Ford, Bears Head to Valpo for Tuesday Clash

GAME 22 - Missouri State Bears (10-11, 4-4 MVC) at Valparaiso Crusaders (12-9, 5-3 MVC)
Date and Time	Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 \| 7:02 p.m.
Location	ARC (5,000) \| Valparaiso, Ind.
Tickets	Valpo Tickets
Radio	KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) \| MSU Radio Network \| Listen Live
Television	ESPN+ (Jordan Bernfield, Kevin Lehman)
Series	Missouri State leads 17-8 \| Last Meeting: Valpo 82, MSU 66 (1/5/19) \| [Box Score]
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State \| Valparaiso \| MVC Notebook \| MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook \| Athletics Twitter \| Basketball Twitter \| Instagram \| #MSUBears
Up Next	The Bears travel to Northern Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 2 (7 p.m.) before returning to JQH Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 6 to play rival Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. [SIU Tickets]

The Ten Count

Missouri State reaches the midway point in the MVC season Tuesday when the Bears travel to Valparaiso at 7 p.m. The Bears, who are playing to get back to the .500 mark, are looking for a season split with the Crusaders.
The Bears have allowed 35 and 37 points, respectively, in their last two MVC contests -- home wins over Loyola and Bradley. The only other Valley team in the shot clock era to hold back-to-back Valley opponents to 37 points or less was Illinois State in 1985-86. MSU is surrendering a league-best 61.8 points per game in conference contests.
Keandre Cook (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) had a phenomenal week in Missouri State's two home victories against Loyola and Bradley to earn MVC Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week honors. He had game highs in scoring and rebounding in both efforts, averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds for the week with 21 points vs. LUC and a double-double (16 pts., 8 reb.) against Bradley on Saturday. Cook has started the last 6 games for the Bears and is averaging 13.3 points and shooting 50.9 percent (29-of-57) in that span.
Tulio Da Silva (Jr., Formiga, Brazil) continues to lead all MVC newcomers in both scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) averages. He has scored in double figures in 14-of-16 games at MSU and ranks fifth overall in The Valley in both scoring and rebounding. His 3.5 offensive rebounds per game in Valley games is tops in the league.
The Bears are surrendering just 57.9 points per game in its 10 wins this season with opponents shooting a collective .375 from the field. Converseley, in its 11 losses, MSU foes are shooting .508 and scoring 81.5 points per game.
With 1,108 career points, Jarred Dixon (G, Kansas City, Mo.) needs 23 points to match Deven Mitchell (2003-08) for the No. 20 spot on the Bears' scoring chart. Dixon also ranks 9th all-time at MSU with 3,066 career minutes.
Missouri State ranks second in the Valley in points per possession (1.045), including 1.099 points per possession over its last 10 games, and an impressive 1.373 in last Wednesday's win over Loyola.
MSU's Kabir Mohammed (Jr., Lagos, Nigeria) is quickly becoming one of the top reserves in the Missouri Valley. Despite playing just 17.2 minutes per game, Mohammed is maximizing his playing time by posting 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Prorating his stats per 40 minutes, Mohammed is averaging 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds.
Jared Ridder (RFr., Springfield, Mo.) has knocked down a 3-pointer in four straight games and is 4-of-6 (.667) from long distance over the last two contests. Since joining the team on Dec. 15, he has a trey in 10-of-12 games and multiple triples in six contests.
MSU's 67-50 win at the ARC in Valparaiso last season (Dec. 31) was its first there since 1989 when the Bears and Crusaders were conference foes in the Mid-Continent. MSU is 8-3 all-time in Valparaiso, including a 6-3 ledger at the ARC.

Coach Dana Ford

Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 10-11 (.476) in his first season at Missouri State, including a 8-2 ledger at JQH Arena. He is now 67-76 (.469) in his fifth season as a head coach and 0-1 all-time vs. Valparaiso.
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

In a series that dates back to 1967, the Bears are 17-8 all-time against Valpo, including an 8-3 record at Valparaiso. MSU is also 7-5 at home and 2-0 at neutral sites against the Crusaders.
Earlier this season (Jan. 5) at JQH Arena in Springfield, A 30-6 run late in the first half by visiting Valparaiso proved fatal for Missouri State as the Bears dropped their first home game of the season, 82-66. The Bears were led by Jarred Dixon's game-high 23 points, while Kabir Mohammed scored 13 points with a team-high eight rebounds in his first start. Valparaiso was led by Ryan Fazekas' 18 points behind six 3-pointers, while Bakari Evelyn added 13 off the bench with three triples. [Box Score]
MSU swept the season series against the Crusaders last year, including a 67-50 win in Valparaiso (Dec. 31) to snap a two-game losing streak at the ARC.

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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