Missouri State (13-4, 3-3) at Bradey (7-9, 2-4)

Saturday, Jan. 16, 2:05 p.m.

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The Game: Missouri State closes out a two-game Missouri Valley Conference road swing Saturday at Bradley in a 2:05 p.m. start from Carver Arna. The game will match the Bears and Braves for the second straight Saturday after Cuzono Martin's squad scored an 88-69 win at JQH Arena on Jan. 9 before 9,111 fans.

 The Bears (13-4, 3-3 MVC) are coming off an 88-77 loss at Drake on Tuesday night as the homestanding Bulldogs made 13 of their first 15 shots and outshot the Bears 14-1 from three-point range. Despite the setback, the Bears did show some bright spots, outrebounding Drake 36-24 overall and 22-8 in the second half, while getting career nights from Caleb Patterson (So., C, Ames, Okla.) and Nafis Ricks (Jr., G, Philadelphia, Pa.) who each scored 17 points off the bench. The Bears were also 18-for-19 (.947) from the free throw line.

 The Bears return to JQH Arena at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday to take on Indiana State in a regionally-televised game on FSN.

The Series: The series between the Bears and Braves dates back to Jan. 28, 1991, and Missouri State holds a 26-16 lead all-time. BU has won three of the last four meetings and five of the last six in Peoria. The Bears are 8-11 all-time at Carver Arena and last won there on Jan. 2, 2007 by an 86-78 count behind 16 points from Drew Richards.

The Coaches: Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin (Purdue, 2000) is 24-24 (.500) overall, 18-9 (.654) at JQH Arena in his second season at MSU and overall. He is 1-2 against Bradley, 6-18 in MVC games, 6-14 in away games, 4-9 in January, and 11-5 on Saturdays.

 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.

 He (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.

 Bradley head coach Jim Les (Bradley, 1986) is 133-114 (.543) in his eighth season with the Braves and overall as a head coach. He is 6-9 all-time against Missouri State, including a 5-2 record in Peoria.

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

• Justin Fuehrmeyer started the 50th game of his career at Drake (1/12/10) as MSU used a different starting lineup for the first time in 2009-10.
• Kyle Weems is the only MSU player to score in double figures all 17 games this season. He has posted double-figures in 18 straight games overall, dating back to last season, and 26 of the last 28 contests.
• Adam Leonard has hit at least one three-pointer in 37 straight games and had his streak of hitting multiple treys in 18 straight contests snapped at Drake on Tuesday.
• Last week, Kyle Weems was the MVC's top scorer, netting 46 points in two ball games, including 30 against Bradley (1/9/10) and was the nation's No. 2 performer on that date.
• Every MVC school except Missouri State has appeared on the ESPN networks or FSN Midwest in the last week.
• MSU head coach Cuonzo Martin is looking for a milestone victory this week as he eyes his 25th career win. The second-year sideline boss is now 24-24 at Missouri State and as a head coach.
• The Bears shot 94.7 percent (18-for-19) from the free throw line at Drake on Tuesday night (1/12/10), the team's top effort at the line this season and best percentage since MSU was 7-for-7 against Drake on 1/12/08.
• Nafis Ricks has 42 points (10.5 ppg) and 11 assists over the last 4 game, all in reserve, including a career-high 17 points at Drake (1/12/10) and 15 in the last meeting with the Braves (1/9/10).
• Bradley has appeared in all four Division I postseason tournaments over the last four seasons, including a trip to the CIT finals last season. Coach Jim Les' squad also reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2006 and was the CBI runner-up in 2008.
• Kyle Weems entered the week as the No. 5 three-point shooter in Division I basketball after making 40-of-80 shots from beyond the arc (.500) this season. He was 0-for-3 at Drake on Tuesday to drop his percentage to .482.

Dunk-O-Meter: Missouri State's season dunk total is now 25. The current MSU Dunk-O-Meter looks like this:

Last Outing: Despite a valiant second-half comeback, the Missouri State Bears dropped an 88-77 Missouri Valley Conference game at Drake on Tuesday night as the host Bulldogs went 14-for-22 from three-point range.

