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Hall of Fame Classic

Men's Basketball MSU Athletics Communications

Bears Set for Hall of Fame Classic Final Rounds in KC

GAMES 4-5 - Missouri State Bears (3-0) vs. Nebraska (3-0) Monday  |  vs. Texas Tech (3-0) or USC (2-1) Tue.
Dates and Times vs. Nebraska, Nov. 19, 6:00 p.m. | vs. TUSC, Nov. 20, 6:00 p.m.
Location Sprint Center (18,972) | Kansas City, Mo.
Tickets Hall of Fame Classic Tickets | Hall of Fame Weekend
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television Monday - ESPNU (Clay Matvick, Jon Sundvold) (Watch Nebraska Game)
Tuesday - ESPN3 (Watch Consolation Game)
Series Nebraska leads 1-0 | USC leads 1-0 |
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Nebraska | USC | Texas Tech | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears
Up Next The Bears travel to Murray State for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 24.

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State continues play in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, powered by ShotTracker, Monday vs. Nebraska (6 p.m., ESPNU), and Tuesday vs. either USC or Texas Tech (6 p.m., ESPN3 or 8:30 p.m., ESPN2). This will be Missouri State's first-ever appearance at Sprint Center.
  • In the preliminary rounds of the Hall of Fame Classic, MSU defeated Robert Morris, 74-60, on Nov. 9 with Keandre Cook posting 20 points and 10 rebounds; and Setson, 83-70, on Nov. 11 with Cook scoring 20 points, and Jarred Dixon adding 18.
  • Bears' head coach Dana Ford and his wife, Christina, are founders of the Rebound Foundation. The not-for-profit raises funds and awareness to help renew and restore women -- and their children -- who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to victims of domestic abuse. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.
  • Kansas City native Jarred Dixon now needs just 119 points to reach 1,000 for his career. MSU has had 28 1,000-point scorers in its proud history, but none since Kyle Weems reached the milestone in 2011.
  • In Monday's game against Nebraska, Dixon will be making his 100th career appearance. He has 50 starts to his credit and has averaged 8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game during his MSU career with 93 steals.
  • Only 3 teams in all of Division I basketball -- Chattanooga (1), UNC Asheville (2) and Drake (2) -- have fewer returning lettermen than Missouri State's three: Jarred Dixon, Obediah Church and Ryan Kreklow. Likewise, MSU's 11 roster newcomers (including redshirts) is third in the nation next to 12 apiece by Seattle and Florida Atlantic.
  • Obediah Church (Sr., Springfield, Ill.), Missouri State's career leader in blocked shots (191), is rapidly approaching 200 rejections, a career milestone achieved by just five players in Missouri Valley Conference history.
  • Keandre Cook (Baltimore, Md.) was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 12 after leading the Bears to a 3-0 opening week. The transfer from Odessa (Texas) College posted 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in three starts in wins over Oral Roberts, Robert Morris and Stetson, including a pair of 20-point games and his first collegiate double-double.
  • Cook's 52 points in his first three games is the most by any MSU rookie since Shelton Colwell (58) in 2002-03. 
  • Szymon Wojcik (Fr., Pelczyce, Poland) has scored Missouri State's first basket in all three games this season.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 3-0 (1.000) in his first season at Missouri State, including a 3-0 ledger at JQH Arena. He is now 60-65 (.480) in his fifth season as a head coach.
  • He was introduced as Missouri State's 18th men's basketball coach on March 22, 2018 after coaching the previous four seasons at Tennessee State. The native of Tamms, Illinois was 57-65 (.467) at Tennessee State, including a 52-39 ledger in his last three seasons in Nashville.  
  • Ford, 33, was awarded the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation's top Division I minority coach. That same year, he was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 19 Coach of the Year after engineering one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history, swaying Tennessee State from a 5-26 record in his first season to a 20-11 mark in 2015-16.
  • He coached five All-OVC players in addition to two players recognized on the OVC All-Newcomer Team. Under his leadership, Tennessee State also doubled its home attendance average and twice earned votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll during the 2016-17 season.
  • TheAthletic.com named Bears' head coach Dana Ford to its list of 30 "up and coming coaches to keep an eye on" during its 2018-19 preseason basketball coverage.
Series History
  • Monday's game vs. Nebraska is just the second meeting ever between the Bears and Cornhuskers with Nebraska scoring a 98-46 win over MSU in the Bears' first Division I season -- Jan. 15, 1983. Nebraska shot .628 (44-for-70)  as a team with Terry Smith scoring a game-high 15 points for the Huskers. MSU was led by Ricky Johnson's 12 points and 8 rebounds.
  • The Bears have played USC just once -- an 83-75 Trojans win at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 22, 2016. [BOX SCORE]
  • MSU has played Texas Tech four times with the Red Raiders winning all four meetings -- two in Springfield and two in Lubbock -- most recently with an 80-68 TTU victory in Lubbock on Nov. 22, 2014. [BOX SCORE]
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Players Mentioned

Obediah Church

#5 Obediah Church

F
6' 7"
Junior
Jarred Dixon

#11 Jarred Dixon

G
6' 4"
Junior
Ryan Kreklow

#20 Ryan Kreklow

G
6' 4"
Junior
Keandre Cook

#1 Keandre Cook

G
6' 5"
Junior
Szymon Wojcik

#10 Szymon Wojcik

F
6' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Obediah Church

#5 Obediah Church

6' 7"
Junior
F
Jarred Dixon

#11 Jarred Dixon

6' 4"
Junior
G
Ryan Kreklow

#20 Ryan Kreklow

6' 4"
Junior
G
Keandre Cook

#1 Keandre Cook

6' 5"
Junior
G
Szymon Wojcik

#10 Szymon Wojcik

6' 10"
Freshman
F

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