He played college basketball for the Ole Miss Rebels, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Buffalo Bulls.

[1][2] He started playing competitive basketball at age eight, learning from Vincent Mbassi, a trainer at Kameet Academy who knew his uncle.

[5] A three-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for Texas Tech over offers from Seton Hall and South Florida.

[6] As a freshman at Texas Tech, Mballa played sparingly, scoring 13 total points, and his team reached the national championship game.

[9] As a junior, he averaged 15.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, receiving Second Team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Defensive Player of the Year honors.