MVC OCC predictions Pt.3: the ISUs-red and blue

[valleyclimber]

3 days before Valley b-ball starts...sweet!!!

Okay, it's time for those ISU Redbirds and ISU Sycamore OCC (Out of Conference Competition) predictions:

ILLINOIS ST.

3 games at tourney in Florida

N12 Southern Methodist W This is pretty much a pick 'em game, but I'm giving ISU the nod because SMU has a new coach in Matt Doherty (formerly of N. Carolina), so it will take a little for the Mustangs to get used to his system. SMU also lost their star gaurd of last season. Not sure what to make of this one because ISU's HC Porter Moser has had his system in place for 4 years now, but there's alot of new Redbird players (which might could be a big bonus considering last season).

N13 Florida St. L The Seminoles should finish in the upper half of the ACC. They return 3 starters from last season's 20-10 NIT team. Should be a good measuring stick for ISU to see where they stand against one of their best non-con opponents. The Birds were offensively challenged last year to say the least, but now have a Juco All-American PG that could distribute the ball and run the team, so we'll see how they fare against a quality team on the road.

N14 McNeese St. W

The SMU win would be big for the Redbirds, and going 2-1 in that tourney give them a little confidence going into the rest of their OCC schedule.

N20 Cal St.-Northridge at home W If I remember correctly, ISU lost on the road to the Matadors last year in a close one, and I think the Redbirds could be improved enough to take this game at home.

N25 at St. Johns L The Big East's Redstorm got beat by the Redbirds last season in Normal, but St. Johns should take this one at home.

N29 Cal St.-Sacramento at home W ISU defeats their second CA foe.

D2 Texas-Arlington at home W

D5 Miami-Ohio at home W The Redhawks should be one of the best MAC teams this season. I'm going with ISU on this one because they've already played top competition in FSU and St. John's, so they should be prepared to take on another very good team. If ISU gets the victory in this one, it will look excellent by the end of the trail.

D16 at W. Michigan W ISU plays back-to-back games against MAC foes.
The Broncos could suprise this season. The Redbirds have had very good sucess against MAC teams in the past. This game should be a toss up, but I'm going with ISU because they could be on a nice little roll.

D19 Lewis U. at home W

D23 at Illinois-Chicago L The Flames should be near the top of the Horizon and have had alot of sucess with their program the past few seasons.
In-state rival generally has had the Redbirds number.

And the BB game...if the Redbirds do indeed go 8-3 non-con (and play competitively in the MVC), then ISU will line up against a pretty decent BB opponent. Giving ISU a W in this game which would bring their OCC record up to 9-3. Doable, but there are 3 toss up games...SMU, Miamo-O and WMU.


INDIANA ST.

N14 W.Michigan at home W WMU really make their way around the Valley with games against both ISUs and Drake. Pick 'em game. Pretty important for the Sycamores to come out and win their first contest. WMU will already have played their first game at Pitt, so ISU may be managable for the Broncos.

N17 at Indiana L Will the Sycamores be competitive in this one?

N19 at IPFW L ISU's on the road and IPFW returns all 5 of last year's starters, so who knows?

N25 Tulane at home W

N27 Oakland City at home W Not to be confused with Oakland-MI

N30 at Middle Tenn St. L One of the Sun Belt contenders, the MTSU Blue Raiders will be a tall order for the Sycamores.

D2 at Ball St. L ISU's second MAC foe, Ball St. should be pretty decent this year and take care of business versus their in-state rival.

D9 Butler at home W The Bulldogs should be a mid-pack team in the Horizon. Think the Sycamores can beat this in-state foe at the Hullman Center.

D21 Wagner at home W

D28 at Purdue L Boilermakers engines should be steaming at a much higher level this season, so ISU goes down in their second Big10 matchup.


Plus the BB game. If the Sycamores do go 5-5 OCC and struggle in the Valley, then they should get one of the lower level BB teams to play. Giving them a W in their BB game because after going against tough MVC teams week after week, it would good to get another non-con game. That boils down to the Sycamores going 6-5 against OCC....not to bad for a consensus #10 MVC pick.



Okay, by now you've noticed that I've given ALL the Valley teams Ws in their BB contests. The likellyhood of that happening is pretty low, so just factor that into YOUR own non-con projections. Sooooo...any MVC fans want to weigh in on how they think the ISU Redbirds :redbirds: or the ISU Sycamores:sycamores: will fare in their OCC games?

Posting about the MSU Bears :bears: and the UNI Panthers :panthers: OCC chances tomorrow. Have at it MVC fans....how high am I on my Valley Kool-ade? :noexpression:


GO VALLEY!!! :valley: :bounceblue:

[SycamoreBlueBleeder]

Not to much to disagree about with the predictions. However i think we can win the game @ IPFW. They came in and embarrased us at the Hulman Center, so revenge is in the order. This will be much different team once a healthy Jay Tunnell returns. He has been saying he plans to return by December 1, so that would put him back in time for the Ball State Game. He will move everything around for the better. That will give us a starting line up Gabe Moore, Cole Holestrom, Todd McCoy, Trent Wurtz and Jay Tunnell. This will be tweaked with the play from Adam Arnold. He played well in the game against Missouri Southern. This is the most athletic team the Sycs have had on the floor in many years. The major factors will be how well the young players adapt and if we can stay healthy. These things happen i believe you all will be surprised and impressed with this newly renovated Sycamore team.

