Men's Basketball | 12/3/2021 11:22:00 AM

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball program heads to the "Valley of the Sun" to face Grand Canyon coached by March Madness legend Bryce Drew.

What You Need to Know 
 

• Time and Date: Saturday, December 4 (7 p.m. CT)

 

• Video: https://plus.espn.com/ (ESPN+)

 

• Audio: https://streamdb3web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KQFN (1580 The Fanatic)

 

• Live Stats: http://statb.us/b/368724

 

• Tickets: https://gcutickets.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3AMULTI%3AMBB22%3AMBB8%3A&linkID=gcu-multi&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=MBB-SING&cgc=&dataAccId=248&locale=en_US&siteId=ev_gcu-multi

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-5, 0-0 SWAC) | Grand Canyon (7-1, 0-0 WAC)

 

• Location: Phoenix, Arizona – GCU Arena

 

• Series History: Grand Canyon Leads 5-0

 

• Last Meeting: December 1, 2020 | Grand Canyon 88, Mississippi Valley State 49 | Phoenix, Arizona (GCU Arena)

 

• Winning Streak: Grand Canyon (W5) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: N/A

 
Mississippi Valley State Overview
 
The Green and White clad Devils are among the most foul-prone teams in college basketball with 92 to rank top-30 nationally while averaging in the top-45 for turnovers forced a game at 17.40.
 
Coach Hunter's group is one of only four teams in the SWAC with a positive turnover margin (1.4) and make threes at a high clip with 6.2 per night to slot third in the league.
 
Defending SWAC Impact Player of the Week Robert Carpenter heads the offense for MVSU, averaging 17.1 points (2nd in SWAC), 36:09 minutes (leads SWAC, 28th in NCAA) and 2.75 three-pointers per game (3rd in SWAC) while shooting 32.4% (4th in SWAC) from downtown and 85.7% (4th in SWAC) from the line.
 
Elijah Davis has come straight out of high school as if he's not fazed by the big stage, topping the Southwestern Athletic Conference at 4.4 assists a ballgame on top of the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.69) and ninth-most steals per night (1.80).
 
Caleb Hunter has been a fantastic complement to Carpenter on the perimeter, averaging 12.4 points and 2.40 three-pointers a game with the latter ranking fifth in the conference.

Scouting The Opponent: Grand Canyon Antelopes
 
The Lopes are coming off its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021 and are competing at the D1 level for just the fifth year. Coached by Valparaiso icon Bryce Drew, GCU is off to a 7-1 start which included wins over fellow SWAC schools (Prairie View A&M & Grambling State) along with UTSA, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, and North Florida with its only loss coming against Wyoming.
 
Despite returning just one starter from last year's Cinderella story, Grand Canyon was picked to finish second in the league behind only mid-major powerhouse New Mexico State and received three first-place votes.
 
The returning starter in question, however, is an absolute stud in First Team All-WAC selection Jovan Blackshear Jr. The junior guard does just about everything for the Antelopes, leading the team in all stats but rebounds and blocks. He is averaging 16.8 points, 2.50 three-pointers, has a 40.8% three-point percentage, 4.6 assists, 2.1 steals, a 41.9% field goal percentage (41.9%), and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.36.
 
Follow the Delta Devils and Delta Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).