 MSU fell behind by 25 points with 4:35 to play in the first half on a bucket by Ryan Wedel that made it a 41-16 game. Drake made the game's first 12 points and started 13-of-15 from the field.

 Missouri State (13-4, 3-3 MVC) went into the intermission trailing 51-29 and ended a 21-8 run to cut the Drake lead to 59-50 with 12:43 in the game. Solid play by reserves Nafis Ricks (Jr., G, Philadelphia, Pa.) and Caleb Patterson (So., C, Ames, Okla.) paced the comeback, while a jumper by Adam Leonard (Jr., G, Lee's Summit, Mo.) in traffic at the 10:12 mark made it a 62-54 ball game

 Down the stretch, the Bears were able to take advantage of their hot hand at the free throw line to make it a 69-62 contest with just over six minutes to go as Jermaine Mallett (Jr., F, Jackson, Miss.) scored a traditional three-point play. The Bears finished 18-for-19 (.947) at the free throw line.

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 Drake game will be Art's 870th Missouri State basketball broadcast.

 Color commentary will be provided this season by former Bears Mike Keltner (1970-74) and Drew Richards (2004-08). The Bears are 9-3 with Keltner providing color and 4-1 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.

On Television: Saturday's game is the sixth 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 Mediacom game will be Feb. 3 at Southern Illinois. The Bears are 4-1 this season on locally-produced Mediacom games.

National & Conference Leaders: In this week's NCAA statistical rankings, Adam Leonard (Jr., G, Lee's Summit, Mo.) ranks 47th nationally in three-point field goals per game (2.8) and 50th in three-point field goal percentage (.409). Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) ranks 149th in scoring (16.1), 75th in field goal percentage (.520), 80th in three-pointers per game (2.5), 5th in three-point percentage (.500) and 241st in steals (1.6). Jermaine Mallett (Jr., F, Jackson, Miss.) ranks 77th in free throw percentage (.839) and Justin Fuehrmeyer (Sr., G, St. Charles, Mo.) ranks 18th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.71) and 169th in assists per game (3.8).

 In this week's MVC statistics, the Bears lead the Valley in scoring offense (72.7), three-point field goal percentage (.397), turnover margin (+3.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.2). Among individuals ranking in the top 10 in the league statistics, Kyle Weems ranks 2nd in scoring (16.1), 1st in three-point percentage (.500), 7th in rebounding (5.7), 8th in field goal percentage (.520), 7th in steals (1.6), 4th in 3-pt FG (2.5), 7th in blocked shots (0.9), and 4th in defensive rebounds (4.8). Jermaine Mallett is 8th in rebounding (5.7), 7th in FT percentage (.839), 10th in offensive rebounding (1.6), and 10th in defensive rebounds (4.1), while Adam Leonard is 11th in scoring (13.0), 4th in FT percentage (.848), 2nd in three-pointers per game (2.8), and 4th in minutes per game (33.2). Caleb Patterson (So., C, Ames, Okla.) is 9th in blocks (0.8), and Justin Fuehrmeyer is 1st in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7).

Milestones: Justin Fuehrmeyer (Sr., G, St. Charles, Mo.) needs 56 points for 500, 22 assists for 300, and 10 steals for 100 in his career ... Ryan Jehle (Jr., F, Overland Park, Kan.) needs 29 points for 200 career ... Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka, Kan.) needs 16 points for 600 career ... Adam Leonard (Jr., G, Lee's Summit, Mo.) needs 23 points for 1,000 in his career, and 1 rebound for 200 career ... Jermaine Mallett (Jr., F, Jackson, Miss.) needs 19 points for 200 this season ... Nafis Ricks (Jr., G, Philadelphia, Pa.) needs 1 point for 100 this season.

