Men's Basketball | 11/30/2021 1:56:00 PM
FLORENCE, Ala. – The Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball program continues its quest for a victory on Wednesday night versus the UNA Lions.
What You Need to Know
- Time and Date: Wednesday, December 1 (8 p.m.)
- Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-4, 0-0 SWAC) | North Alabama (3-3, 0-0 A-Sun)
- Location: Florence, Alabama – Flowers Hall
Mississippi Valley State Overview
Head Coach Lindsey Hunter and company have committed just 60 fouls and 42 turnovers, ranking fifth and seventh in the NCAA, respectively.
Among its SWAC peers, the Delta Devils are tops in the league regarding assist-to-turnover ratio (0.95) while slotting second in the conference for turnover margin (3.0), assists per game (13.3) and offensive rebounds per game (12.33).
On the individual side of things, freshman phenom Elijah has been a revelation at point guard, averaging six assists per game (16th in NCAA) with a total of 18 (2nd in SWAC) for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.00 (2nd in SWAC). He has been the ultimate example of a selfless ballplayer, posting just 4.3 points a night but making up for it by setting up scoring opportunities as well as quality defense by way of five steals.
On the scoring front is sharpshooter Caleb Hunter who leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a 42.1 three-point percentage while draining the second-most triples per contest (2.67) on top of scoring 14 points a game.
In terms of volume scoring, nobody has been better in his two games of action as Robert Carpenter. After missing the opener at St. John's (NY), he has put up videogame-type numbers with an average of 22.0 points and five boards to go along with an absurd 48.6 field goal percentage (17-of-35) and making half of his three-point attempts (6-for-12) plus a perfect 4-for-4 showing from the free throw line.
Rebounding-wise, John Aguer has been the top dog in the early going as he's top-35 in the country with 3.33 offensive boards per night and a team-high 5.3 rebounds a game.
Scouting The Opponent: North Alabama Lions
North Alabama has been the definition of average to start the year, beating Virgin Islands (99-47), Oakwood (105-50) and Alabama State (81-69) while falling to Mississippi State (75-49), Manhattan (55-51) and Iona (81-65).
The Lions are currently in the fourth and final season of its transition from being a Division II powerhouse to a complete NCAA Division I program and were pegged to finish ninth in the Atlantic Sun this season despite coming off a shocking run to the Conference Title Game a year ago as a five seed before losing to Liberty, 79-75.
Tony Pujol's squad currently has three players scoring in double-digits as Daniel Ortiz (10.7), Jamari Blackmon (10.2) and Payton Youngblood (10.0) have formed a solid trio of shooters.
Damian Forrest is the leading rebounder for the Purple and Gold, snatching 6.2 boards a night.
C.J. Brim tops both the steals and assists department, logging nine of the former and 17 of the latter while Isaac Chatman has rejected the most blocks at eight.
Follow the Delta Devils and Delta Devilettes on Facebook (
Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (
@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (
@MVSUDevilSports).
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