PEORIA — The Bradley Braves have been picked as a top contender in the Missouri Valley Conference in preseason rankings released by a highly regarded national college basketball analytics site.
Kenpom.com, operated by Ken Pomeroy, has Bradley at No. 1 in the Valley and No. 106 overall in the 365-team NCAA Division-I field. The computer-model based rankings evolve daily as data from games is applied throughout the season.
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Bradley basketball: 6 takeaways and everything to know from BU’s first game action of season
Belmont is No. 2 in the Valley and No. 108 overall, followed by Northern Iowa (No. 117 overall) and Illinois State (No. 121 overall.)
The Valley’s own preseason poll — of which it released only the top five teams — has Illinois State at No. 1, followed by Northern Iowa, Murray State, Bradley and Belmont.
Kenpom.com projects the Braves to go 13-7 in MVC play, followed by 12 wins each for Belmont and Northern Iowa. The analytics forecast a congested conference race, with the top seven teams projected within 29 slots of each other in the national ranks. The MVC is rated No. 10 among 31 NCAA D-I conferences.
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The site predicts the Braves to split the series with Illinois State, trading home wins, and go 19-9 overall for the 2025-26 season. It shows Illinois State with an 18-12 projected record overall.
More: Where Bradley basketball landed in the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll
Missouri Valley Conference rankings via KenPom.com
Here is the Missouri Valley Conference full preseason rankings, according to kenpom.com analytics, with a team’s overall national ranking, Valley record and overall record included:
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(106) Bradley 13-7 (19-9)
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(108) Belmont 12-8 (20-10)
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(117) Northern Iowa 12-8 (18-12)
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(121) Illinois State 11-9 (18-12)
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(130) Southern Illinois 11-9 (17-14)
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(134) Murray State 10-10 (17-14)
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(135) Illinois Chicago 10-10 (18-13)
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(186) Indiana State 8-12 (14-17)
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(246) Evansville 6-14 (11-18)
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(283) Valparaiso 5-15 (10-21)
More: 6 takeaways and everything to know from Bradley basketball’s first game action of season
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Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: KenPom preseason ranks: Bradley basketball shines in analytic site’s picks
