ST. LOUIS, Mo. – For the first time since 2000-01, the Illinois State men's basketball team has been picked as the Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite, in a poll of Conference head coaches, media members, and school communication professionals, announced on Monday afternoon.
The Redbirds earned 34 of 46 first-place votes in the poll, for 487 total points, out-distancing Northern Iowa (442 with eight first-place votes), Murray State (385 points and four first-place votes), Bradley (370 points), and Belmont (344 points).
The first-place prediction is the first for ISU since the 2001-02 preseason poll, and the fifth time that the Redbirds had been picked to win the title since 1985-86.
The Redbirds – who finished last season with a 22-14 overall record while winning the Purple CBI postseason tournament – return players that scored a combined 1,786 last season (65.49 percent of scoring is back), which is the fifth-highest returning total in NCAA Division I for this season, and the 10th-highest percentage of scoring returning.
Leading the way for ISU returners is forward Chase Walker, who was named to the All-MVC First Team a season ago, in addition to being named the team captain of the MVC Most Improved Team. Johnny Kinziger returns after being named to the All-MVC second team, as the duo averaged 15.2 and 14.6 points per game, respectively. Also back for the Birds is guard Ty Pence who averaged 7.4 points per game last season, All-Freshman and All-Bench Team honoree Jack Daugherty who averaged 6.3 points per game, making 47.6 percent of his long-range tries, and Landon Wolf, who also averaged 6.3 points per game last season.
ISU's season opens with a pair of exhibition games, the first on October 19 at Illinois with a 2 p.m. tip-off, and the second on October 29 at Northwestern with a 7 p.m. tip-off. The regular-season kicks off on Thursday, November 6 with a trip to Athens, Ohio, to take on the Ohio Bobcats, while the team's home opener is on Sunday, November 9 against Cornell.
