Saturday, Dec. 19, 7:05 p.m.

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The Game: Missouri State continues a four-game road swing Saturday night (7:05 p.m.) when the Bears travel to Saint Louis University to renew their rivalry with the Billikens in the team's first-ever visit to Chaifetz Arena.

 The Bears (9-0) are coming off a 75-64 win at Arkansas State last Saturday in which the team made 21-of-24 (.875) free throws and outrebounded the Red Wolves by a 41-36 margin. Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) was a rebound shy of his first double-double of the season, collecting 15 points and 9 boards, while Will Creekmore (Jr., C, Tulsa, Okla.) scored 12 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.

 The Billikens are 6-3 heading into Wednesday's home game against Belmont and are a perfect 6-0 at Chaifetz this season. Coach Rick Majerus' squad is led by Willie Reed (6-9, So., C) who averages a team-best 14.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, while Kwamain Mitchell (5-10, So., G) turns in 13.7 points and 3.1 assists per contest.

The Series: MSU leads the all-time series 15-7, including wins in four of the last five meetings, and two of the three overtime games in the series. The Bears are 8-4 in St. Louis against the Billikens but have never played at Chaifetz Arena. MSU won the most-recent meeting, 60-56, on Nov. 21, 2007 at Hammons Student Center in Springfield.

The Coaches: Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin (Purdue, 2000) is 20-20 (.500) overall, 16-8 (.667) at JQH Arena in his second season at MSU and overall. He has never coached against Saint Louis or Atlantic-10 Conference foes. Martin is also 9-4 in December, 9-5 on Saturdays, and 17-4 in non-conference games.

 Martin spent eight seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Purdue (2000-08) where he was a standout performer for coach Gene Keady from 1991-95. He became MSU's 16th head basketball coach on April 1, 2008.

 Martin (38) played professional basketball for four years, including two stops with the Milwaukee Bucks and one with the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA. He spent most of his professional playing time in the Continental Basketball Association and in Europe, leading Grand Rapids in scoring three seasons and leading the Felize Scandone team in Avellino, Italy in 1997. Originally from East St. Louis, Ill., he scored 20 points against the Bears as a Purdue player on 12/22/92 and helped Purdue to a 4-0 mark against MSU as a player and coach.

 Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus (Marquette, 1970) is 462-179 (.721) in his 23rd season overall and 40-32 (.556) in his third season at SLU. He is a five-time National Coach of the Year, owns the 13th-best winning percentage among active Division I coaches, and has coached 11 NCAA Tournament squads. His head coaching tenure includes previous stints at Marquette (1983-86), Ball State (1987-89), and Utah (1989-2004). He is 0-2 against the Missouri State Bears, including an 0-1 record with the Billikens.

The Ten Count: Ten Missouri State quick facts relating to today's game:

• Kyle Weems is the only MSU player to score in double figures all nine games this season. He has posted double-figures in 10 straight games overall, dating back to last season, and 17 of the last 19 contests.
• Missouri State is 9-0 for the first time since 1996-97 when the Bears won their first 10 ball games and finished 24-9 overall and 12-6 in the MVC. The Bears have started 10-0 just seven times in their 101-year history.
• The Bears are ranked No. 10 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.428), while SLU is ranked 24th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.274).
• Since 1985, only four Missouri Valley Conference teams have started a season by winning their first 10 games, including the Bears in 1996-97.
• The Bears have played the Billikens 22 times since 1983, more than any other non-conference foe in that span.
• Adam Leonard has hit at least one three-pointer in 29 straight games, while Kyle Weems has extended his streak to 14 consecutive games with at least one trey.
• The Bears have led or been tied at halftime in 26 of their last 39 games (19-7) and are 8-0 this season when tied (2-0) or leading (6-0) at the intermission. MSU has matched or outscored its foes in 15 of 18 halves in 2009-10.
• Will Creekmore is coming off a season-high 17 points in the win over Arkansas State after notching 12 of his 17 points in the second half. He hit his first three-pointer of the season in the win, and grabbed a season-high 6 boards.
• As of Tuesday, the Bears are one of 11 undefeated teams remaining in Division I basketball.
• After ranking 302nd (out of 330) nationally last season in FG Pct. (.401), the Bears rank 78th (.464) this season.

Dunk-O-Meter: Missouri State's season dunk total is now 15.

