The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team was slated for a second-place finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll, as voted by the league’s 16 coaches this week.
The Screaming Eagles, receiving 203 points in the preseason poll and four first-place votes, enter the 2019-20 campaign fresh-off the program’s first Elite Eight appearance since 2004 and a record of 26-9 (13-5 GLVC), good for third in the GLVC regular-season standings a year ago.
The Eagles return senior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell (Bowling Green, Kentucky), who averaged a13.3 points per game, and junior forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana), who averaged 11.5 points per game and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per outing. Caldwell also averaged 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game during the 2019 post-season, while Little posted 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds during the team’s tournament run.
Bellarmine University (28-5, 14-4 GLVC) was predicted as the 2019-20 league champion, receiving 10 first-place votes and 217 total points. The Knights finished one game back of Lewis University in 2018-19, who was projected fifth (162 points) in this week’s poll.
The University of Indianapolis, Drury University and Lewis round out the top five in the annual coaches’ poll. The Greyhounds earned a pair of first-place votes and 191 points after their 19-10, 12-6 GLVC record snagged the fourth seed in last year’s conference tournament, while the Panthers’ 21-12, 13-5 GLVC campaign netted 184 points in the poll heading into the new season.
The remainder of the top ten in the poll are as follows: Rockhurst University (156 points), the University of Missouri-St. Louis (141), Truman State University (138), McKendree University (98) and GLVC-newcomer Lindenwood University (85).
USI Men’s Basketball opens the 2019-20 season with exhibition dates at the University of Evansville (Oct. 28) and at Purdue University (Nov. 1). The regular season tips off at Hillsdale College November 8, with the season’s home-opener against arch-rival Kentucky Wesleyan College slated for November 18.
The complete 2019 GLVC Coaches’ Preseason Poll (first-place votes):
1. Bellarmine 217 (10)
 2. Southern Indiana 203 (4)
3. Indianapolis 191 (2)
4. Drury 184
5. Lewis 162
6. Rockhurst 156
7. Missouri-St. Louis 141
8. Truman State 138
9. McKendree 98
10. Lindenwood 85
11. Illinois Springfield 84
12. Maryville 79
13. Southwest Baptist 65
14. Quincy 49
15. William Jewell 42
16. Missouri S&T 26
