Missouri Valley basketball preseason poll: Bradley basketball picked as favorite

PEORIA — Bradley basketball has a special team theme this year.

“Prove ’em,” said senior center Darius Hannah at practice Tuesday. “That’s what we say to each other. It’s who we are.”

They were given something to prove Wednesday morning when the Braves were declared a near-consensus No. 1 pick in the annual Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.

It was the first time in 25 years — and the first time in the Brian Wardle coaching era — the Braves earned the top spot in the preseason poll in a vote of Valley media, coaches and program administrators. BU received 46 of 49 first-place votes, with Northern Iowa grabbing two and Murray State one. Illinois State finished fourth in the polling.

BU fifth-year point guard Duke Deen was the preseason pick for MVC Player of the Year. Hannah landed on the preseason all-MVC first team, and guard Zek Montgomery drew second-team all-MVC team selection.

8 games to watch: Analyzing Bradley’s Missouri Valley Conference basketball schedule

“We’ve been voted second, third other times, and for different polls to have us at No. 1 this year is great for the fans and for the city,” Wardle said Tuesday. “It’s another box for our program to check off. But it doesn’t mean anything when it comes to wins and losses.

“We know we’ll have to go through the adversity. We’ll face injuries, and travel and tough opponents along the way. But we have to do the work.”

How Bradley players feel about polls

Bradley has been mentioned by multiple publications over the last few weeks as a projected No. 1 team in the Valley for the 2024-25 season. The Braves were asked, on the eve of the Valley poll’s release, about being in “prediction season,” that annual space between the summer off-season and the start of the fall regular-season.

“It’s great to be recognized, but I’m still the same guy I was before any polls,” said Deen, of publications’ predicting in September he will be POY. “You embrace it, sure. But you have to get better every day. That’s what I’ve been…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/missouri-valley-basketball-preseason-poll-130356351.html

Author : Journal Star

Publish date : 2024-10-02 13:03:56

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.