Basketball Bears Host Valpo in Valley Home Opener

GAME 15 - Missouri State Bears (6-8, 0-1 MVC) vs. Valparaiso Crusaders (8-6, 1-0 MVC)
Date and Time	Saturday, January 5, 2019 \| 1:05 p.m.
Location	JQH Arena (11,000) \| Springfield, Mo.
Tickets	Valpo Tickets \| Missouri State students admitted free with BearPass ID
Radio	KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) \| MSU Radio Network \| Listen Live
Television	KOZL-TV (Tom Ackerman, Ray Giacoletti) \| MSU TV Network \| ESPN3 (watch)
Series	Missouri State leads 17-7 \| Last meeting: MSU 83, Valpo 79 (3/1/18) [Box Score]
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State \| Valpo \| MVC Notebook \| MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook \| Athletics Twitter \| Basketball Twitter \| Instagram \| #MSUBears
Promotions	$5 Bleachers \| $15 game-day tickets in Sections E, J, O and P
Up Next	The Bears return to the Valley road next week for games Tuesday (at Indiana State) and Saturday (at Bradley) before returning to JQH Arena on Jan. 16 against Evansville. [UE Game Tickets]

The Ten Count

The Bears open their nine-game Valley home schedule Saturday (1 p.m.) against long-time foe Valparaiso. Missouri State is 25-3 in MVC home openers (9-1 at JQH Arena). MSU will play three of its first four -- and four of its first six -- Missouri Valley Conference games on the road this season.
Over its last three games, Missouri State has turned the ball over just 9.3 times, while forcing 16.0 turnovers per game in that same span. For the season, the Bears are averaging 13.5 turnovers per contest and a league-best 1.6 turnover margin.
Saturday's game will be Dana Ford's 400th game as a coach -- including 263 games as an assistant coach.
Over the last four games, Josh Webster (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) has tallied 34 assists with just 3 turnovers. He ranks 9th nationally -- and first in the MVC -- with a 3.95 assist-to-turnover ratio. His MVC-best 5.93 assists also ranks 30th nationally.
Tulio Da Silva (Jr., Formiga, Brazil) has scored in double figures in 8 straight games -- all starts. He leads the Bears in scoring average with 15.7 points per game and has tallied 17.7 points per game at JQH Arena this season. The transfer from USF was declared eligible by the NCAA on Nov. 24.
Former Bear Alize Johnson has recorded 11 consecutive double-doubles for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G-League. Johnson, who was the 50th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has played in 4 games with the Indiana Pacers, but has spent the rest of the season in Fort Wayne where he is averaging 18.4 points and 14.5 rebounds.
Despite scoring just 5 points at Southern Illinois on Wednesday, senior Jarred Dixon (G, Kansas City, Mo.) climbed three spots to No. 24 on MSU's career scoring list (1,019). Dixon, who also fouled out of his first career game Wednesday, is 15 points away from Dennis Hill (1973-75) for No. 23 spot and 60 away from Andy Newton (1973-76) for No. 22.
Ryan Kreklow (Sr., Columbia, Mo.) has started 8 straight games and has made at least one 3-pointer in each game, combining to make 23-of-44 (.523) treys in that span. He is averaging 15.3 points over the last 3 games, 10.8 points per game as a starter and 11.5 points at home. He has also converted 14 straight free throws dating back to Nov. 20.
Kreklow, who has 147 career 3-pointers, is just one triple away from catching Spencer Laurie (2006-09) for the No. 7 spot on MSU's career list. Only six Bears have ever posted 150 career 3-pointers. Kreklow is also just 2 points away from 700 for his career and needs just 8 points to reach MSU's all-time top 75 in scoring.
The Bears and Crusaders met 16 times as members of the Mid-Continent Conference (1983-90) with MSU posting a 13-3 ledger in that span. The Bears are also 3-0 against Valpo as MVC foes and 1-4 against the Crusaders as non-conference opponents, including an 86-72 victory in the 1967 NCAA Division II national quarterfinals in Evansville.

Coach Dana Ford

Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 6-8 (.429) in his first season at Missouri State, including a 6-0 ledger at JQH Arena. He is now 63-73 (.463) in his fifth season as a head coach and 0-0 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 17-7 all-time against Valpo, including a 7-4 mark at home (1-2 at JQH Arena). MSU is also 8-3 at Valparaiso and 2-0 at neutral sites against the Crusaders.
Last season, the Bears won all three meetings, including a 67-50 decision in the first-ever MVC game in Valparaiso (Dec. 31) thanks to a 13-0 run in the first half and 15 points by Jarrid Rhodes. Obediah Church and Jarred Dixon added 10 points apiece [Box Score]. MSU continued the streak with a 64-57 win at JQH (Jan. 17) after an 18-3 second-half run and 24 points by Alize Johnson, while Dixon added 12 [Box Score]. MSU then eliminated the Crusaders from their first-ever Arch Madness appearance (March 1) with Johnson (22 points, 19 reboounds) and Rhodes (20 points) setting the pace. Ryan Kreklow scored 11 in the winning cause for the Bears in St. Louis [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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