Mississippi Valley State Men's Basketball (3-16, 1-2) vs. Prairie View (7-11, 5-0); Texas Southern (8-10, 3-2)
Date(s): Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019; Monday, Jan. 28, 2019
Time(s): 4:00 p.m. (CT); 7:30 p.m. (CT)
Facility: R.W. Harrison HPER Complex (Itta Bena, MS)

PROBABLE STARTERS: G Jordan Evans (6-2, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg); G Gregory Jones-Rollins (5-7, So., 13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg); F LaCurtis Allen (6-4, R-Sr., 2.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg); F Dante Scott (6-4, Sr., 11.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg); F Lorenzo Hunt (6-4, Jr., 2.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg).

DELTA DEVILS OVERVIEW: Mississippi Valley State (3-16, 1-4) is coming off a two-game road trip that resulted in a pair of defeats for the Delta Devils that dropped to a 1-4 conference record. MVSU returns home for a weekend matchup on Saturday, Jan. 26 hosting Prairie View followed by a matchup against Texas Southern on Monday, Jan. 28. The last time the Delta Devils played at home they split picking up a victory over Alabama A&M but fell to Alabama State in overtime. On the season, the Delta Devils are 3-2 at home and 1-1 in conference play. Senior Gregory Jones-Rollins leads the Delta Devils in scoring (13.0 ppg) followed by senior Jordan Evans (11.7 ppg) and senior Dante Scott (11.5) rounding out the double-figure scorers. Senior Emmanuel Ejeh leads the team's rebounding efforts at 6.7 rpg and the Delta Devils are also ranked fourth within the conference in offensive rebounds (11.4).
 

PRAIRIE VIEW OVERVIEW: Prairie View (7-11, 5-0) leads the Southwestern Athletic conference standings with an undefeated record and have won six games in a row overall. The Panthers recently defeated Grambling State at home, 83-66, behind five double-figure scorers. Under the direction of fourth year head coach Byron Smith, Prairie View went 16-18 last season with a 12-6 finish in the SWAC. The Panthers lead the conference in turnover margin (4.3) and in turnovers forced (17.83). They sit in the top-three in fewest turnovers (244), free throw attempts (402), free-throws made (264), offensive rebounds per game (11.44), scoring offense (69.8), steals per game (8.3), three-point field goal defense (32.3), total steals (150) and turnovers per game (13.6). Dennis Jones leads the SWAC in steals per game (1.87) and is fourth in steals per game (28). Gary Blackston is second in both points per game (15.6) and total field goal attempts (234), third in total rebounds (137) and defensive rebounds (5.50) and ranks fourth in both double-doubles (4) and free throw attempts (91).
 

TEXAS SOUTHERN OVERVIEW: The defending SWAC champions, Tigers of Texas Southern (8-10, 3-2) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 75-65 home victory over Jackson State (Jan. 21). Last season, the Tigers went 16-20 with 15 conference wins. Texas Southern has had four players finish in double-figure scoring in four of five conference games thus far. Under the direction of first year head coach, Johnny Jones, the Tigers are leading the SWAC in scoring offense (77.3 ppg), three-point field goals per game (8.1), total assists (280), assists per game (15.6), and offensive rebounds per game (11.67). Leading scorer, Jalyn Patterson (13.7 ppg), ranks first in the conference in free throw percentage (83.0) and offensive rebounds per game (3.67), while ranking second in assists per game (4.3) and blocked shots per game (1.67). Trayvon Reed also sits in first place within the SWAC in defensive rebounds per game (6.67), field-goal percentage (64.8), and rebounds per game (8.5).

LAST TIME OUT: MVSU dropped their third straight SWAC road game, despite Jordan Evans registering his 11th double-digit scoring effort with 17 points in an 80-56, setback at Southern. Evans scored 13 first-half points as the Delta Devils battled from behind and junior Michael Evans was the other double-digit scorer for MVSU with 12 points making 3-of-7 three-pointers off the bench. Gregory Jones-Rollins had eight points while Torico Simmons scored six and senior Dante Scott led with five rebounds.

UP NEXT: The Delta Devils hit the road for an important two-game trip. First MVSU will play rival Jackson State on Saturday, Feb. 2 and then will play at Grambling State on Monday, Feb. 4 on ESPNU.
 
NEWS & NOTES
• MVSU has three players in double-figures in conference play: Gregory Rollins-Jones (13.3 ppg), Michael Green (12.5 ppg), and Jordan Evans (10.8 ppg)
• MVSU through 19 games is shooting 37.9 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 64.6 percent from the free throw line
• MVSU is averaging 34.9 rebounds per game, 11.3 assists per game, 5.9 steals per game, 2.0 blocks per game, and 13.0 turnovers per game