Seven Big MVC Openers

Challenging Launching Pads

(St. Louis, MO) – Monday is opening night for college basketball and ten Missouri Valley Conference teams will be in action. There are seven big MVC openers. While three other teams play opening night games that help them ease into the season, the other seven have stiff opposition. Each Valley team is hoping for successful launching pads.

Belmont, Illinois Chicago and Murray State begin their first season as Valley representatives and a season of new beginnings gets rolling on November 7. The Flames, Bradley and Northern Iowa have tune-ups with games against teams from lower divisions.

First year coaches David Ragland (Evansville) and Ryan Pedon (Illinois State) begin their Division 1 head coaching careers and Murray State’s Steve Prohm returns to a job where he had incredible success.

Valley teams open against seven programs from other so-called ‘mid-majors’ so this is a prime time to differentiate from those other leagues. The MVC was kenpom.com’s eleventh best league last year, just behind the Atlantic Ten. While the Mountain West jumped in front of the American for seventh place, that would make the Valley the fourth best ‘mid-major’.

Three games against Mid American Conference teams (ranked 20^th) are very important. Murray State’s opener at Saint Louis (A-Ten) is a tall task, but a huge opportunity.

Murray State (31-3) @ Saint Louis (23-12) – 7 pm – ESPN+ & Ballys

This Saint Louis team is loaded. The Billikens are in everyone’s top-40 and virtually every prognosticator picks them second in the A-Ten. Those predictions are too low. Last year’s A-Ten preseason Player of the Year, Javonte Perkins missed that entire season and is ready to join four of last year’s starters and Missouri transfer Javon Pickett for this campaign.

This is not a ‘Billikens Preview’, but Yuri Collins is one of the top point guards in America and Gibson Jimmerson, last year’s leading scorer (16.3 ppg) is one of the best deep threats you’ll see. Perkins averaged 17.1 two seasons ago and Pickett averaged 11.1 for the Tigers.

Big man Francis Okoro is better and stronger than any post player Murray State will see all year.

Add junior college all-American Sincere Parker to the mix and if the Bills play ‘Travis Ford Defense’, SLU will be a top-25 team and win the conference championship.

The remade Racers are talented but green when it comes to playing together. This is as tall a task as one could ask for in a first game, but Steve Prohm has coached in big games before and MSU is deep and athletic.

The MAC Games

Talking about tall orders, Valparaiso (14-18) travels to Toledo to take on Mid American Conference defending champion and favorite to take on the Rockets. Toledo was 26-8 and return four starters from last year’s champs.

Valpo returns two top-flight players in Ben Krikke and Kobe King. Matt Lottich hopes newcomers can fill in around them and carry the Beacons to greater things.

Belmont battles another MAC foe when the Bruins (25-8) host 25-9 Ohio. The Bobcats were a top-150 team last season and the remade Bruins are working on rotations and roles early in the season.

Evansville (6-24) begins the David Ragland era with a contest against 14-18 Miami (Ohio). Blue Ribbon predicts these teams will each finish last in their respective conferences, so road win by the Purple Aces would be a help to the entire league.

Home Contests for Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Illinois State

There is great optimism around the these three programs. While the Salukis are picked in the ‘first division’ of the Valley rankings and the Sycamores and Redbirds are not, Josh Schertz’s team is much better and deeper than a season ago.

SIU (16-15) hosts new Ohio Valley Conference member Little Rock (9-19) and the Trojans aren’t as bad as last season’s record would indicate. They lost 140-man games to injury and bring all those injured players back and a talented incoming class.

The Salukis think maybe this is their year. A fast start against an OVC rival could be a great launching pad.

Ryan Pedon’s first head coaching opposition and transfer Colton Sandage’s first competition will be against Sandage’s old team, Western Illinois (16-16). The Summit League squad participated in the ‘The Basketball Classic’ last postseason, but lost four of five starters (including Sandage) and are reformatting.

Much like Pedon’s Redbirds (13-20) there are numerous new faces. Launching pads come in all shapes and sizes and this could be an important one for ILS.

Do Good

Feature photo courtesy of goracers.com and David Eaton