The Missouri State Bears, who lead the Missouri Valley Conference in 13 statistical categories as of Monday, will travel to Chicago on Wednesday evening for their first road test of the season. The Bears (3-0) will take on DePaul (2-1), from the Big East Conference, in a 7 p.m. showdown at Allstate Arena.
Series History
This is the first-ever meeting between the Bears and DePaul. The teams may face off again on December 23 at the Las Vegas Classic.
Scouting DePaul
 Coach Dave Leitao has two starters and seven lettermen back from a 9-22 club that was 3-15 (9th) in the Big East last season. The fifth-year coach is 67-56 at DePaul and 152-151 for his career.
DePaul is led by senior Billy Garrett, Jr. (G, 6-6) who averaged 12.6 points and 3.5 assists a year ago with 30 starts and 28 3-pointers. Sophomore Eli Cain (G, 6-6) also returns after averagingn 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season. DePaul has nine newcomers in all, with four freshmen.
The Ten Count
- Missouri State is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2013-14 when the Bears jumped out to a 6-0 record en route to a 20-13 campaign. Of the 10 MVC teams, only Wichita State (4-0) and Missouri State (3-0) remain unbeaten.The Bears have scored 90+ points in three straight games for the first time since 2005-06. Their 95.7 points per game and +44.3 margin of victory are both tops in the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Even though this is the first meeting between the Bears and Blue Demons, MSU is 30-37 all-time against the current Big East membership with previous road wins over Butler (1998) and Creighton (five times). MSU also defeated Marquette in the 1986 NIT and lost to Seton Hall (eventual national runners-up) in the 1989 NCAA Tournament.
- Missouri State's 100-27 win over Division III Fontbonne on Nov. 17 marked the club's largest margin of victory in nearly a century. The Bears destroyed Missouri Wesleyan, 94-14, on Feb. 14, 1918 in their most lopsided game ever.
- Obediah Church (So., Springfield, Ill.) is coming off a career-high 6 blocks. Just 35 games into his collegiate career, he is just 9 rejections shy of entering the program's all-time top 10. Assistant coach Keith Pickens is 10th with 70.
- MVC member Loyola also used Allstate Arena (formerly the Rosemont Horizon) as its home facility until 1996.
- MSU's three juco transfers -- Alize Johnson (Williamsport, Pa.), Jarrid Rhodes (Palmetto, Fla.) and Ronnie Rousseau III (Cincinnati, Ohio) are a combined 40-for-69 (.580) from the field and scoring 33.7 points per game.
- This is the first of five trips to Illinois this season for MSU with MVC games to play at SIU, Loyola, Bradley and ISU.
- MSU head coach Paul Lusk will be gunning for his 75th win as Bears' head coach. He is 74-90 in his sixth season.
- Austin Ruder (Jr., Nixa, Mo.) is just 6 points away from reaching 600 for his career. The redshirt junior is also just 7 threes from 150. He is the MVC's active leader in 3-point field goals and has jumped to seventh on MSU's career list.
