As the academic year creeps further along toward the return of basketball season, the time to play oracle for the ULM men’s basketball team has arrived.

The Warhawks are coming off of a successful season in 2018-19- a season that saw ULM finish three games above .500 winning percentage.

ULM should be more successful this season as the team returns core members from last year’s team in guards junior Michael Ertel and senior JD Williams. Ertel was second on the team in points last year with 15.5 and Williams was fourth with 11.8.

While the Warhawks are losing production in Daishon Smith and Travis Munnings who both graduated, their production is not necessarily replaceable but senior Tyree White will be expected to replicate some of Munnings’ production.

The biggest change for the Warhawks this year is their size. This upcoming season the Warhawks have a 7’1 player, two 6’10 players as well as three 6’8 players.

This season should see an improvement from last year’s 19-16 record. Last season the Warhawks were 14-3 in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, including their postseason games in the Colleginsider.com Tournament.

After 14 regular-season home games last season, the Warhawks will have 15 this year including winnable non-conference home games versus Louisiana College, Alcorn State, Northwestern State, Millsaps and I-20 rival Grambling State, the Warhawks should begin their season hot. Including an away non-conference game versus Stephen F. Austin, the Warhawks should begin the season 6-2. The three games of worry from the early part of the season are against SEC opponents Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Looking towards the rest of the season, there is one more non-conference game as ULM travels to Butler to play the Bulldogs.

The rest of the season is all in-conference games. The Warhawks went 9-9 during conference play including four one-point losses, all on the road. Where the team must improve and should is on the road, as dominate as the Warhawks were at home, they were equally susceptible to losing on the road going 4-12, the record is deceiving due to those four one-point losses.

ULM this year will be better than last year, with the improvements to the size and a year more experience for multiple Warhawks like Ertel and Williams, the team has a good opportunity to win the conference.