MVC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

1. Northern Iowa Panthers – Head Coach Ben Jacobson

2022-23 record: 14-18 overall, 9-11 in the MVC

UNI head coach Ben Jacobson heads into his eighteenth season with a team that should contend for the title and perhaps do postseason damage. After a disappointing season, Northern Iowa has everybody back and healthy and with some significant additions.

Ben Jacobson has won 335 games, 183 MVC contests and four league championships. Under his guidance they have captured four Arch Madness titles and routinely defeat nationally ranked teams. This collection of Panthers should give him a chance to do more of the same.

Star guard Bowen Born returns for this junior (fourth) season and is second only to Drake’s Tucker DeVries as the league’s returning scoring leader (17.9 ppg). The little lefty has collected league-wide honors every season in Cedar Falls. He is the player that makes this squad special.

There are four other ‘starters’ on this squad without thinking about newcomers. All freshman team member Michael Duax (10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds) and the league’s reigning ‘Most Improved Player’, Tytan Anderson are back. Anderson (12.6 ppg) was the Valley’s leading rebounder (8.5 per game) and at just 6’6 he managed to pick up 44 steals.

After a lost season to injury, former all-freshman team member Nate Heise returns. He is an outstanding defender and outstanding three-point shooter. Sophomore Trey Campbell picked up Heise’s spot last year and started every game and averaged 7.5 points per game.

All-bench team member Landon Wolf is a bomber (36% from deep) who averaged 7.4 points per game. Other than Born, each of those players are 6’4 or taller. UNI is the Valley’s most versatile.

Former star Austin Phyfe never got healthy last year (long term covid) and the Panthers missed their physical pick and roll center greatly. They found the perfect fit in former Loyola Chicago center Jacob Hutson. The 6’11 junior got lost in the shuffle and LUC and is ready to resume his MVC career.

Incoming freshmen Wes Rubin, R.J. Taylor and Kyle Pock all grade out as outstanding prospects. Rubin is a 6’8 player out of Chicago. Taylor a two-time all stater out of Michigan and Pock a three-time all-state performer in Missouri. Don’t sleep on last year’s recruit Ege Peksari. The Turkish born guard struggled to get momentum last year, but this season could be much different for the 6’4 guard.

This team might be a year away in terms of doing historic things, but they should battle for the title this season.