Coors Player of the Week: For the fifth time this season, Kyle Weems (So., F, Topeka,Kan.) is this week's Coors Player of the Week. Weems posted a career-high 30 points, including 24 in the first half, grabbed a game-high 7 rebounds and was 6-for-10 from three-point range in Saturday's home win over Bradley, all in just 22 minutes of action. For the week, he tallied 46 points (23.0 ppg) with 11 rebounds (5.5), 3 blocked shots, 4 steals and was 18-for-32 (.563) from the field, including 7-for-12 (.583) from three-point range.

Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge Series: The Missouri Valley Conference claimed the inaugural Mountain West-Missouri Valley Conference Challenge Series this fall, winning five games to four. The Bears were victorious over Air Force, 58-48, at JQH Arena on Dec. 5 in their series game. Other MVC winners in the series were: Indiana State, Wichita State, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa, while Evansville did not participate in the inaugural challenge.

 Overall, Missouri Valley teams completed the pre-Christmas non-conference season with an overall 75-32 record.

McFarland Dismissed Dec. 26: Missouri State men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin announced Dec. 26 that sophomore guard Cardell McFarland (Evansville, Ind.), one of the team's three returning starters from last season, was dismissed from the squad due to an undisclosed violation of team conduct rules during the team's scheduled holiday break.

 McFarland played in five of the team's first 11 games this season, scoring 25 points with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He missed three games with a knee contusion suffered in the Tulsa game on Nov. 28 and had been in uniform for the Bears' next three games, but did not play. As a freshman last season, he started 19 of the 29 games in which he appeared, averaging 6.9 points and 1.6 rebounds with a career-high 15 points at Tennessee-Martin on Feb. 21, 2009.

Spoonhour Headlines 2010 MSU Hall of Fame Class: Former Bears' head coach Charlie Spoonhour (1983-92) is one of six former Missouri State coaches and student-athletes to be inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame during ceremonies on campus, Feb. 5-6.

 Spoonhour posted a 197-81 (.709) record at Missouri State which included 20-win, postseason teams each of his final seven seasons. That stretch included Mid-Continent Conference regular season championships four years in a row from 1987 through 1990. The Bears' 1986 NIT club was Missouri State's first Division I postseason team and knocked off Pitt and Marquette before a one-point loss to Florida in the quarterfinals. The Bears reached the NCAA for the first time in 1987 and had a first-round win over Clemson before losing to Kansas. MSU returned to the NCAA meet in 1988, 1989 and 1990 from the Mid-Continent Conference, and in 1992 from the Missouri Valley Conference. The 1992 Bears won what remains the school's only men's MVC basketball championship. Spoonhour's 1987 team finished with a school record 28 wins and took a 15-game win streak into the NCAA second round vs. Kansas.

 The six new inductees will bring the total membership in the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame to 326.

 The rest of the shrine class features football player Jeremy Hoog (1994-1997), track and field athlete Verneta Lesforis (1997-1999), basketball player Roshonda Reed (1995-1999) and volleyball player Amy Russell McNew (1990-1993).

 The new inductees will go into the shrine at an induction ceremony to be held Feb. 6, in a 12 noon luncheon in the Plaster Student Union Ballroom. Inductees will also be recognized in halftime ceremonies in the first two of that weekend's Missouri State basketball games in JQH Arena. The Lady Bears will host Creighton University on Friday, Feb. 5, at 7:35 p.m., and the Bears will host Creighton Saturday, Feb. 6, at 7:05 p.m.

 The 2010 Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame induction lunch is open to the public and reservations may be made through Monday, Feb. 1, by calling Missouri State Athletics Development (417) 836-4143. Tickets are $25 per person.

Assistant Coach Kent Williams Joins SIU Hall: Missouri State men's basketball assistant coach Kent Williams joined five other former Southern Illinois University athletics standouts as 2010 inductees into the SIU Athletic Hall of Fame on January 8.

