EVANSVILLE, Ind. (KFVS) – Three weeks ahead of the upcoming season, the Ohio Valley Conference released its preseason poll for both men’s and women’s basketball.
Reigning OVC regular season champion, SEMO men’s basketball was picked to finish second in the conference, with six first-place votes. The only team ahead of SEMO, Little Rock, was tabbed to finish in first for the second-straight season.
While only five teams received first-place votes in the poll, Redhawks Head Coach Brad Korn envisions a league that could see just about any team contend for a title.
“I think that my general impressions of the race in the OVC is just like any year, it’s going to be wide open,” Korn said. “I know in years past we’ve been picked ”lower” in the preseason and we end up winning the league. We’ve been a higher seed in the tournament and won four games in four days, all within the last three years. I think the race is wide open–that’s what makes it exciting.”
He continued, “I know we face a lot of challenges within our league, but I think that is one thing that makes it exciting is everybody gets going into conference play, and that anything can happen.”
The men’s and women’s preseason polls for OVC basketball released Tuesday.(OVC)
Korn spoke from experience; last year’s poll picked SEMO to finish 7th in the OVC. Fittingly, SEMO won its first-ever outright regular-season conference title.
Senior Brendan Terry is the squad’s sole returner who made an All-OVC team last season. Terry, a forward from Santa Monica, California, emphasized that rather than individual success, it’s team success that motivates him.
“My goals for this season, honestly, is more team-inspired,” Terry said. “I really want to win as much as possible, and I feel like the best experiences I’ve had with basketball has been just trying to compete and win with my guys. While having individual goals like scoring a certain amount of points can be fun, it honestly doesn’t really affect my mood compared to just winning and losing. If I score 20 and I lose, I’m not going to be happy.”
SEMO opens the season with an in-state road trip. The Redhawks tip off the season at Saint Louis on Monday, November 3, before heading to Columbia to face Mizzou that Friday.
For more on the men’s team’s preparations for the upcoming season, click here.
SEMO Women’s basketball picked 9th
Headed into Briley Palmer’s second season at the helm, SEMO women’s basketball was picked to finish ninth in the conference, ahead of SIUE and Morehead State.
Palmer enters this season with full-time to plan for the campaign, after joining the Redhawks last summer.
“Year 2: new things, new players, new coaches,” Palmer said. “Excited just to see what we’ve put together. What we’ve put together so far is exciting. You see growth every day, and that’s all I ask for. It’s going to be some exciting time. A lot of kids that I’ve had before, so the familiarity of that is just awesome to me.”
The men’s and women’s preseason polls for OVC basketball released Tuesday.(OVC)
One of Palmer’s leading returners is Lexi McCully. McCully, a leader on and off the court, has been with Palmer at two separate stints.
Originally at Mineral Area College with Palmer, McCully eventually got the call to join SEMO, one that she took full advantage of, helping lead the team down the stretch to nearly qualify for the OVC Tournament.
McCully spoke on her goals heading into her final year of college basketball.
“My goal is just to be consistent. I want to be a consistent foundation for my team. Scoring-wise, rebounding-wise, some things are just not going to be under my control. My effort, my energy, things like that are always going to be in my control and I always want my girls to be able to look at me and by like, ‘Lexi’s cool, ok I’m cool too.’ So I just want to be the foundation for them; it’s my biggest goal.”
The Redhawks start their season on the road at Illinois on Tuesday, November 4. The Illini sit just a few places out of the Top 25 nationally, in the preseason AP Poll.
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