly.
Without further introduction, here is my team-by-team preview for the MVC in 2020-21 and who I think will grab the regular-season title heading into Arch Madness in early March.