Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
Southwestern Athletic Conference (18-15, 13-5)
Seed: #8
North Region
Big Wins:
12/18 McNeese State (76-45), 2/19 at Texas Southern (63-47), Jackson State
(77-70)
Bad Losses:
1/13 at Alcorn State (60-61), 2/12 Southern (62-63), 2/17 at Prairie
View A&M (45-47)
Coach:
James Green
Probable
Starters:
Tychicus Snow,
Senior, Guard, 6.4 ppg, 2.3 apg
Standford
Speech, Junior, Guard, 12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.5 spg
Michael Clark,
Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Richard Cannon,
Senior, Forward, 7.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Jefferey Price,
Senior, Forward, 7.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Mike Davis,
Junior, Guard, 2.6 ppg, 1.5 apg
Kadrian Bryant,
Senior, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Carl Lucas,
Junior, Forward, 4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Ronald
Alexander, Senior, Center, 4.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.0 bpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Winning the
conference is the main goal for most teams in the SWAC and anything after
that is quite unexpected. However, Mississippi Valley State can hang its hat
on their tough defense. The Delta Devils give up only 62.1 points per game
and allow the opposition to shoot just 40% from the floor, both ranking in
top 50 nationally. The presence of Ronald Alexander under the basket is a
big reason why the opposition has trouble scoring against MVSU. The 7-0
senior averages 2.0 blocks per game, despite seeing limited minutes off the
bench.
Standford
Speech is the only player on the team that averages over ten points per game
and the Delta Devils need him to have a huge game for the team to hang
around. The junior has scored 20 points or more seven times this season.
Even on the rare occasions he is not scoring, Speech will work hard on the
glass and provide leadership to the backcourt.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
The defense is
good, but the offense is pretty non-existent. MVSU ranks 295th in
scoring offense, 293rd in field-goal percentage, 275th
in free-throw percentage and 299th in assists. The good news for
Delta Devil fans is that the slow tempo will keep the squad in games against
better competition for longer than most would expect.
Who To
Watch:
Jefferey Price
and Richard Cannon are the starters up front. At 6-8, Price has the size to
battle in the paint and can be an effective scorer in the post. Cannon can
step outside and hit the three-ball and will help out on the glass. Kadrian
Bryant spent much of this season coming off the bench after starting last
year, but the senior is a decent scorer and provides some major help in the
rebounding department.
By the
Numbers:
Scoring
Offense: 61.0 (295th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring
Defense: 62.1 (35, 1)
Field-Goal
Percentage: 40.6 (293, 4)
Field-Goal
Defense: 40.0 (22, 3)
Free-Throw
Percentage: 65.2 (275, 4)
Rebound Margin:
0.2 (174, 2)
Assists Per
Game: 10.8 (299, 3)
Turnovers Per
Game: 15.9 (251, 4)
Joel’s
Bracket Says: First Round loss to Mississippi State
▪
NIT
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