MVC Release
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Wichita State men earned 37 of a possible 42 first-place votes to run away with the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, released in advance of Tuesday's MVC Media Day in St Louis.
Sophomore forward
Markis McDuffie was one of five players named to the Valley's preseason first team, and junior center
Shaquille Morris landed on the second team.
A panel of MVC media, coaches and sports information directors tabbed the three-time defending Shockers as the odds-on favorite for a fourth-consecutive year with 413 points, well ahead of runner-up Illinois State (356), which in turn edged UNI (348) by a margin of eight votes for second place.
Missouri State (278), Southern Illinois (228) and Indiana State (219) took fourth-through-sixth. Loyola (179), Bradley (110), Evansville (106) and Drake (73) made up the bottom-four.
Preseason polls are far from an exact science. While MVC preseason favorites have gone on to win each of the last four titles, they're batting just .500 over the last three decades (15 titles in 30 years).
McDuffie becomes the eighth Shocker in four years to make the first-team list. He's a year removed from a strong debut campaign that saw him pick up MVC Freshman of the Year honors while also carving out spots on the league's All-Bench and All-Newcomer Teams.
Last week McDuffie was named one of 20 preseason candidates for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
The Paterson, N.J. native averaged 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 2015-16 but figures to take on a much heavier workload in his second go-around with stars
Ron Baker and
Fred VanVleet moving on to the NBA.
Mikyle McIntosh (Illinois State), Jeremy Morgan (UNI), Brenton Scott (Indiana State) and Paris Lee (Illinois State) join McDuffie on the first team. Morgan was the top vote-getter, earning him preseason player of the year status.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Morris will also have an opportunity to step up. Though he started 29 games in 2015-16, Morris (6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds) averaged less than 16 minutes per game while platooning with
Anton Grady. His 35 blocks led the team are the league's second-highest total among returning players.
Joining Morris on the second team were Milton Doyle (Loyola), Dequon Miller (Missouri State), Sean O'Brien (Southern Illinois) and Reed Timmer (Drake).
The Shockers host Augusta University in exhibition action on Saturday, Nov. 5. The 2 p.m. CT tip can be seen on Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022) or beyond the Kansas borders on ESPN3.
2016-17 MVC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Wichita State (37) 413
2. Illinois State (4) 356
3. UNI (1) 348
4. Missouri State 278
5. Southern Illinois 228
6. Indiana State 219
7. Loyola 179
8. Bradley 110
9. Evansville 106
10. Drake 73
PRESEASON ALL-MVC
First Team
F - Markis McDuffie (So.), Wichita State
F - MiKyle McIntosh (Jr.), Illinois State
G - Jeremy Morgan (Sr.) UNI
G - Brenton Scott (Jr.), Indiana State
G - Paris Lee (Sr.), Illinois State
Second Team
G - Milton Doyle (Sr.), Loyola
G - Dequon Miller (Sr.), Missouri State
C - Shaquille Morris (Jr.), Wichita State
F - Sean O'Brien (Sr.), Southern Illinois
G - Reed Timmer (Jr.), Drake
