Getty Images FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MARCH 19: Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears reacts on the sidelines in the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 19, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
The college basketball season officially tips off on Monday with most teams playing their first game of the season. It all starts with No. 5 Baylor, who will look to get their season off to a strong start as they host a Mississippi Valley State team that will turn to new head coach George Ivory after tallying just seven total wins in Lindsey Hunter’s three seasons.
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The game (Noon ET start time) won’t be on a regular TV channel anywhere, but everyone in the US can watch Mississippi Valley State vs Baylor live on ESPN+ right here:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Mississippi Valley State vs Baylor live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
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Baylor vs MVSU Preview
Baylor will be a very experienced team as they return a lot of production from last season. The Bears will be upper classmen heavy and return multiple players with National Championship experience from 2021.
Baylor returns two of their top scorers from last season in senior Adam Flagler and junior LJ Cryer. The duo will form one of the best backcourts in the country as Flagler added 13.8 points and Cryer put in 13.5 points per game last season.
The Bears also added a 5-star recruit in Keyonte George, who is considered a strong contender for Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a very good shot maker. In the transfer portal, Baylor was able to add a very good wing defender in West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges, who held opponents to 31.9% shooting last season.
Baylor also returns an interior presence with Flo Thamba and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. Thamba chipped in 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last season. Tchatchoua is a big question mark as he’s coming back from a knee injury last season, but he averaged 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds when healthy.
The Bears also landed BYU transfer Caleb Lohner and hope that he’ll return to his freshman form where he averaged 7.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Cougars.
This is a tough start to the season for Missippi Valley State as they are coming off of a 2-26 season where they lost by an average of 15.8 points per game. The Delta Devils scored just 67.2 points per game last season.
The Delta Devils also lost their top five scorers from last season’s team so there’s a lot of turnover on the roster this season. The team’s top returning scorer is Terry Collins, who is back for his senior season after averaging 9.7 points per game last season.
Kadar Waller also returns for his sophomore season after averaging 5.8 points per game last season, but he shot just 29.7% from the field. MVSU could be in for a long night in their opener as the Bears held opponents to just 64.1 points per game last season.
With the amount of talent and experience that Baylor brings back they appear to be a prime candidate to make a deep postseason run.