BYU basketball: Previewing the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils

BYU basketball’s regular season begins on Saturday, as the Cougars host the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils. Here’s what to know.

After a successful and undefeated exhibition season, BYU basketball hosts Mississippi Valley State on Saturday to open up the regular season.

The Cougars shouldn’t have any trouble handling the Delta Devils, but it’s important to not overlook any team.

The Delta Devils have lost each of their top four scorers from last season. In 2016-17 Marcus Romain, Isaac Williams, Ta’Jay Henry, Rashaan Surles and Darrell Riley combined to score 61.9 points per game. Without those players, the majority of the rotation will be rebuilt in 2017-18.

It looks like MVSU will try to rely on its center, 6-foot-10 Jamal Watson. Watson didn’t do much last season, but is coming off a 16 point, 17 rebound performance.

While Watson’s height is legit, I’m not too concerned with Yoeli Childs’ ability to dominate the post. Watson is listed at just 200 lbs., so Childs should still be able to bully his way down low.

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MVSU’s roster features 12 transfer players – so it’s unknown who will play what role. However, the team is experienced, with 11 players being upperclassmen.

Still, the Marriott Center is an intimidating place to play. With 20,000 BYU basketball fans screaming, I’d expect the Delta Devils to be a tad rattled.

For BYU basketball, this is the last tune up before traveling east to take on Princeton. Dave Rose appears to have found his lineup, so now it’s time to produce.

Against Colorado College, BYU got away with missing a lot of open looks. Truthfully, the Cougars can probably get away with the same against MVSU. But I’d like to see them get rolling, to carry some momentum into Princeton.

The Cougars and Delta Devils tipoff on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7PM MST.