Missouri Valley voters choose Illinois State’s Dan Muller as Coach of the Year

Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall finished second in Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year voting Thursday to Illinois State’s Dan Muller.

Muller, whose team tied WSU for the conference title at 17-1, got 25 first-place votes and 102 total points. Marshall, who has won MVC Coach of the Year three times, received 18 first-place votes and 96 points.

There were 44 voters. Two who could’ve voted for Muller did not vote for him in the top two spots, while one did not vote for Marshall in the top two spots. WSU and Illinois State were eight games ahead of third-place Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois.

UNI’s Ben Jacobson got the other first-place vote and finished fourth, one spot behind Bradley’s Brian Wardle.

In his fourth season, Muller has a 25-5 Redbirds team that is the top seed in the conference tournament, which begins Thursday night. Muller is 101-63 in his fourth season.

Marshall, who was edged out by SIU’s Barry Hinson last year for the honor, led the 21st-ranked Shockers (27-4) to the MVC co-championship with a 17-1 record, their fourth straight title and fifth in the past six seasons. WSU defended its title without a senior in the playing rotation and after losing five seniors — including NBA players Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet — from the 2016 champions.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Missouri Valley voters choose Illinois State’s Dan Muller as Coach of the Year."