Men's Basketball picked 5th in MVC preseason poll
10/25/2016 | 8:00:00 | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS -- The Southern Illinois men's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference in the annual preseason poll of media and coaches, the league office announced on Tuesday.
The Salukis return eight players, including four seniors, from last year's team that finished 22-10 overall and tied for fourth place in the MVC. Headlining the list of returnees is senior forward Sean O'Brien, who was named preseason Second-Team All-Conference. A 6-foot-7 forward, he is the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder. Head coach Barry Hinson said an off-season change in O'Brien's strength and conditioning program has him in the best shape of his career and has mitigated nagging knee issues.
"It's the healthiest he's ever been," Hinson said. "He's a multi-talented young man and our fans have yet to see this young man in a healthy body. I don't make bold predictions, but I'll be shocked if he's not on the first team (All-MVC) at the end of the year."
For the fourth-straight year, Wichita State was tabbed the favorite to win the MVC title. Two starters and nine lettermen are back from a squad that led the nation in scoring defense and won a pair of NCAA Tournament games last spring. The Shockers received 37 first-place votes and 413 points to outdistance Illinois State, which earned 356 points to finish second. ISU received four first-place votes.
UNI received the remaining first-place tally and 348 total points to finish third in the voting. The Panthers are represented by Jeremy Morgan on the league's five-player first-team all-MVC squad. Voted as the pre-season MVC Player of the Year, Morgan is just the third Panther to earn that honor, joining Randy Blocker (1993-94) and Ben Jacobson (2005-06).
"I've been a part of this league for 14 years and there's always somebody that no one was counting on or expecting to do great," Hinson said. "I think when you get past three, it's a heckuva race. It think between four and 10, there will be more parity than we've seen in the past."
Hinson also announced at Media Day that senior point guard Mike Rodriguez is currently sidelined with a stress fracture in his knee. A projected starter who averaged 8.3 points and 2.9 assists last year, Rodriguez initially missed six weeks of workouts with the injury. He reaggravated it last week and will be out for three more weeks.
"We anticipate to have him back on Election Day, regardless of whether he votes for Trump or Clinton," Hinson joked. "We'll bring him back on that day and do everything we can to prepare him for Wright State. If we have any swelling or concern, we'll shut him down again. I do anticipate we'll have him for conference play."
Pollsters have accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ four-straight years, but only 16 times out of 31 total since 1985-86.
MVC Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) TotalÂ
1. Wichita State (37) 413Â
2. Illinois State (4) 356Â
3. UNI (1) 348Â
4. Missouri State 278Â
5. Southern Illinois 228Â
6. Indiana State 219Â
7. Loyola 179Â
8. Bradley 110Â
9. Evansville 106
10. Drake 73
2016-17 MVC Preseason Team
FIRST TEAM
Markis McDuffie, Wichita State So. 6-8 F Paterson (N.J.) St. Anthony
MiKyle McIntosh, Illinois State Jr. 6-7 F Pickering (Ontario) 22ft Acad.Â
Jeremy Morgan, UNI Sr. 6-5 G Coralville (Iowa) Iowa City West
Brenton Scott, Indiana State Jr. 6-1 G Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrop
Paris Lee, Illinois State Sr. 6-0 G Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East
SECOND TEAM
Milton Doyle, Loyola Sr. 6-4 G Chicago (Ill.) Marshall
Dequon Miller, Missouri State Sr. 5-10 G Charleston (W.V.) G. Washington
Shaquille Morris, Wichita State Jr. 6-8 C Edmond (Okla.) Memorial
Sean O'Brien, Southern Illinois Sr. 6-7 F Mundelein (Ill.) High
Reed Timmer, Drake Jr. 6-1 G New Berlin (Wis.) EisenhowerÂ
Preseason Player of the Year: Jeremy Morgan, UNIÂ
Team determined by panel of league SIDs, media, and coaches.