I can see this team going 7-3 not counting the BB game if everything mentioned before happens. Here's to the Valley rising to the occasion again!!!! GO SYCAMORES....GO VALLEY

[Phantom]

I agree with Valleyclimber's asessment about our non-con schedule. A couple points Id like to add...

I think SMU is a good opener. Its a team we dont have a history with, they were decent last year but they may have some question marks with Doherty shaking things up. Following that game up with Florida State is excellent. They are a very good team and should be a top ACC squad. I like squaring off with them early. It will be a good game for the new guys to get acclimated to bigtime basketball right away.

The game @ St. Johns is another big challenge. They were better than their record indicated last year and should make a serious impact in the Big East this time around. Their 2 best players (Lamont Hamilton and Darryll Hill) are both back and these guys played very well against us 2 years ago. We won the game, but these 2 guys really stood out. This is definately a tough game but one that if we steal a win, would be huge for us.

The game @ UIC is also tough, but its winnable IMHO. We played them down to the wire 2 years ago before they nudged us at the end in a tight game. This would be a really nice win if we can get it because they are a good team and could make a push at the Horizon title. The only thing I dont like about this game is the potential for our momentum to be shaken a bit by playing DII Lewis right before. We have 3 tough games in a row vs. Miami(OH), @ Evansville, and @ W. Michigan before playing Lewis, and THEN going to UIC. Not knocking Lewis because they are a good team, but Im concerned that playing a stretch of 4 tough games and throwing a DII team right in the middle might be a change of pace we dont want. Im hoping it dosent affect us that much, but something to think about. (Also, opening MVC play when theres still a couple non-con games left drives me nuts).

The only thing Id argue is this:

Porter Moser has had his system in place for 4 years now, but there's alot of new Redbird players (which might could be a big bonus considering last season).


This is the first time Moser will be able to run his system. He hasnt had the athletes to do it in any of his first 3 years. Weve had virtually no athleticism until now, so this really is the 1st look were getting at the system hes always wanted to run here. It looks good from what we've seen so far, but the real deal begins on the 12th.

[Hein72]

I think these predictions were pretty accurate. As a whole I think your still feeling the effects of the Valley Kool-ade. You currently have .79 winning precentage and still have 2,3,4,5 in the confrence to go. This would be the most amazing year ever. Crap, with a 85% winning precentage the Valley should get 7 in the tourney! What would Gary say then? That is if he didnt have a heart attack first.

[Phantom]

I think these predictions were pretty accurate. As a whole I think your still feeling the effects of the Valley Kool-ade. You currently have .79 winning precentage and still have 2,3,4,5 in the confrence to go. This would be the most amazing year ever. Crap, with a 85% winning precentage the Valley should get 7 in the tourney! What would Gary say then? That is if he didnt have a heart attack first.

You make a good point, but if the MVC won that high a percentage of their non-con games, I cant say Id be totally surprised. Of course Im an MVC homer like all of us here, but seriously I dont think thats beyond the realm of possibility. Its like the somewhat running joke that once conference play starts, everyone splits and we have 10 teams finish 9-9. As ridiculous and unlikely as that sounds, it wouldnt REALLY surprise me if it did happen :lol:

[ISU87]

I am hopeful for 6-4 out of the Sycamores, both Butler and Ball St. will be out for blood after losing close games against ISU during their 8-0 run to start the season last year. ISU hopefully will be out for redemption against IPFW (who barely got past Huntington College on a last second shot in an exhibition game this week)

don't know how competitive we'll be against IU at IU, nor how we'll do at home vs. Purdue, but hopefully a large home crowd will energize the team and help them win

we'll see?

:sycamores:

[btisu22]

Close. I think we will beat IPFW this year and Purdue is in the Hulman Center not at W. "Laugh"yette this year so I think we can beat them here. I see 6-4 or 7-3...It's Valley play that worries me.:sycamores: :valley:

[valleyclimber]

Glad to see some Sycamore fans showing some optimism about ISU's OCC games. Yeah, I think ISU can pay back IPFW too...just not sure. And Purdue in Hulman will be the Sycamores biggest OCC game. Who knows? That's why they play the games. An ISU victory over the Boilermakers would be a HUGE feather in the cap.

GO get 'em Sycamores!! :sycamores:

[DannyCooksey]

I don't think either ISU squad will be as bad as many think. I think both will be improved. The problem comes in measuring that improvement. With the overall strength of this league both these teams could be considerably better than they were a year ago and still finish at or near the bottom of the league.

The 'Trees have a lot more to replace than the 'Birds, but they also have some good pieces. Tunnell would be much more talked about and regarded if he played at WSU or SIU or CU. That kid is a damn good ballplayer. I also believe Gabe Moore is a good player.

I think the predictions are fair for the Redbirds and if anything a little overly optimistic. I have cautious optimism with this team. There are so many new players that it really is a crapshoot as to how this team will be. Finally having what appears to be a PG is a good start, but I will not get out over my skis for this team.