This isn't how first-year head coach James Green would have drawn up his start at Mississippi Valley State.
The Delta Devils have been missing two key returning starters and are 2-10 overall. They will play just their second home game of the season Saturday night, when they host instate rival Alcorn State at the Harrison HPER Complex in Itta Bena.
Tipoff is set for 7:30. The women's game will start at 5:30.
It's doubtful either Ronald Alexander or Solomon Forbes will be in uniform Saturday when Valley (2-10, 2-1 SWAC) and Alcorn State (3-10, 3-1) square off.
Alexander, who has been sidelined most of the season while battling Krohn's disease, also has an injured hand that could possibly sideline him the rest of the season. Forbes, meanwhile, also faces the prospect of not playing again this season because of academic reasons.
"We hope to know something definitive on both of those guys pretty soon," first-year Valley coach James Green said. "If we lose both of them, even one of them, that's a blow."
Alexander, a 7-foot center who was tabbed the preseason SWAC defensive player of the year, missed the Delta Devils' first seven games. He played very sparingly in a tournament at UTEP, where he sustained a fractured hand. He was a second-team All-SWAC pick a year ago after shooting 67 percent from the field and ranking first in the league and ninth in the nation in blocked shots while averaging 6.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Forbes, a former All-SWAC performer, missed most of last season after former coach Lafayette Stribling dismissed him from the team for breaking an unspecified team rule.
Forbes is averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Two of Green's late signees, guards Tychious Snow (10.4 ppg) and Mike Thomas (9.3 ppg) rank first and second on the team in scoring. Returning guard Standford Speech (9.4 ppg) has been the Delta Devils' most consistent player, Green said.
Both Valley and Alcorn are coming off their first SWAC losses of the young season.
Valley started league play 2-0 with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State, before losing Monday 74-67 at Alabama A&M.
Alcorn started 3-0 in league play under third-year coach Sammy West, including a 58-56 come-from-behind victory over Jackson State this past Saturday, before dropping a 65-62 home decision to Grambling State on Monday.
The Braves are led by guard Delvin Thompson, who ranks third in the SWAC with 17.2 points per game.
Alcorn center Juan Wyatt is coming on as a big force in the middle. The 6-foot-8, 225-pounder is the SWAC leader in field-goal percentage (.614), fourth in rebounding at 6.9 a game and has hit double figures in scoring in each of the last three games.