 Williams (1999-2003) helped rejuvenate the men's basketball program at Southern Illinois a decade ago. As a four-year starter, his teams were 88-42 during his career and advanced to two NCAA Tournaments (2002, 2003), including a Sweet 16 appearance, and one NIT bid (2000). Williams became just the second player in school history to surpass 2,000 career points. He was a two-time, First-Team All-MVC selection (2002, 2003) and runner-up to Kyle Korver for MVC Player of the Year in 2003. He ranks among the school leaders in numerous career categories, including 3-pointers (2nd), free throws (2nd) assists (8th) and games started (1st).

 Williams came to Missouri State, along with head coach Cuonzo Martin, from Purdue in the spring of 2008.

Bracket Busting: After posting a 10-1 record in non-conference play this season, the Bears now await news of their 2010 BracketBusters opponent for their final non-MVC foe of the season.

 The 2010 BracketBusters pairings will be announced on Feb. 1. The Bears will be one of 49 home teams in this year's series.

 Missouri State is 3-3 all-time in the BracketBusters series and is 1-2 at home. This year's game will be the first-ever BracketBusters game at JQH Arena.

 On Dec. 9, the Bears defeated Tennessee-Martin, 79-51, in their BracketBusters return game from last season. MSU improved to 6-0 all-time in BracketBusters return games with the win.

Non-Conference? Non-Problem: The Bears finished non-conference play (save the BracketBusters game in February) with a 10-1 record and are now 18-5 overall under head coach Cuonzo Martin against non-MVC foes. MSU has assured itself of its seventh straight winning record in non-conference games and has matched its highest non-league win total since the Bears were 11-4 in 1998-99.

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 GPA, 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 as a junior. He also added 41 three-pointers, 60 assists and 44 steals last season. As a sophomore, Scheer led Borgia in scoring and rebounding with 17.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.

 Scheer scored a career-high 36 points on 12/9/09, including seven 3-pointers, to lead Borgia to a thrilling 78-75 victory over Whitfield. The Knights are ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4 with a 10-0 record, while Scheer is averaging 23.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists, with 34 threes.

 Copeland helped his Fort Smith (Ark.) Northside squad to the Arkansas Class 7A quarterfinals last season, earning All-State honors and a spot on the All State Tournament Team. He averaged 15.2 points and led his team in field goal percentage. He holds a 3.4 GPA 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.

 His Grizzlies are 8-5 so far this season, but statistics are not available at this time.

 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-pointers. He is a reputable defender who uses his quickness to create offense, and has a great instincts. Martin says Cooper has the potential to be a great on-ball defender and a scoring point guard. His father, Raymond, is also his high school and AAU coach.

 His Falcons are off to a 10-4 start this season. He is averaging 16.8 points per game with 22 three-pointers.

Bears in the Pros: Blake Ahearn (2004-07) started the season in Spain and played 13 games for the MMT Estudiantes Madrid before returnint to the U.S. He averaged 14.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 24.4 minutes per game and was 36-for-87 (.414) from three-point range. The NCAA all-time free throw leader broke a league record by going 57-for-58 (.983) 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 13.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game through 14 games while making 55.6 percent of his field goal attempts.

 Shelton Colwell (2003-04) is active in Austria, averaging 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds through the first 11 games of the season for the BSC Raiffeisen Fursten feld Panthers.

 Former Bear Rodney Perry (1991-93) is coaching the Kansas City Stars of the 54-team American Basketball Association where Dale Lamberth (2006-08) 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 outside the 10-team conferences' upper division.

 Last season, the Bears were picked 10th in the league and finished 3-15 in the MVC, the program's lowest-ever finish.

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 10 of 17 home games, the Bears have drawn 68,383 fans and are averaging 6,838 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 9-1 at JQH Arena in 2009-10 and 18-9 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 1513-839 (.644) in 98 seasons and are 528-322 (.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 also 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 will return home on Tuesday, Jan. 19 to play Indiana State at 7:05 p.m. in a regionally-televised game on FOX Sports Midwest as they start a stretch of three home games in their next four outings. The Bears will then visit Creighton on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 7:05 p.m. in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.