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Bears Set for Three Games at Charleston Classic

Bears Set for Three Games at Charleston Classic

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAMES 5-7 - Missouri State Bears (2-2) at ESPN Charleston Classic 
Date and Time Thursday, Nov. 21 (10:30 a.m.) | Friday, Nov. 22 (1:30 p.m.) | Sunday, Nov. 24 (2:30 p.m.)
Location TD Arena (5,100) | Charleston, S.C.  |  BRACKET  |  Media Preview
Tickets Charleston Classic | Future Home Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television All Games on ESPNU (Richard Cross, Daymeon Fishback) | Watch
Series First-ever meeting vs. Buffalo
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Game 2 Update | Game 3 Update | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Up Next The Bears travel to LSU on Friday, Nov. 29 | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State continues a five-game road swing this week when the Bears travel to Charleston, S.C., for three bracketed games at the Charleston Classic. MSU will open the event with a first-round game against Miami (Fla.) on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. (Central) from TD Arena in Charleston. Depending on outcomes, the Bears will play Florida or St. Joseph's (Pa.) on Friday, have a day off Saturday, and conclude the event on Sunday against UConn, Buffalo, Xavier or Towson (complete bracket on next page). The Bears wrap up their five-game road swing Nov. 29 at LSU.
  • Lamont West (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) needs just 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career. West scored 945 points in 109 games at West Virginia before transferring to MSU this season. The graduate transfer also has 361 career rebounds and 160 3-pointers in his collegiate career.
  • The Bears are just 10 wins away from reaching 700 as a Division I program. Since joining the DI ranks in 1982-83, Missouri State is 690-478 (.591), now in their 38th Division I season -- 18.6 wins per season.
  • For just the second time since joining the league in 1990-91, Missouri State is the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears were also picked atop the Valley's preseason poll in 2017-18.
  • Missouri State enters the week ranked 9th nationally in 3-point field goal defense (.215) with its foes having made just 17-of-79 attempts from beyond the expanded arc.
  • The Bears are also 26th among all Division I programs this week in scoring defense, having surrendered just 57.3 points per game through their first four contests.
  • Missouri State has shot the ball at a higher percentage than three of its first four opponents this season, racking up a 2-1 mark when doing so. The Bears are now 11-2 under coach Dana Ford when shooting better than their opponent with Friday's loss at No. 21 Xavier being this season's only blemish (.477 for the Bears to .415 for the Musketeers).
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) erupted for a career-high 31 points and flirted with a school 3-point record to help the Bears to a 59-50 win over Alabama State on Sunday. He made 9-of-13 shots overall, 6-of-7 from 3-point range, and 7-of-7 at the foul line. Cook followed that effort with 19 points in MSU's win over Cleveland State on Tuesday. 
  • Cook is just 8 points away from 500 for his Missouri State career (36 games) and is averaging 13.4 points per game as a Bear with 58 3-pointers. Cook ranks 53rd nationally in free throws made (53), 80th in FT percentage (.905), 52nd in 3-point field goal percentage (.500), 94th in 3-pointers made (10), and 97th in total points (71).
  • With just 8.5 turnovers per game, Miami enters the week ranked 6th nationally in that category while ranking 32nd in fewest total turnovers (34), and 43rd in turnover margin (5.8). The Hurricanes also commit just 12.8 personal fouls per game, which ranks 14th among the nation's 350 Division I programs.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 18-18 (.500) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 13-5 ledger at JQH Arena, 5-10 ledger in away games, and 0-3 mark at neutral sites. He is now 75-83 (.475) in his sixth season as a head coach. He is 0-0 vs. Miami.
  • In his first season in Springfield, Ford led the Bears to a tie for third place (10-8) in the Missouri Valley Conference with the program's first winning record in Valley play since 2011. He guided two players -- Tulio Da Silva (first team) and Keandre Cook (third team) -- to All-MVC honors in addition to three players on the MVC All-Newcomer Team, including Newcomer of the Year Da Silva.
  • 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. He coached five All-OVC players and two OVC All-Newcomer Team selections during his tenure at TSU. 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.
  • Ford, 35, 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 has served as an assistant at Tennessee State, Wichita State and Illinois State and was responsible for recruiting future NBA talents such as Robert Covington (Timberwolves) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors).
Series History
  • The Bears and Hurricanes have met just once on the hardwood, an 81-72 Miami win at BankUnited Center in Coral Gables on March 21, 2011 in the second round of the NIT.
  • In that game, Missouri State jumped out to a 32-26 lead at the midway point before Miami stormed back in the second half behind a 56-percent shooting effort and six triples. Durand Scott finished with 20 points for the home team on 7-of-12 shooting, while Adrian Thomas scored 16 behind four treys. The Bears were led by Adam Leonard who scored 26 points on 7-of-8 from long range, while Kyle Weems scored 18 points in his final game as a Bear. MSU committed just 7 turnovers on the night.
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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