Bears Host Unbeaten Evansville in Valley Opener Wednesday

The Ten Count

• Missouri State kicks off its 34th season in the Missouri Valley Conference on Wednesday when the Bears host Evansville in the 2023-24 conference opener at Great Southern Bank Arena (7 p.m.). MoState is 2-0 at home this season and has reeled off five straight victories overall, including a championship in the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, Nov. 17-20.
• The Bears rank 38th nationally in 3-point shooting (.386), which is the 3rd-best percentage in The Valley, behind Indiana State (.414) and Southern Illinois (.395). 
• Missouri State’s 70.0-percent shooting effort in the second half against South Carolina State on Saturday (14-for-20) was the club’s best FG% in a half since a 73.9-percent effort in the first half at Evansville on Feb. 26, 2021. 
• MSU point guard Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, Puerto Rico) was named MVP of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands last week and then ended the week with a career-high 28 points in Saturday’s win over SCSU. Lee ranks 29th nationally (and tops in the MVC) in assists per game (5.7). He also ranks 44th in the NCAA in free throws made (32).
• N.J. Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) ranks 2nd in the MVC with 2.83 offensive rebounds per game. Last week, Benson led all Valley players in rebounds (11.0), blocks (2.5), and FG percentage (.833).
• The Bears are 28-5 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference home openers, including an 12-3 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena and 3-2 mark under head coach Dana Ford. Overall, the Bears are 21-12 in MVC lid lifters (regardless of location), also 3-2 under Ford.
• Missouri State has out-rebounded 4-of-6 opponents this season with a +16.0 rebound margin over the last 3 games.
• Missouri State’s defense has burst onto the scene this year, pushing the Bears to 28th nationally in 3-point FG pct. defense (.264), 29th in FG pct. defense (.378), and 19th in defensive rebounds per game (30.67). MSU has held 4-of-6 foes this year under 40-percent from the field (all under 43 percent) and 5-of-6 under 35 percent from 3-point range.
• Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) ranks 25th nationally in 3-point FG percentage (.471). Mason has knocked down 2.67 threes per game so far this season (4th in MVC) with multiple triples in 4 of 6 contests.
• In 2 previous appearances against Evansville, Chance Moore (Jr., Brookhaven, Ga.) is averaging 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game against the Aces, while knocking down 8-of-18 (.444) 3-point attempts.
• Fourth-year squadman Raphe Ayres (Jr., Arlington, Va.) has racked up 4 rebounds in each of the last 2 games. The defensive specialist is averaging 18.5 minutes in that span while collecting 3.0 caroms per contest on the defensive end.
• Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) has scored in double figures 5 straight games, averaging 16.8 points per game during MSU’s current win streak. Clay has 69 career double-figure games (37 with the Bears). The Preseason All-MVC first-teamer also ranks 48th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.5), which is 3rd in the MVC.
• The Bears (5-1) are gunning to tie a club high-water mark for November victories. The Bears have achieved 6 November wins twice — 2017-18 (6-2) and 2013-14 (6-1) and have never won 7 games in the season’s opening month.

The Series

• Missouri State leads the all-time series, 43-36, including a 24-11 record in games played in Springfield and 10-4 ledger in games at Great Southern Bank Arena (including three straight wins). The Bears have won 4 in a row in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1959 NAIA national championship game and includes MoState wins in 9 of the last 10 meetings. (see page 9 of game notes for complete series breakdown).

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 94-67 (.584) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 55-20 (.733) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 28-35 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 151-132 (.534) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 56-36 (.609) in Valley games (30-16 at home, 26-20 away).  
• Coach Ford is 8-2 all-time against Evansville (3-1 at “The Vault”).
• He picked up his 150th career win on Nov. 20, 2023 with the Bears’ 87-69 win over Abilene Christian in the Virgin Islands and his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 with a Bears’ win at Illinois State (72-62). He coached his 100th game at Missouri State on Dec. 15, 2021 vs. South Dakota State. His win over Oakland on Nov. 27, 2022 in The Bahamas was his 75th victory at MSU, while his OT victory at Drake on Jan. 18, 2023 was his 50th MVC win.
• In 2022-23, the new-look Bears featured 14 new faces and ultimately turned the squad into Valley contenders. The Bears landed an All-MVC selection in second-teamer Donovan Clay and All-Bench Team honoree Chance Moore. Clay, who was also on the MVC All-Defensive Team, led the Bears in scoring (11.9 ppg) and assists (108) while becoming the first Bear since 2018-19 to reach the century mark in assists. Moore averaged 10.6 points per game and racked up 17 double-figure scoring games.
• Ford’s fifth season in Springfield concluded with a 12-8 conference record, making him the first sideline boss in program history to collect a dozen or more conference wins in three straight seasons. The Bears allowed just 63.2 points per game on the year, which ranked 24th nationally and was the club’s best scoring defense in more than a decade. MSU also eclipsed its season record for blocked shots (140) — a mark that had held for nearly a quarter century — and ranked second in The Valley in rejections.
• He was introduced as Missouri State’s 18th men’s basketball coach on March 22, 2018 after coaching the previous four seasons at Tennessee State. The native of Tamms, Illinois was 57-65 (.467) at Tennessee State, including a 52-39 ledger in his last three seasons in Nashville. He coached five All-OVC players and two OVC All-Newcomer Team selections during his tenure at TSU. Under his leadership, TSU doubled its home attendance average and twice earned votes in the AP Top 25 poll in 2016-17. 
• Ford, 39, earned the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation’s top Division I minority coach, a distinction he has been nominated for three times. That same year, he was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 19 Coach of the Year after engineering one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history, from a 5-26 record in his first season to a 20-11 mark in 2015-16.
• He has served as an assistant at Tennessee State, Wichita State and Illinois State and was responsible for recruiting future NBA talents such as Robert Covington (Clippers) and Fred Van Vleet (Rockets).
• Ford was recognized by 417 Magazine as one of its top 100 most-influential professionals in 2022 and 2023. He also serves on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee.   

Rebound Foundation

• Bears’ head coach Dana Ford and his wife, Christina, are founders of the Rebound Foundation. The not-for-profit raises funds and awareness to help renew and restore women who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to abuse victims and their children. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.
• Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today! Pledge Link