2025-26 Predictions, Projections & Prognostications

[Old Titan]

Is it really EVER too early to post preseason rankings of this sort, which in the current chaos of all things college basketball, bears about as much weight as tea leaves, Quija boards, and Magic 8 Balls?

I like the disclaimer at the bottom:  "Compiled by Bart Torvik from sacred data and secret formulas".

 

[Old Titan]

Along with this, featuring none other than Carlos Rosario in an integral role, with Martins Kilups appearing in multiple forms (and apparently performing at a higher clip without the oppressive weight of punctuation...)

 

[Keenan Henderson]

All the big guys were left off the team, so ORU is back to small ball again.  At least ORU is out of the 8vs 9 first round torment!  It is something to talk about as summer continues.

Did you report the errors/omissions/wackiness OT?

[Dave Connor]

 

3 minutes ago, Keenan Henderson said:

All the big guys were left off the team, so ORU is back to small ball again.

...But not really small ball. This list omits our 2 shortest and 4 tallest players

Here are the players that were not listed:

Cal Furnish 5’10", Alex Couto 6’1", Aaron Jacob 6’8", Lane Sparks 6’3", Baron Smith 6’9", Landen Jordan 6’9", Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams 6’10.

[Keenan Henderson]

I would probably agree with this prediction that ORU is 7th because we just do not know what kind of team they will have this year.  I would also agree that there will be 5-6 guys that can score but Harper is most likely your go to guy when the Eagles need a basket.  Besides that, the prediction does not make much sense.

[Old Titan]

I put about as much stock in these computer rankings as I do the kid on Twitter who earnestly ranked every single D1 basketball team by (wait for it) "how much he likes them".

ORU clocked in at a respectable #192.

South Dakota State was in the bottom four out of 361 teams.

I have no idea why.

 

[Keenan Henderson]

Early season predications or projections are usually based on two things: what did you do last season and how much talent do you bring back/find in the portal? I would expect ORU to be picked near the bottom in most Summit League preseason polls.

Example: Omaha wins the Summit and returns about 70% percent of its minutes from last year, so they are a top team in the preseason polls.

[Keenan Henderson]

Now that we have the full 31 game schedule, who dares to make a prediction about ORU's record? 

I would say that the Eagles will struggle in non-conference games (5-10) but get better as the season goes on and finish 8-8 in Summit League games.  So, the final prediction is 13-18 but as you know I am usually wrong on these projections.  It is still fun to talk about it.

[GoldenEagleFan]

2 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Now that we have the full 31 game schedule, who dares to make a prediction about ORU's record? 

I would say that the Eagles will struggle in non-conference games (5-10) but get better as the season goes on and finish 8-8 in Summit League games.  So, the final prediction is 13-18 but as you know I am usually wrong on these projections.  It is still fun to talk about it.

Non Conf D1 wins= 3
Summit League wins = 4

[Old Titan]

I'm going to have to see them in some sort of competition first; either the rumored exhibition game the last week of October, or the season opener at OSU, before making any kind of guess.

Either way, I'll concede the game in Stillwater as an "L" before picking the remaining 30 contests.

[oruvoice]

16 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Now that we have the full 31 game schedule, who dares to make a prediction about ORU's record? 

I would say that the Eagles will struggle in non-conference games (5-10) but get better as the season goes on and finish 8-8 in Summit League games.  So, the final prediction is 13-18 but as you know I am usually wrong on these projections.  It is still fun to talk about it.

A 13 win season will be a monumental success and worthy of raise and contract extension for the coach. 

[Idig32]

Playing .500 in the Summit would be great. I think this roster has a good chance of competing in the Summit so .500 is possible, but I think 7-9 is probably the best they can do. The Non-Conference is tough. I think only 3 D1 wins at best (hopefully TU, Montana State, and one of the Florida tournament teams). I guess that means a 13-18 record if you count the Non-D1s (hopefully they can win all of those).

[Old Titan]

 

Suitable bulletin board material:

BOLD PREDICTION:  Neither ORU or KC will play in the 8-vs-9 game in Sioux Falls. 

[2014Grad]

I could see Omaha having a similar drop off to ORU after winning the championship as Sutton and White are BIG losses. Crutchfield is more than capable, but if I were to guess they’d finish in the bottom half of the league.

[Keenan Henderson]

As a fan I am hoping that a first year Coach can put together a whole new team and have a shot at a winning season.  It is a big ask but no one in Summit League really jumps off the paper.  ORU has never looked more unknown but so has the rest of the conference.  The Eagles can surprise some teams this year.  

 

[Old Titan]

1 hour ago, Keenan Henderson said:

As a fan I am hoping that a first year Coach can put together a whole new team and have a shot at a winning season.  It is a big ask but no one in Summit League really jumps off the paper.  ORU has never looked more unknown but so has the rest of the conference.  The Eagles can surprise some teams this year.  

 

Exactly what OSU football fans said all summer... 

[theeagleman5]

Gundy is done.....

[dave]

19 hours ago, Old Titan said:

 

Suitable bulletin board material:

BOLD PREDICTION:  Neither ORU or KC will play in the 8-vs-9 game in Sioux Falls. 

I am going to go out on a limb and predict that the experience our new coach has at coaching at a higher level of play will come with much higher expectations of what it means to play tough defense and consistent intensity. This is the time to be optimistic about our chances so I will predict a .500 season in conference play and at least a run into the semifinals of the conference tournament. We will see if my optimism gets crushed but a guy can hope.