Nov. 14, 2011

Nov. 14, 2011

Missouri State Bears (1-0) at Arkansas State Red Wolves (0-1)
Nov. 15, 2011, 7:05 p.m. (Central)

Convocation Center (10,038), Jonesboro, Ark. I Game Notes (PDF) I Tickets

GAME INFORMATION:

Series: MSU leads 21-9 (6-6 in Jonesboro)
Television: KCZ, The Ozarks CW (Springfield), Metro Sports (KC), Charter Cable (St. Louis)

Radio: KTXR (101.3 FM) and MSU Bears Radio Network (LISTEN LIVE)
Live Stats: www.AStateRedWolves.com
GameDay Gear I MSU Game Notes I MVC Notes

THE GAME:

Missouri State wraps a brief two-game road swing to start the 2011-12 season on Tuesday when they take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves at the Convocation Center (10,038) in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Bears are coming off an impressive season opener with a 68-46 victory at WAC preseason favorite Nevada on Friday (Nov. 11). Caleb Patterson (Sr., C, Ames, Okla.) led the MSU charge with 17 points and 5 rebounds, while Anthony Downing (Jr., G, Atchison, Kan.) added 12 points off the bench, and Nathan Scheer (So., G/F, Washington, Mo.) added 11. The Bears forced 14 Wolf Pack turnovers, drained nine threes and matched the home club in rebounds, 42-42. It was MSU's largest margin of victory on the road since 2007. Since 1991, the Bears have won eight in a row in the series against Arkansas State.
Arkansas State is the Sun Belt preseason favorite in the West Division. Coach John Brady's club is coming off a narrow 65-62 loss on Friday at Lamar. The Red Wolves missed 10 free throws, committed 20 turnovers and allowed a nine-point, second-half lead slip away. Marcus Hooten (6-4, Jr., G, Jackson, Miss.) had 15 points and four three-pointers to lead the A-State charge, while Brandon Peterson (6-07, Jr., F, Birmingham, Ala.) had 14 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.

COACH Paul Lusk:

Paul Lusk (Southern Illinois, 1995) is 1-0 in his first season at Missouri State and 3-23 in two years as a head coach. Lusk, who turned 40 on Nov. 14, is the program's 17th men's basketball coach. He accepted the reigns on April 1, 2011 after Cuonzo Martin resigned on March 27 to take the top post at Tennessee. Lusk came to Springfield after seven seasons at Purdue, including the last three as associate head coach, a post Martin also held with the Boilermakers from 2007-08. This is his 14th season in the coaching profession, including a one-year head coaching stint at Division III Dubuque (2002-03) in which he went 2-23. Lusk also had assistant coaching stops at Southwestern Illinois College (1996-97), Missouri Southern (1999-2002) and Southern Illinois (2003-04). He has coached in six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.

THE TEN COUNT:

• With a 12-point effort off the bench at Nevada (Nov. 11), Anthony Downing (Jr., G, Atchison, Kan.) scored the most points by a Bear in a debut performance since Adam Leonard dropped 14 points on Auburn at JQH Arena on Nov. 16, 2009.
• Due to foul trouble, Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) played just 22 minutes and was held to four points in the season opener at Nevada (Nov. 11). It marked his lowest scoring output since he was shut out of the scoring column at JQH Arena on March 24, 2010 against Creighton in the CIT Semifinals. He bounced back six days later to notch 14 points against Pacific in the championship game. Weems has scored in double figures 80 times during his 103-game career.
• MSU's 22-point road win at Nevada on Friday was its largest margin of victory for an away game since the Bears defeated Indiana State on Feb. 3, 2007. MSU beat the Sycamores 71-42 behind 14 points from Blake Ahearn and a solid defensive effort that held ISU to .176 (9-for-51) shooting from the field.
• In his Missouri State debut, Jarmar Gulley (Jr., G/F, Beaumont, Texas) came just shy of logging a double-double. Against the Nevada Wolf Pack, Gulley was 4-for-7 from the field and finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
• Caleb Patterson (Sr., C, Ames, Okla.) is coming off a 17-point effort at Nevada, matching his career high. He was 7-for-14 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers and snagged 5 rebounds. He has also scored 17 points vs. Tulsa (11/28/09), at Drake (1/12/10) and vs. Indiana State (1/19/10).
• Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) is one of 30 NCAA men's basketball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Weems, the returning MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year, is looking to become the first Valley player since Darren Brooks of Southern Illinois (2004-05) to win back-to-back honors.
• The Bears finished 7th in the nation a year ago in turnovers per game (10.3). Missouri State had just 9 turnovers on the road at Nevada in its season opener, while forcing 14 mishaps. MSU converted 17 points off turnovers, compared to 8 by Nevada.
• With the season-opening win over Nevada (Nov. 11), MSU improved to 7-0 all-time in BracketBusters return games, including a 4-0 mark on the road. The Bears are also 4-4 in the BracketBusters series, but had a three-game BB win streak snapped in February at Valparaiso. MSU will play a home game in the 2012 BracketBusters, Feb. 17-19.
• In just under 20 minutes per game, MSU freshman Christian Kirk (F, Springfield, Mo.) led the Bears in rebounding for the three exhibition games, snagging 20 carums for a 6.7 average in the preseason.
• The Bears have won eight in a row against Arkansas State, dating back to 1989. The last Red Wolves win over the Bears came with a 71-67 decision at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro on Dec. 13, 1989.