ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Illinois State men's basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Preseason Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Poll, announced on Wednesday morning. In addition to the team prediction, sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger was picked on the preseason First Team, and Malachi Poindexter to the preseason Second Team.
The Redbirds earned 397 points in the poll, which has votes from the Conference's head coaches, athletics communications directors, and media members.
Kinziger, who was named to the MVC All-Freshman and All-Bench squads last season, averaged 8.7 points per game, including averaging 16.