 Last Outing: Will Creekmore (Jr., C, Tulsa, Okla.) scored a game-high 17 points and was 5-for-7 from the field to help power Missouri State to a 75-64 road win last Saturday night at Arkansas State as the Bears improved to 9-0.

 After a back-and-forth end to the first half, the Bears rode Creekmore's coat tails early in the second half to regain the lead. The 6-foot-9 center scored Missouri State's first seven points of the second period as MSU re-established a five-point advantage, 42-37, on a three-pointer by the Tulsa, Okla., native at the 18:20 mark. With 14:11 to play, Trey Finn cut the Bears' lead to 44-41 on a layup, but, Adam Leonard (Jr., G, Lee's Summit, Mo.) responded 30 seconds later with his third trey of the game to put MSU up 49-43.

 Arkansas State would get no closer than five in the final 11 minutes, and the Bears buried 18-of-20 free throws in the second half to secure the win and extend their win streak to nine games.

 It was the first time since Feb, 20, 2007 that Missouri State has won back-to-back road games.

 Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) had 15 points and 9 rebounds, while Leonard also scored 15 for MSU.

On the Radio: All Missouri State games can be heard on KTXR, Springfield (101.3 FM), the flagship station of the Missouri State Bears Basketball Radio Network. Play-by-play man Art Hains will provide the game description.

 Hains first began calling Bears action in 1977 and is in his second stint and 29th season overall as the Voice of the Bears. He called MSU games from 1977 to 1981 and returned to the mic in 1985. The SLU game will be Art's 862nd Missouri State basketball broadcasts.

 Color commentary will be provided this season by former Bears Mike Keltner (1970-74) and Drew Richards (2004-08). The Bears are 7-0 with Keltner providing color and 2-0 with Richards.

 MSU basketball can also be heard on the nine-station MSU Bears Basketball Radio Network (see sidebar), in addition to live audio streaming on www.RadioSpringfield.com.

National & Conference Leaders: In this week's NCAA statistical rankings, Adam Leonard (Jr., G, Lee's Summit, Mo.) ranks 19th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.491), 46th in three-pointers per game (2.9), and 145th in free-throw percentage (.821). Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) ranks 189th in three-pointers per game (2.1), 117th in field goal percentage (.511) and 244th in scoring (14.8).

 As a team, MSU ranks among the nation's top 50 teams in seven categories (see graph above), including No. 1 in winning percentage (1.000) and No. 10 in three-point field goal percentage (.428). ... In the MVC, the Bears lead the Valley in three-point field goal percentage (.428), field goal percentage defense (.391), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3). Individually, Kyle Weems is 6th in scoring (14.8), 10th in rebounding (5.7), 8th in steals (1.4), 6th three-pointers (2.1), 8th in blocks (0.9), 8th in three-point pct. (.442) and 6th in defensive rebounds (4.6), while Adam Leonard is 2nd in threes (2.9), 3rd in three-point pct. (.491), 9th in assist-to-turnover (1.6), 10th in scoring (13.4) and 9th in minutes (30.8). Caleb Patterson (So., C, Ames, Okla.) is 7th in FG Pct. (.564) and Jermaine Mallett (Jr., F, Jackson, Miss.) is 10th in assists (2.9), 5th in FT pct. (.857), 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), and 14th in rebounding (5.3).

Milestones: Isaiah Rhine (So., C, Versailles, Mo.) needs 1 point for 50 in his career and 1 field goal for 20 career ... Ryan Jehle (Jr., F, Overland Park, Kan.) needs 29 points for 200 career ... Caleb Patterson (So., C, Ames, Okla.) needs 13 points for 100 career ... Jermaine Mallett (Jr., F, Jackson, Miss.) needs 2 rebounds for 50 this season and 31 points for 100 ... Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) needs 51 points for 500 career ... Justin Fuehrmeyer needs 6 games for 100 career, 90 points for 500, and 17 steals for 100.

Mediacom Telecast: Today's game is the third of eight Bears' games to be telecast live on Mediacom Connections (Channel 22 locally) and the Missouri Sports Cable Network throughout the state. Don West is the play-by-play man for Mediacom, while KOLR-10 TV sports director Dan Lucy will provide color commentary. Corey Riggs is the executive producer. The next MSU games on Mediacom will be Dec. 29 at Evansville.

