ST. LOUIS – The UNI men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference as voted by coaches, sports information directors, and media.
The Panthers finished with 30 first place votes followed by Loyola with 13 and Bradley with one vote. The last time the Panthers were selected as the preseason favorite was prior to the 2009-10 season, that year the Panthers won the MVC Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with victories over UNLV and Kansas.
UNI's junior guard AJ Green has been selected as the Pre-season Player of the Year and landed on the Preseason All-MVC First Team.