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.

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“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 preaching to our players every day. The work comes in practice. Make yourself better.”

Deen and Hannah are expected to be elite players in the Valley and live at the center of the Bradley team. They are experienced, passionate leaders, and both play with a slight chip on their shoulders that produces an emotional edge on the court. They are fun duo to watch.

“#ProveEm,” Hannah said. “It’s our theme this year. We intend to prove the doubters wrong out there. It lights a fire under you, to show any doubters out there. We can play. We’ve been given a chance to show we can be on that list, as a team, as individual players, too.

“We have such a desire to win.”

When was Bradley last picked No. 1 in the preseason?

The last time a Bradley men’s basketball team earned the top spot in the Valley preseason poll was the 1999-2000 season under coach Jim Molinari. BU went 14-16, with a 10-8 conference run, and faced Illinois, Georgia State, Auburn and Villanova early in the season. The Braves exited in the spring in the first-round of Arch Madness with a loss to Creighton, with a roster that included Rob Dye, Eric Roberson and Jerome Robinson.

That’s ancient history now. The Braves under Wardle have won a regular-season Valley title and twice won the Arch Madness tournament to earn NCAA bids.

Their ceiling is high in 2024-25, and so are expectations. The Missouri Valley Conference schedule starts on Nov. 4, as Bradley faces SEMO, Northern Illinois gets Duquesne and Murray State hosts Bethel (Tenn.).

2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball preseason poll

Team (first-place votes) | total poll points

1. Bradley (46) | 597

2. Northern Iowa (2) | 527

3. Murray State (1) | 473

4. Illinois State | 397

5. Drake | 388

6. Belmont | 373

7. Southern Illinois | 337

8. Indiana State | 207

9. Evansville | 199

10. Valparaiso | 173

11. Missouri State | 116

12. Illinois-Chicago | 110

MVC Player of the Year

All-MVC first team

• Duke Deen, Bradley

• Darius Hannah, Bradley

• Tytan Anderso, Northern Iowa

• Johnny Kinziger, Illinois State

• Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso

• JaCobi Wood, Murray State

All-MVC second team

• Zek Montgomery, Bradley

• Trey Campbell, Northern Iowa

• Nick Ellington, Murray State

• Jacob Hutson, Northern Iowa

• Malachi Poindexter, Illinois State

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All-MVC third team

• Kennard Davis Jr., Southern Illinois

• Ali Dibba, Southern Illinois

• Cam Manyawu, Drake

• Filip Skobalj, UIC

• Bennett Stirtz, Drake

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: MVC basketball preseason poll: Bradley basketball voted Valley favorite