Coors Player of the Week: Bears' co-captain Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) was a model of consistency this week in helping Missouri State win both games and improve to 9-0 on the season. Weems shared team-high honors in a 79-51 win over Tennessee-Martin on Wednesday in the most lopsided game ever at JQH Arena. He tied an Arena record with 4 steals, dished out 4 assists and shared team-high honors with 13 points in the win. Then, he topped that effort with a 15-point outing in Saturday's road win at Arkansas State. He was 4-for-4 at the line in a tough environment and shared team-high honors in assists, while posting a game-high 9 rebounds. For the week, he was 10-for-22 (.455) from the field 6-for-7 from the free throw line with 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.

Building the Program: On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin announced the receipt of National Letters of Intent from two high school prospects for the 2010-11 season. A third player committed to play for the Bears on Nov. 12.

 Committing to Missouri State were:

• Nathan Scheer (6-5, 200, F, Washington, Mo., St. Francis Borgia High)
• Corey Copeland (6-3, 180, G, Fort Smith, Ark., Northside High)
• Aaron Cooper (5-11, 170, G, Jacksonville, Ark., North Pulaski High)

 Scheer, a student with a 3.95 grade-point average, was a consensus Missouri Class 4 All-State pick last season. He helped lead coach Dave Neier's St. Francis Borgia High School to a 28-3 overall record and Missouri state title last season after averaging 15.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a prep junior. He also led Borgia in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore with a 17.1 scoring average to go with 5.7 rebounds. An inside/outside threat, he showed good range with 41 three-pointers last season, while posting 60 assists and 44 steals and making good on 53-percent of his field goal attempts.

 On Wednesday, Dec. 9, Scheer scored a career-high 36 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead Borgia to a thrilling 78-75 come-from-behind victory over Whitfield for the Knights' 21st consecutive victory. Through 5 games in 2009-10 season, he is averaging 26.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists, with 19 three-pointers.

 Copeland helped his Fort Smith (Ark.) Northside squad to the Arkansas Class 7A quarterfinals last season, earning All-State honors and earning a spot on the State All-Tournament Team. He averaged 15.2 points per game and led his team in field goal percentage. He holds a 3.4 grade-point average and is considered an athletic player with outstanding leaping and shooting abilities. Martin calls Copeland a slasher who can make shots and play three different positions.

 Cooper averaged 18.0 points and 4.1 assists as a prep junior a year ago at North Pulaski (Ark.) High. He made 82-percent of his free throws and knocked down 53-percent of his three-point field goal attempts. He is a reputable defender who uses his quickness to create offense, and has a great instinct for the game. Martin says Cooper has the potential to be a great on-ball defender which complements his skills as a scoring point guard. His father, Raymond, is also Cooper's high school and AAU coach.

Bears in the Pros: Blake Ahearn (2004-07) is playing in Spain for MMT Estudiantes Madrid. Through 10 games with the club, he is averaging 15.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 25.1 minutes per game. He is 30-for-69 (.435) from three-point range. The NCAA all-time free throw leader is 51-for-52 (.981) at the charity stripe. Ahearn spent the bulk of the 2008-09 season with the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League where he was co-MVP of the NBA D-League All-Star Game after claiming league's Rookie of the Year honors in 2007-08. Ahearn had stints with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat during the most recent two seasons.

 Deven Mitchell (2004-08) is playing for the CS Gaz Metan Medias squad in the Romanian League. He is averaging 12.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game through 11 games while making 55.1 percent of his field goal attempts.

 Shelton Colwell (2003-04) is active in Austria, averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds through the first 6 games of the season for the BSC Raiffeisen Fursten feld Panthers.

 Other former MSU players active in Europe last season were: Dale Lamberth (2006-08) who played five games in 2008-09 with UU-Korihait Uusikaupunki in Finland, averaring 6.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in limited playing time; Drew Richards (2005-08) who saw 15 games playing for Erdgas Ehingen/Urspringschule in Germany with 3.9 scoring and 6.7 rebounding averages. Other players will be added and updated in future game notes throughout the season.

 Former Bear Rodney Perry (1991-93) is coaching the Kansas City Stars of the American Basketball Association where Lamberth is now a team member.

