Aug. 18, 2014
Bears Basketball Home | 2014-15 Roster | Printable Schedule
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State has finalized a 12-game non-conference men’s basketball schedule for the 2014-15 season, head coach Paul Lusk announced Monday (Aug. 18). Coming off their third 20-win season in five years, the Bears return four starters from last season, including standout guards Marcus Marshall (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) and Austin Ruder (So., Nixa, Mo.).
Highlighting the club’s pre-conference lineup are: a trip to Anchorage for the nationally-prominent Great Alaska Shootout; a tribute to legendary Bears coach Charlie Spoonhour on Nov. 14; a trip to Big 12 stalwart Texas Tech; and a visit from one of the nation’s top defensive teams, Eastern Michigan.
“We will have some challenges in our non-conference schedule and some opponents our fans will enjoy watching -- whether we are at home or on the road,” said Lusk. “I’m excited to honor Coach Spoonhour and have his family here when Eastern Illinois comes to The Q in November. Eastern Michigan will be here in late December, and they’re one of the top defensive teams in the country. We get to visit Alaska for the first time and see a Colorado State program in the first round that should be one of the top teams in the Mountain West this season.
“I think we’ll see a good balance of teams throughout our non-conference schedule, and I think that will certainly help us prepare for Missouri Valley Conference play.”
MSU’s regular season will open on Nov. 14 with a visit from Coach Jay Spoonhour’s Eastern Illinois Panthers. The evening will feature a tribute to Jay’s father, the late Charlie Spoonhour, who coached MSU from 1983-92. EIU was 11-19 last season, but finished 7-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference, good enough to tie for third in the OVC-West.
Another coach with MSU connections visits JQH Arena on Nov. 19 when Bears’ alum Rodney Perry brings his Avila University Eagles to Springfield. Perry, who played at MSU from 1991-93, has junior All-American guard Sedrick Johnson (18.5 ppg) back from a 7-21 campaign at the NAIA Heart of America Conference school.
MSU then takes to the road for the first time on Nov. 22 with a trip to Lubbock, Texas to play the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Big 12 Conference squad was 14-18 overall last year and finished 6-12 in league play. From there, MSU will travel to Anchorage, Alaska for its first-ever appearance in the Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 26-29.
MSU opens the Alaska event, held at the brand-new Alaska Airlines Center, with a game against Mountain West Conference representative Colorado State. Coach Larry Eustachy’s Rams return three double-figure scorers from last season and have added Grambling transfer Antwan Scott who will be immediately eligible after scoring nearly 16 points per game last year.
The CSU game will begin at 10 p.m., Alaska Time, on Nov. 26, which is 1 a.m., Springfield time, on Nov. 27. The Bears will then take on either tourney host Alaska-Anchorage or Pacific in the second round. UAA was 17-13 last year at the Division II ranks, and is 13-23 in its own tournament since 2002. Pacific was 18-16 in the West Coast Conference a year ago, advancing all the way to the CIT semifinals before losing at eventual champion Murray State.
On the final day of the Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 29, MSU will play either Mercer, Rice, UC Santa Barbara or Washington State. Mercer was 27-9 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014, while UCSB was 21-9 overall and finished second in the Big West. Washington State brought in new coach Ernie Kent, formerly of Oregon, to improve on its 10-21 ledger from a year ago, while former VCU assistant Mike Rhodes moved into the head coaching spot at Rice in the offseason after the Owls were 7-23 in 2013-14.
MSU opens a six-game December slate at home on December 4 against long-time rival Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans were 15-17 overall and an even 9-9 in the Sun Belt last season.
From there, the Bears play three straight road games against regional rivals Oral Roberts (Dec. 7), Southeast Missouri State (Dec. 13) and Tulsa (Dec. 17). The ORU game is the first of a same-season, home-and-home matchup with the Golden Eagles who were 17-16 last season. The SEMO game will continue MSU’s longest basketball rivalry against a Redhawks squad that was 18-14 a year ago.
Tulsa has four starters back from a club that finished 21-13 overall and won the Conference USA title. New head coach Frank Haith has seven juniors and no seniors on his roster and will guide the Golden Hurricane against the Bears for the first time since 2011 when his Miami team hosted and narrowly defeated MSU in the NIT second round.
Lusk’s Bears continue December with their final BracketBusters return game Dec. 20 -- a rematch from the Bears’ 2013 win against Eastern Michigan. EMU is coming off a 22-15 season, in which it advanced to the CIT second round. The Eagles led the nation in field goal percentage defense (.369) in 2013-14 and finished 10th in blocked shots (6.0), 15th in steals (8.3) and 39th in 3-point field goal defense (.313). Missouri State is 7-1 all-time in BracketBusters return games.
MSU’s non-conference slate concludes on Dec. 22 with round two against ORU. The Bears and Golden Eagles will wrap their two-game season series at JQH Arena in Springfield with a Monday-night matchup just before Christmas.
MSU opens the 2014-15 campaign with an exhibition game against Missouri Southern on Nov. 8, marking the third time in four years the Bears and Lions have locked up in the preseason. MSU will forego a second preseason exhibition game this season to compete against another Division I program in a preseason scrimmage. By NCAA rules, scrimmages against other DI programs are closed and may not be publicized.
The MVC is expected to announce the 18-game league schedule within the next few weeks.
Bears season ticket information is available by calling (417) 836-4143 or visiting MissouriStateBeas.com/tickets.
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