Mid-Continent Conference Preview

The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.   Blue Ribbon Forecast No. Team  '01-02 Conf. Rec. (Overall) 1. IUPUI  6-8 (15-15)  2. Oral Roberts  10-4 (16-14)  3. Valparaiso  12-2 (25-7)  4. Oakland  10-4 (17-13)  5. UMKC  7-7 (18-11)  6. Southern Utah  8-6 (11-16)  7. Chicago State  0-14 (2-26)  8. Western Illinois  3-11 (12-15)  All-Conference Team Did You Know? G: Michael Watson JR, UMKC G: Mike Helms JR, Oakland F: Josh Murray SR, IUPUI F: Reggie Borges SR, Oral Roberts F: Raitis Grafs SR, Valparaiso Player of the Year Reggie Borges SR, ORU Newcomer of the Year Josh Murray SR, IUPUI Top Backcourts 1. IUPUI 2. Oral Roberts 3. Southern Utah Top Frontcourts 1. IUPUI 2. Oakland 3. Valparaiso 2002-03 Conference Tournament March 9-11, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO 2001-02 Champions Valparaiso (Reg. season, conf. tournament) 2001-02 NCAA Tournament Postseason Record 0-1 (.000) NCAA Valparaiso Valparaiso coach Scott Drew is the only newcomer to the league's head coaching ranks. Drew takes over for his father, Homer Drew, who finished his 26-year career with a record of 505-306. He's also the winningest Mid-Continent coach of all-time with 128 conference victories. IUPUI became the first No. 6-seeded team to reach the Mid-Continent Tournament championship game last season UMKC's Michael Watson played in every minute of every game 11 times last year, and led the Mid-Continent in scoring at 21.9 points per game UMKC will participate in the Preseason NIT in November. Reggie Borges of Oral Roberts, the Mid-Continent's Newcomer of the Year, also would have been the Sixth Man of the Year if the conference handed out such an award. On Feb. 21 against Chicago State, Borges came off the bench to score 40 points on 18-of-22 shooting, the most points for a reserve in any NCAA game last year. Oakland's Mike Helms didn't suffer a sophomore slump. After being chosen the league's newcomer of the year as a freshman, Helms followed with a first-team all-conference selection last year. He scored 45 against Western Michigan, tied for fourth on the NCAA's single-game scoring list last season. Chicago State head coach Bo Ellis was one of six recipients of the NCAA's Silver Anniversary Award for the 2001-02 season. Oakland head coach Greg Kampe won his 300th career game last season, while Southern Utah's Bill Evans became the school's career victories leader. Mid-Continent teams improved their winning percentage against non-conference Division I foes from .366 in 2000-01 to .447 last year. Against mid-major foes, the Mid-Continent fared even better, posting a 39-26 record, including 9-4 against the Horizon League, 5-4 against the MAC and 4-4 vs. the Missouri Valley.

 

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