ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University men’s basketball program will slug it out with its in-state neighbors to the south on Saturday for Magnolia State pride.
Records: Mississippi Valley State (1-18, 1-8 SWAC) | Jackson State (4-16, 2-7 SWAC)
Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – R.W. Harrison HPER Complex
Series History: Jackson State Leads 59-50
Last Meeting: February 27, 2021 | Jackson State 68, Mississippi Valley State 54 | Itta Bena, Mississippi (R.W. Harrison HPER Complex)
Winning Streak: Jackson State (W4) | Mississippi Valley State’s Last Win: March 2, 2019 (60-57)
Mississippi Valley State Overview
Mississippi Valley State mirrors its female counterparts in its propensity for the long ball, averaging the second-most threes in the league at 6.8 to go along with the second-best turnover margin of +2.3.
Kadar Waller went from off the board all the way up to number one regarding the best free-throw shooter in the SWAC, making 88% of his freebies which is good enough to rank top-30 nationally as well.
Caleb Hunter sits just three points shy of the illustrious 1,000 mark for his career, needing just one three-pointer to reach the milestone in just his 72nd contest. The fact that he’s averaging the third-highest three-pointers per game average in the league (2.42) and seventh-best scoring average overall among the SWAC (13.8), it probably will not take long for the barrier to be broken.
Elijah Davis has steadily held at or near the top of the assists leaderboard all year long, currently slotting second in the SWAC for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.76) and sixth in terms of dimes per game (3.5).
Scouting The Opponent: Jackson State Tigers
The Tigers were pegged as one of the favorites to claim the crown but have not lived up to the hype so far, going 2-7 in conference play during the first go-round.
Preseason SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Jayveous McKinnis has been as advertised however, fronting the conference in double-doubles (10), blocks per game (3.45), field-goal percentage (54.8%) and rebounds a night (10.1).
The big man from Brandon, Mississippi is also the only JSU student-athlete averaging in double-figures for scoring (12.2) while Jonas James III is the only player not named McKinnis to lead JSU in a stat, logging a team-best 52 assists.
Your financial support, whether it be through purchasing season tickets, making an annual donation or committing to a major gift, directly benefits Valley’s student-athletes in the classroom and in sports.
