Busting Brackets
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Missouri Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

By Jason Burgess

Mar 7, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Loyola Ramblers pose for a photo after defeating the Drake Bulldogs in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Loyola Ramblers pose for a photo after defeating the Drake Bulldogs in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Indiana State’s guard Tyreke Key Missouri Valley Basketball Bkc Purdue Vs Indiana State
Indiana State’s guard Tyreke Key Missouri Valley Basketball Bkc Purdue Vs Indiana State /

7. Indiana State Sycamores

2020-21 record: 15-10 overall, 11-7 in the MVC

Todd Schertz’s Indiana State Sycamores finished fourth in the MVC last season and made it to the semifinals of Arch Madness before falling to Loyola-Chicago. That’s the good news for Indiana State, the bad news is, their roster was decimated by the transfer portal, eight of the 12 guys that saw the floor last season are gone, and only leading scorer Tyreke Key (17.2) and guards Julian Larry and Cooper Neese saw any significant time for the Sycamores in 2021.

Looking at the current roster, they have one senior, two incoming freshmen and the rest of the roster includes six transfers and another JuCo transfer in Kailex Stephens who played at Tallahassee Community College before arriving last season but was unable to play due to injury.

Big man Dearon Tucker arrives from Oregon State fresh off a run to the Elite Eight where the 6-10 Tucker saw action in 29 games. Also joining the team is a trio of players that helped lead Division II Lincoln Memorial to the Final Four last season.

Guards Xavier Bledson and Cameron Henry both averaged double figures with the 6-6 Henry being the second-leading scorer with 15 points he also pulled down six rebounds per game. Guards Micah Thomas and Zach Hobbs come to the team from the Junior College ranks.

Thomas averaged over 13 points at Northwest Florida State College and Hobbs was a member of the Des Moines Area Community College team that won the national championship. Hobbs was a sharpshooter making over 44% from beyond the arc averaging over 12 points per game.

Integrating so many new faces can be difficult and will go a long way in how well the Sycamores do in 2021-22.