Men's Basketball | 12/21/2021 5:08:00 PM

 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball program will make its first and hopefully not last trip to Bartow Arena this season as it will face UAB Wednesday evening before a potential return trip in March for the SWAC Tournament.

What You Need to Know 
 

• Time and Date: Wednesday, December 22 (6:30 p.m.)

 

• Video: https://conferenceusa.com/watch/default.aspx?Live=15285&path=odu (CUSA.tv)

 

• Audio: https://uabsports.com/showcase?Live=4388

 

• Live Stats: https://uabsports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

 

• Tickets: N/A

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-9, 0-0 SWAC) | UAB (9-3, 0-0 C-USA)

 

• Location: Birmingham, Alabama – Bartow Arena

 

• Series History: UAB Leads 8-0

 

• Last Meeting: December 23, 2017 | UAB 74, Mississippi Valley State 57 | Birmingham, Alabama (Bartow Arena)

 

• Winning Streak: UAB (W8) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: N/A

 
Mississippi Valley State Overview
 
Head Coach Lindsey Hunter's club currently sits in the top-45 nationally for turnovers forced per game (16.56), is third in the conference regarding turnover margin (2.3) and slots fourth among SWAC teams in both assist-to-turnover ratio (0.74) plus three-pointers a night (5.9).
 
Robert Carpenter is statistically the best free throw shooter in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at 85.7% and second for points per game (16.6) while ranking top-five for threes a contest (2.12) to go along with topping the Devils at 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest.
 
Elijah Davis and David McCoy co-top the Green and White with 15 steals apiece with the former averaging 3.3 assists a night for a assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.20.

Scouting The Opponent: UAB Blazers

Prior to its six-point loss versus West Virginia on Saturday, the Blazers have been on a roll, winning four straight over East Tennessee State, Saint Louis, Millsaps and Grambling State.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham was pegged as one of the top-50 teams in the country coming into the campaign and have acted accordingly, leading the country in steals per game (12.8), second in turnover margin (9.1) and third for turnovers forced (20.58) while ranking 12th regarding scoring margin (19.5), top-30 for scoring offense (80.8), and top-50 in scoring defense (61.2).

Quan Jackson is the fifth-best defender in the NCAA, swiping 33 steals for an average of 2.75 a night.

Jordan Walker is the shooter of the bunch, fronting UAB in points per game (16.1), assists (53) and three-pointers (30).

Trey Jamison and KJ Buffen have combined to record five double-doubles so far through 12 matchups as Jamison is averaging the tenth-best offensive rebounding rate in the nation (3.64) while swatting 1.55 blocks a night while Buffen has corralled 78 boards plus 17 steals.

Follow the Delta Devils and Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).