BYU vs. Mississippi Valley State: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

BYU comes into this game without junior guard Nick Emery, who’s sitting out pending an NCAA investigation into alleged impermissible benefits. Luckily for them, they take on one of the worst teams in the country.

TV schedule: Saturday, November 11, 9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3

Arena: Marriot Center in Provo, Utah

Last season for Brigham Young University was, for a lack of better term, a disaster. Including the now infamous “Lone Peak 3,” the Cougars suffered blowout losses to the likes of Pepperdine, San Diego, and Utah Valley. Their games against Saint Mary’s were effectively no-contests, and, with the exception of beating the then-undefeated and top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs, there was little to celebrate.

Coach Dave Rose revamped the entire roster, including four returning missionaries and a couple of JUCO players. BYU comes in with a fresh start and renewed optimism for the coming year.

That optimism comes in the shape of 6’8 Yoeli Childs, whose dominance in the exhibition games has fans starting to forget about Eric Mika. He along with guards TJ Haws and Elijah Bryant will lead the Cougars into the Saturday night season-opener against Mississippi Valley State.

The Delta Devils finished last season 7-25, including all 14 non-conference games. The SWAC conference program is one of those that play exclusively road games in order to fund their athletic’s program. This will be just one of mainly lopsided games in the first two months for the Delta Devils.

Making matters worse for Mississippi Valley State, the top five scorers from last season are gone. That includes their best player Marcus Romain and his 18.7 ppg. Senior Amos Given is the lead returner at just 5.0 ppg. A whole new batch of freshmen come in, starting a rebuilding process for the program.

Next: BYU 2017-18 season preview

Even without Emery, this is nothing more than a glorified exhibition to start the season for BYU. This will be a good way for some players to get some real playing time before the coaching staff starts to solidify the rotation. The Delta Devils were ranked 340 out of 351 teams in scoring defense at 83.3 ppg. BYU should have no problem surpassing that.

Prediction: BYU 104 – Mississippi Valley State 67