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Missouri State

Jarred Dixon

Bears Set to Host Bradley Saturday at The Q

January 24, 2019

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 21 - Missouri State Bears (9-11, 3-4 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (10-10, 2-5 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, January 26, 2019 | 3:07 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Bradley Tickets
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television FOX Sports Midwest (John Rooney, Rich Zvosec) | MVC TV Network
Series Missouri State leads 38-22 | Last Meeting: MSU 69, BU 64 (1/12/19) | [Box Score]
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Bradley | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide | Valley Media Conference
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears
Promotions Glow-in-the-Dark T-Shirts for first 1,000 fans, first 1,000 students | Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend
Up Next The Bears travel to Valparaiso on Tuesday evening (7 p.m.) before visiting Northern Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 2 (7 p.m.)

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State concludes a two-game Missouri Valley Conference home stand Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.) when the Bears host Bradley on Hall of Fame Weekend at MSU. The Bears are 8-2 all-time against the Braves at JQH Arena.
  • Missouri State has forced 17.4 turnovers per game through its first 7 Valley games, which is on pace to break the 1998-99 team's MSU record of 17.6 takeaways in conference contests. The Bears, who lead the MVC in turnover margin (+2.9), are collecting a league-leading 9.0 steals in MVC games.
  • Tulio Da Silva (Jr., Formiga, Brazil) continues to lead all MVC newcomers in both scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) averages. He has scored in double figures in 13-of-15 games at MSU and ranks fifth overall in The Valley in both scoring and rebounding. His 8.7 rebounding average in league play ranks second among all MVC players.
  • The Bears are coming off season-best shooting efforts from the field (.634) and from 3-point range (.522) in Wednesday's win over Loyola, converting 26-of-41 shots overall and 12-of-23 from bonus distance. MSU also held the defending Valley champs to just 9 total rebounds on the night, the lowest single-game total in the NCAA this season.
  • Keandre Cook (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) is coming off a 21-point, 8-rebound effort vs. Loyola, both game highs. He has started the last 5 games for the Bears and is averaging 13.2 points and shooting 54.3 percent (25-of-46) in that span.
  • With 1,101 career points, Jarred Dixon (G, Kansas City, Mo.) needs 4 points to catch Darryl Reid (1989-91) for the No. 21 position on MSU's all-time scoring list and 30 points to match Deven Mitchell (2003-08) for the No. 20 spot.
  • Ryan Kreklow (Sr., Columbia, Mo.) is averaging 2.0 steals per game in MVC games, which leads the conference.
  • Josh Webster (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) leads the MVC and ranks 9th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.38) and also leads The Valley in total assists (108). Webster also ranks 8th in the Missouri Valley in free throw percentage (.796), 3rd in steals per game (1.4) and 10th in minutes per game (30.9).
  • Among the seven inductees into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame today is William Fontleroy, a slashing, trigger-quick playmaker whose athleticism sparked the Bears on both offense and defense under coaches Steve Alford and Barry Hinson from 1996-2000. Fontleroy was part of two NIT squads (1997 and 2000) as well as the 1999 NCAA Tournament team that advanced to the Sweet 16 after wins over Wisconsin and Tennessee. The native of Gary, Ind., scored 1,133 points and dished out 471 assists in 130 career games while earning a spot on the 1999 MVC Most-Improved Team.
  • The Bears are 118-54 (.686) all-time at JQH Arena. MSU is just 9,169 spectators shy of 1 million men's basketball fans at The Q in its 11th season in the facility.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 9-11 (.450) in his first season at Missouri State, including a 7-2 ledger at JQH Arena. He is now 66-76 (.465) in his fifth season as a head coach and 1-0 all-time vs. Bradley.
  • 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
  • The series between the Bears and Braves began when MSU joined The Valley for the 1990-91 season. Missouri State leads the rivalry, 38-22, and the Bears are 22-5 all-time in Springfield (8-2 at JQH Arena).
  • MSU snapped a three-game losing streak to the Braves on Jan. 12 in Peoria with a 69-64 win. MSU scored the game's last 9 points and erased a 14-point second-half deficit. The Bears got a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds from Tulio Da Silva for his first double-double. Jarred Dixon also added 15 points for the Bears who forced 21 turnovers. After chipping away most of the second half, the Bears finally took the lead with 43 seconds to play on a driving bucket off the glass by Keandre Cook. Cook hit a key 3-pointer nearly a minute earlier to cut the Bears' deficit to one. From there, MSU got a key steal from Ross Owens with 15.7 seconds to go while Josh Webster and Dixon combined to go 4-4 at the stripe to ice the win. [Box Score]
Rebound Foundation
  • 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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