Norlander: Racers a Top-100 team in country

MBB: The CBS Sports analyst released his preseason rankings today

Justin Morgan and JaCobi Wood hope to help Murray State push for a Missouri Valley Title. (Photo: Dave Winder/Murray State Athletics)

Before year, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander puts out his preseason rankings of the Top 100 college basketball teams in the country. So what methodology does Norlander use to make us his rankings?

“Examine the rosters, check in with coaches for intel, evaluate programs based on recent success (or a lack of it), factor in (and try to discern) inevitable surges and fades, and mostly avoid preseason metrics as to not be influenced by the (often accurate) biases of algorithms. Oh, and: Be sure to just let a few inexplicable predictions rip and hope for the best.”

With that out of the way, Norlander includes three Missouri Valley Conference teams in his Top-100: #48 Bradley, #80 Northern Iowa and #96 Murray State. Like many, Norlander is optimistic about the Racers this season.

“The team is one of my picks for one of the biggest turnarounds in the sport. Steve Prohm's program won only 12 games last season. So, why so much faith? Eight juniors and seniors will take up the entirety of the rotation, with a reasonable expectation that this will be a top-two defense in the Valley. At the 1 is JaCobi Wood, who won't exactly be Ja Morant, but I think he's poised to be one of only a handful of guys in D-I to average 15/5/5. If it all comes together, he could do that and creep up on 40% shooting from 3-point range.”

For a look at Norlander’s entire list, with a breakdown of each team, you can click here.