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Bears Begin Pivotal Home Stand Saturday vs. Indiana State

Bears Begin Pivotal Home Stand Saturday vs. Indiana State

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAME 22 - Missouri State Bears (10-12, 4-5 MVC) vs. Indiana State Sycamores (12-8, 5-4 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, February 1, 2020 | 3:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Indiana State Game | Future Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN3 (Tom Ladd, Kelby Stuckey) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 47-25 | Last Meeting: MSU 67, ISU 61 (2/23/19) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Indiana State | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Coverage MVC Weekly Coaches Call
Promotions Dr. Seagrave Retirement Ceremony | Day-of-Game Ticket Special
Up Next The Bears host Illinois State on Wednesday (Feb. 5) at 7 p.m. | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State completes a three-game week and kicks off the final month of the regular season Saturday when the Bears entertain Indiana State on Saturday at 3 p.m. in their long-awaited return to JQH Arena. MSU has won the seven straight meetings in the series between the clubs, as well as the last seven contests at The Q against the Sycamores.
  • Freshman Ford Cooper Jr. (Charlotte, N.C.) turns 19-years-old on Saturday. He is averaging 26.8 minutes per game as a starter with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) is just 5 three-pointers away from 100 for his career (54 games). He also eclipsed 750 career points in Wednesday's game at UNI, moving him up to No. 62 on MSU's career scoring chart (751). Cook is also 43 points away from reaching the top 10 in career scoring at JQH Arena.
  • MSU ranks 53rd nationally in free throw percentage (.751), including a .770 percentage in Valley games and .749 metric from the line at JQH Arena.
  • The Bears are relying heavily on their three freshmen of late with the trio of Isiaih Mosley (Columbia, Mo.), Ja'Monta Black (Columbia, Mo.) and Ford Cooper Jr. (Charlotte, N.C.) starting the last five games (2-3). The classmates have combined to score 24.8 points per game in that span. 
  • Tulio Da Silva (Sr., Formiga, Brazil) is coming off an 11-point, 7-rebound outing against Northern Iowa on Wednesday, his best point production since Jan. 11, ironically against UNI, when he scored 13 points..
  • Gaige Prim (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored 10 or more points in 14-of-17 games and at least 8 points in every contest.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) regained his lead among Valley freshman in conference scoring this week. Mosley is averaging 13.3 points per game in MVC contests, just ahead of SIU's Marcus Domask (13.2). Since Dec. 15 (last 11 games), Mosley is averaging 13.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game (both second on the team), shooting 50-percent from the field (56-of-112) and 45 percent (17-of-38) from three-point range.
  • Ja'Monta Black (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) is coming off a career-high 10 points in Wednesday's game at UNI. Over the last 3 games, he is averaging 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 threes. Black has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in 5 straight contests.
  • A win by the Bears would secure their 48th straight winning season at home. Missouri State, which is currently 7-3 at JQH Arena this season with 5 home games remaining, has been over .500 at home every season since 1971-72.
  • Missouri State heads into the home stand just 2 wins shy of 700 as a Division I program. The Bears are currently 698-488 (.589) in their 38th NCAA Division I season (since 1982-83).
  • Missouri State is 23-8 under coach Dana Ford when holding its opponents under 70 points.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 26-28 (.481) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 18-7 ledger at JQH Arena, 7-16 record in away games, and 1-5 mark at neutral sites. He is now 83-93 (.472) in his sixth season as a head coach. Ford is 2-0 in his career against Indiana State.
  • 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 lead the all-time series against Indiana State, 47-25, in a rivalry that dates back to 1951-52. MSU has won seven straight in the series and is 31-5 all-time in Springfield against the Sycamores (9-2 at JQH Arena) with seven straight home victories against ISU. The Bears are also 15-19 all-time in Terre Haute and 1-1 in St. Louis during the MVC Tournament.
  • The Bears have swept the series the last three seasons, including both games last year. In the first meeting (Jan. 8), MSU got a game-high 21 points from Tulio Da Silva and forced 22 turnovers to snag its first road win of the season, 72-57. Jarred Dixon added 16 points for MSU, while Keandre Cook had 13 points in his return to the starting lineup. MSU held the league's top scorer, Jordan Barnes, to 10 points (4-of-16 from the field). Over the last four minutes, the Bears forced ISU into missing 6-of-7 shots in the clutch. Box Score
  • In the rematch in Springfield (Feb. 23), the Bears shot 64 percent in the second half and held off a late surge by the Sycamores to secure a 67-61 win and give the Bears 10 MVC wins for the first time since 2010-11. Da Silva scored 16 points and snagged 11 rebounds, while Josh Webster added 14 points and Cook poured in 11 points.  Tyreke Key's 19 points led ISU, behind 9-of-11 from the line. 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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