Wednesday, January 2
Carbondale, IL
7:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
at
Southern Illinois
Ford, Bears Start Valley Season at Southern Illinois
January 01, 2019 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 14 - Missouri State Bears (6-7, 0-0 MVC) at Southern Illinois (7-6, 0-0 MVC) | |
| Date and Time | Wednesday, January 2, 2019 | 7:02 p.m. |
| Location | SIU Arena (8,284) | Carbondale, Ill. |
| Tickets | SIU Tickets |
| Radio | KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
| Television | ESPN+ (Watch) | (Darren Kinnard, Mike Trude) |
| Series | Southern Illinois leads 48-37 | Last meeting: SIU 67, MSU 63 (3/2/18) [Box Score] |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Missouri State | Southern Illinois | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide |
| Follow | Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears |
| Up Next | The Bears return home to JQH Arena on Saturday, Jan. 5 to play Valparaiso at 1 p.m. [Valpo Game Tickets] |
Box Office Holiday Hours
 The Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena will operate with the following hours during the holiday break
- Dec 31 - Jan 2: closed
- Jan 3 - resume normal 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours
The Ten Count
- The Bears begin their 29th season in the Missouri Valley Conference on Wednesday when they travel to league rival Southern Illinois for a 7 p.m. start. MSU is 18-10 all-time in Valley openers, including two wins in a row and a 4-1 ledger against the Salukis (2-1 at SIU Arena).
- Southern Illinois swept all three games against the Bears last season by a combined seven points. The Bears have taken SIU to overtime their last two trips to SIU Arena, but have lost three straight in Carbondale and eight in a row overall.
- Bears' head coach Dana Ford grew up 37.5 miles from Carbondale in Tamms, Illinois. He scored 2,222 career points at Egyptian High School where he was a two-time all-state performer in 2001 and 2002. He is 0-2 as a head coach vs. SIU, falling to the Salukis twice in the 2014-15 season while coaching at Tennessee State.
- Josh Webster (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) is celebrating his 22nd birthday on Jan. 2 for the SIU game. He is 1 point shy of 700 for his 101-game career. Over the last three games, Webster has 28 assists with 1 turnover. He ranks 8th nationally -- and first in the MVC -- with a 4.05 assist-to-turnover ratio. His 5.9 assists per game also ranks 29th nationally.
- Tulio Da Silva (Jr., Formiga, Brazil) has scored in double figures in 7 straight games -- all starts. He is 29-of-43 (.674) from the field over last 5 games. The transfer from USF was declared eligible by the NCAA on Nov. 24.
- Ross Owens (Jr., Woodlawn, Ill.) is coming off a career-high 15 points in Sunday's win over William woods, converting 5-of-8 shots with three 3-pointers, six rebounds and three assists in a 21-minute reserve assignment. His hometown of Woodlawn, Ill., is just 55 miles from Carbondale.
- Senior Jarred Dixon (G, Kansas City, Mo.) reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 22, making him the 29th player in Bears history to reach that milestone and first since Kyle Weems in 2011. Dixon is 2 points shy of moving into the MSU scoring all-time top 25. He has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games this season.
- Ryan Kreklow (Sr., Columbia, Mo.) has started seven straight games and has made at least one 3-pointer in each game, combining to make 18-of-38 (.474) treys in that span. He is also averaging 10.1 points per game as a starter and has converted 14 straight free throws dating back to Nov. 20.
- Current SIU head coach Barry Hinson was 169-117 (.591) in 9 seasons (1999-2008) as head coach at Missouri State with four NIT appearances (4-4).
- The Bears continue to lead the Missouri Valley in steals per game with 6.8 per game. Josh Webster leads the team with 17 steals.
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- Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 6-7 (.462) in his first season at Missouri State, including a 6-0 ledger at JQH Arena. He is now 63-72 (.467) in his fifth season as a head coach and 0-2 all-time vs. Southern Illinois.
- 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. Â
- 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.
- Southern Illinois leads the all-time series, 48-37, in a rivalry that dates back to 1957. The Salukis have won the last eight meetings, including all three last season, and are 26-9 all-time against the Bears in Carbondale.
- Last season, Armon Fletcher's layup with 7 seconds left helped SIU to a 79-77 win in Springfield (Jan. 27) despite 29 points from Alize Johnson. The Salukis' good fortune struck again in Carbondale (Feb. 14) with an 81-80 overtime win over MSU with Aaron Cook's two FT's with 4.1 seconds left in OT. Jarred Dixon scored 15 points and Jarrid Rhodes scored 21 for MSU. Finally, the Salukis ended the Bears' season in St. Louis with a 67-63 decision in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals (March 2). Rhodes scored 21, and Dixon scored 16 for MSU in a ferocious comeback that saw the Bears nearly erase a 14-point deficit with 6:15 to play. [Box Score]
- 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 who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to abuse victims and their children. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.
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