On Oct. 9, 2017, I cut my fall break short to go to Maggiano’s for the Chicagoland Tip-off Luncheon, where all of the Division I Chicago college basketball teams met to unofficially start the season. At the time, I was having trouble picking which team would top my Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) preseason poll ballot. Naturally, I asked Loyola coach Porter Moser who I should pick: his Ramblers or Missouri State University.
“I think [Missouri State’s] clearly the favorite,” Moser told me. “They’ve got the best player in the league … their problem is they’ve got a lot of guys.