SEMO

OVC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:40:15 -0500

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Conference Rank: 26th

10 year average: 22nd

All-OVC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Marquis Weddle	UTM	So
G	Lester Hudson	UTM	Sr
G	Mike Rose	EKU	Sr
F	Daniel Northern	Tenn. Tech	Sr
F	Drake Reed	Austin Peay	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Lester Hudson		Points: Lester Hudson 25.7 Rebounds: Daniel Northern 9.3 Assists: DeAndre Bray (JSU) 6.3

Ohio Valley Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

106	Murray State*	OVC	1	NCAA
162	Tennessee Martin	OVC	2
184	Austin Peay**	OVC	3
204	Tennessee St	OVC	4
215	Morehead State	OVC	5
286	Eastern Kentucky	OVC	6
304	SE Missouri St	OVC	7
322	Jacksonville St	OVC	8
328	Tennessee Tech	OVC	9
340	Eastern Illinois	OVC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the OVC?

Other OVC Content

Conference Media Poll

Other

Top Shooting Guards: Lester Hudson

Rise & Fall: OVC

State of '08: Missouri

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:09:49 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

MISSOURI

MISSOURI STATE - In nine seasons, Barry Hinson could never get the Bears over the NIT hump. In 2006 & 2007, the Bears made the NIT despite great RPIs of 21 & 36. Chalk it up to a little bad luck. Now Hinson is out, and the future looks murky under Cuonzo Martin. Martin, a first time head coach, inherits a depleted roster that is destined to finish near the bottom of the MVC in 2009.

MISSOURI - For whatever reason, the whole state of Missouri is struggling on the hardwood. The Tigers haven't reached the promise land since 2003. Before then, Mizzou had made 14 of 18 Tournaments, mostly under legendary coach Norm Stewart. But Quin Snyder, and now 3rd year coach Mike Anderson, have struggled to build any positive momentum. Over the past four years, Missouri State's RPI has been about 45 spots higher per year on average. This could be the first season since 2003 that the Tigers are legitimately the best team in the state.

SAINT LOUIS - While MSU/SMS hasn't made the Tourney since 1999, SLU is also in the midst of a decade-long drought. Since Lorenzo Romar led the Bills to the 2000 Dance, there's only been 2 NIT trips and a whole bunch of mediocrity. Rick Majerus was brought in to change things, but its hard to imagine anything better than an NIT bid this year.

UMKC - Neither the past nor the present has been particularly kind to UMKC. The Kangaroos have never made the Big Dance, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. 2005 was the last year UMKC looked dangerous in the Summit League, but even that year went sour after they started 9-0 in league pay.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE - Unlike UMKC, at least SEMO has made the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, the Redhawks almost upset LSU in the opening round after going 14-4 in the OVC. Since that time, SEMO has really struggled, having only finished above .500 once. The last three seasons have been particularly bad with consecutive sub 290 RPIs.

Last: Mississippi - Next: New Jersey

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Turnarounds: 31 Teams to Watch For: Part Three

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:50:42 -0400

With the off-season now upon us and the spring signing period well under way, this is a good opportunity to attempt to forecast some of the teams who could make the jump next season. Is there a team out there like this past season’s Drake Bulldogs, who went from ninth place to a dominating run through the Missouri Valley? Or how about Arizona State, a team that went from dead last in the Pac-10 to fifth place and could have the makings of a conference title run this season? With one pick for each conference, here are 31 teams you should keep an eye on next season.

Part Three

MEAC: Hampton

2007-08 Record: 18-12 (11-5)

Yes, the Pirates finished tied for second in the MEAC last season, but they saw their season come to an abrupt end with a harsh 75-74 loss to eventual conference champ Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament. They do have to replace leading scorer Rashad West, but of the five leading scorers on last year’s team three will be back. Look for Vincent Simpson, Matthew Pilgrim and Michael Freeman to take on even more scoring responsibility next year in attempts to win the MEAC. I think they’ve got a shot at getting to the NCAA Tournament next season, but they will have a fight on their hands from the likes of Morgan State and Delaware State.

Missouri Valley: Creighton

2007-08 Record: 22-11 (10-8)

Head coach Dana Altman was in Fayetteville for about two days before he decided that he had to remain at Creighton. His decision worked out for all parties involved as the Blue Jays notched another 20-win season and won a Postseason NIT game in the process. But more can be done, most notably contend for the MVC championship. With the exciting P’Allen Stinnett and many other key contributors due back next season, Creighton can definitely contend for the crown in 2008-09.

Mountain West: Utah

2007-08 Record: 18-15 (7-9)

Make no mistake about it; UNLV and BYU (if Lee Cummard and Trent Plaisted both return) are the favorites to win the Mountain West. But the slots in the standings behind those two are practically wide open, and the Utes could be the team that moves to the top of that list. The lone contributor to leave was guard Johnnie Bryant, who moved to the bench to make way for JUCO transfer Tyler Kepkay when the season began. Along with Kepkay due back is seven-footer Luke Nevill, who can score with either hand on the low block. With the number of players they have due back, look for Jim Boylen’s bunch to make a move up the standings to an area close to where we’ve been accustomed to seeing their program.

Northeast Conference: Monmouth

2007-08 Record: 7-24 (4-14)

It would be easy to choose Central Connecticut State here and proclaim them a favorite to win the NEC. But why not go way out on a limb and expect a team that only scored 59.2 points per game to compete in the top half of the conference? Last year’s team featured seven freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors. Jhamar Youngblood led the team in scoring with twelve points per game, but the year of experience should help this entire team when it comes to winning basketball games. Not sure how good they can be, but don’t expect the Hawks to be anyone’s whipping boy when conference play rolls around.

Ohio Valley: Southeast Missouri St.

2007-08 Record: 12-19 (7-13)

The Redhawks will welcome back three of their top five scorers next season, most notably forward Jaycen Herring and guard Kenard Moore. And their top departing scorer, Brandon Foust, only played in eighteen games last season so the core of this team should be used to playing without him. Six of their losses last season, five of which were in OVC play, were by four points or less and a little change in luck could put them in position to challenge at the top of the league. A change in those five results gives them a 12-8 record in the OVC last year, which would have been good enough for third place in the conference. They’re not too far off; it’s just a matter of finishing the job in crunch time.

Pac-10: Arizona State

2007-08 Record: 21-13 (9-9)

After the abomination that was the Sun Devils’ 2006-07 season, not too many went into last season thinking that come Selection Sunday they’d be debating the NCAA worthiness of Arizona State. But we were, and with stars James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph both returning to Tempe, Herb Sendek may have a team talented enough to make a run at a Pac-10 title. Granted, UCLA will head into the season as the overwhelming favorite and they should. But this has the makings of a big year for Sun Devil basketball, and they should have no problem whatsoever reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Patriot: Bucknell

2007-08 Record: 12-19 (6-8)

Talk about a shocker. Both the Bison and rival Holy Cross were the trendy picks to win the Patriot League; instead they both end up at the bottom of the standings. But the Bison went into the off-season on a positive, knocking off Navy in a Patriot League quarterfinal before losing at Colgate. John Griffin, who hit the miraculous game-winner at Navy, Darren Mastropaolo and Rob Thomas are the only departing seniors. The key to how much of an improvement the Bison make next season will be how they go about replacing head coach Pat Flannery, who retired after fourteen seasons on the job.

Part One: ACC, Big East, Big Ten etc

Part Two: Big 12, CUSA, etc

Part Four tomorrow: SEC, WAC, WCC