Missouri Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Tim Edmonds | Nov 15, 2020

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Members of the Bradley Braves celebrate after beating the Northern Iowa Panthers in the final game of MVC Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 10, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Bradley Braves beat the Northern Iowa Panthers 57-54 to win the MVC Championship. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

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Missouri Valley Basketball Evansville Aces (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

10. Evansville Purple Aces

Following a tumultuous 2019-20 season that saw the program upset #1 ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena and dismiss head coach Walter McCarthy prior to losing all 18 conference games, the Purple Aces will hope to round the corner in 2020-21.

Hired in late January following McCarthy’s dismissal due to allegations of sexual harassment and Title IX violations, Todd Lickliter faces an uphill battle in his first full season at the helm and one that was only made more difficult by this offseason.

Losing key forward DeAndre Williams to transfer and guard K.J. Riley due to graduation, Lickliter’s rotation was already extremely thin following the offseason.

Paired with the surprise announcement of guard Sam Cunliffe opting out of the 2020-21 season, and the Aces seem destined for back-to-back finishes in the Valley’s cellar.

With their three leading scorers from last season off the roster, expect newcomers like Nebraska transfer Samari Curtis and JUCO transfer guard Emmette Page to take over the scoring duties this season, just don’t expect anything greater than six conference wins from the Aces as they enter into their first year of a full-blown rebuild.

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