Preseason Valley Poll: The Bears were picked ninth in the MVC preseason poll, marking just the fourth time since the Bears joined the league in 1990-91 that they have been picked to finish in the lower division of the 10-team conference.

 Last season, the Bears were picked 10th in the league and finished 3-15 in the MVC.

Home Attendance: In 2008-09, the Bears eclipsed 100,000 fans (121,502) for the 17th time in the last 24 seasons. The team's final home average of 7,147 in 17 games at JQH Arena was the second-best home average for Missouri State this decade and 15th best all-time. The team's 2008-09 net attendance ranked No. 6 all-time at MSU.

 The Bears also improved to fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in home attendance average after finishing sixth in 2007-08, and were Division I basketball's 20th most-improved program in home attendance in 2008-09.

 The Bears have been ranked between 55th and 90th among Division I programs in home attendance in 16 of the last 22 seasons, including a national ranking of 75th in 2008-09.

 Through 7 of 17 home games, the Bears have drawn 42,129 fans and are averaging 6,018 fans per game.

Debut of the Q: With a $30-million gift from Missouri State alumnus and Springfield-based hotel developer John Q. Hammons, the long-time dream of a new home for the Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears and an iconic tribute to MSU intercollegiate athletics became a reality last season. JQH Arena features a seating capacity of 11,000, including 50 courtside seats, 24 suites, PRIME Overtime Club, Hall of Fame and Legacy of Competition exhibits, 114 loge seats, 1,363 reserved student bleacher seats and 9,637 chairback seats.

 The Bears defeated Arkansas, 62-57, before a sellout crowd of 10,881 on November 22, 2008 in the inaugural game at JQH Arena. The first opponent to beat MSU in the facility was Utah, 71-58, on November 26, 2008. MSU is 7-0 at JQH Arena in 2009-10 and 16-8 all-time.

 MSU finished its inaugural campaign at JQH Arena with a 9-8 home record and an average home attendance of 7,147, ranking 75th among all Division I programs and 20th most-improved from the previous season.

The Program: Missouri State entered the 2009-10 season with the 28th-best all-time win total in NCAA Division I men's basketball and the 17th-best by winning percentage (.642). Currently, the Bears have an all-time record of 1509-835 (.644) in 97 seasons and are 524-318 (.622) since making the move to Division I in 1982-83.

 During its Division I era, MSU has made NCAA Tournament appearances in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1999. With Tournament wins over Wisconsin and Tennessee, the 1999 Bears advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Bears have also appeared in the National Invitation Tournament eight times -- 1986, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2007. The 1986, 1993 and 2006 squads all reached the NIT quarterfinals.

 The Bears won NAIA national championship titles in 1952 and 1953, while making six NAIA national tournament appearances from 1939-1954. MSU appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 10 times, finishing as national runners-up on three occassions -- 1959, 1967, and 1969.

 Missouri State has won 23 conference titles, not including a 1992 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title.

Missouri State University: Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs, whose purpose is to develop educated persons while achieving five goals: democratizing society, incubating new ideas, imagining Missouri's future, making Missouri's future, and modeling ethical and effective behavior.

 With a record enrollment of 22,938 in 2009-10, MSU is the second-largest institution for higher learning in Missouri, and its identity is distinguished by its statewide mission in public affairs. This mission requires a campus-wide commitment to foster competence and responsibility in the common vocation of citizenship. Missouri State University-Springfield is a selective admissions, graduate level teaching and research institution.

 Missouri State competes at the NCAA Division I level and is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference with affiliate membership in the Mid-American Conference for field hockey and men's swimming and diving.

 Notable Missouri State alums include: Ryan Howard (2009 NLCS MVP, first baseman, Philadelphia Phillies), John Goodman (actor), Kathleen Turner (actress), David Glass (owner, Kansas City Royals), John Q. Hammons (businessman, hotel developer), Bob Holden (43rd governor of Missouri), Bill Mueller (2003 American League batting champ), Jackie Stiles (Division I career scoring leader), and Blake Ahearn (NBA D-League MVP and All-Star Game co-MVP).

Up Next: The Bears continue a four-game road swing Tuesday at Arkansas, at 7:05 p.m. before opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Evansville on Dec. 29 (7:05 p.m.). The Bears are 6-17 all-time against Arkansas (1-9 in Fayetteville) and lead the all-time series with Evansville 26-22.