Tuesday, November 9
Springfield
7:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Southeast Missouri St.
November 08, 2021 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 1 - Missouri State Bears (0-0) vs. SEMO Redhawks (0-0) | |
| Dates and Times | Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 | 7:02 p.m. (Central) |
| Location | JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri |
| Tickets | Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena |
| Fan Info | Digital Game Program |
| Radio | KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
| Television | KOZL-TV (Don West, Dan Lucy) | Watch |
| Series | Missouri State leads 92-55 | Last Meeting: MSU 71, SEMO 66 (12/17/16) | Box Score |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Missouri State | SEMO | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide |
| Follow | Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite |
| Up Next | Saturday, Nov. 13 - Bears vs. Alabama State | 7 p.m. | Tickets |
The Ten Count
- Missouri State kicks off its 110th basketball season and 40th season in Division I on Tuesday (7 p.m.) when the Bears entertain in-state foe Southeast Missouri State at JQH Arena. MSU is 37-2 in home openers during its Division I era, including a 12-1 ledger in home openers at JQH Arena.
- This is the 148th meeting between the Bears and Redhawks in a series that dates back to 1911. SEMO is MSU's longest-standing rival, just ahead of Missouri S&T (140) and Northwest Missouri (137). MSU leads the all-time series, 92-55.
- Missouri State returns all five starters from a 17-7 campaign in which the Bears finished 12-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference and captured third place in the 10-team league.
- The Bears were 11-0 last season and are now 26-0 under coach Dana Ford when they shoot 50 percent or better from the field. The team's .478 field goal percentage ranked 25th nationally and was the best by the Bears since 1990-91 (.488). According to Kenpom.com, MSU ranked 13th nationally in 2-point FG% (.567) and 33rd in Effective FG% (.547).
- Despite a shortened 24-game season in 2020-21, Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) put together the 38th-highest season scoring output (475 pts.) in Bears history. He became MSU's first-ever Valley scoring champion (19.8 ppg) with 14 games of 20+ points and 20 double-figure scoring games en route to All-MVC and NABC All-District first-team honors.
- Missouri State led the MVC and ranked 8th nationally last season in defensive rebounds per game (29.04), while ranking 41st nationally in rebound margin (+5.0). The Bears were 14-3 in 2020-21 when out-rebounding their opponent.
- Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) had a steal in all but one game in 2020-21, including 19 consecutive games to end the season. He led the Bears in blocked shots (31) and steals (28) last season and was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team.
- Prim was the MVC's leader in rebounding (9.1 rpg) last season and ranked 3rd in the conference in scoring (16.7 ppg), behind Mosley (19.8) and Indiana State's Tyreke Key (17.2). He was an All-MVC and NABC All-District first-teamer.
- The Bears boast 5 players from the state of Missouri, including returning starters Isiaih Mosley (Columbia), Ja'Monta Black (Columbia) and Demarcus Sharp (Charleston) as well as Springfield's Elijah Bridgers and Isaac Haney.
- Demarcus Sharp (Sr., Charleston, Mo.), an NJCAA All-American at Colby (Kan.) Community College, finished 3rd in the MVC in assists per game (3.7) last season while earning MVC All-Newcomer Team laurels.
- The Bears return 89.4% of their scoring, 91.0% of their rebounding, 93.8% of their assists and 71.7% of their 3-pointers.
- Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) ended last season with a streak of 9 straight games with a 3-pointer, including a remarkable 7-for-9 effort from beyond the arc vs. Bradley (2/13/21) at home.
- Keaton Hervey (Sr., Cedar Park, Texas) shot a remarkable 43.6 percent from 3-pt. range last season, including 6-of-8 in the MVC Tournament. He matched a season-high 18 pts. vs. Drake in St. Louis in the Arch Madness semifinals (3/6/21)
- SEMO head coach Brad Korn was an assistant coach at MSU for 3 years (2013-16), while his assistant coaches also have MSU ties. Keith Pickens played for the Bears (2009-14) and served as an assistant for 2 years (2016-18), while Sam McMahon served 4 years on the MSU staff as video coordinator (2010-11) and director of basketball operations (2011-14).
- Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 49-40 (.551) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 31-12 ledger at JQH Arena, 15-21 record in away games, and 3-7 mark at neutral sites. He is now 106-105 (.502) in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 2-3 all-time against SEMO.
- Ford picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7 at Illinois State (72-62).
- Last season, Ford was named to ESPN's College Basketball 40 Under 40 list at No. 35 and was on the list of national finalists for both the Skip Prosser Award and Ben Jobe Award. The Bears completed the 2020-21 campaign with a 17-7 overall record and 12-6 ledger in the Missouri Valley Conference (third) before advancing to the MVC Tournament semifinals. Missouri State was 7-2 in road conference games to match a program high-water mark, while Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim earned All-MVC first team honors, and Demarcus Sharp earned a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team.
- 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 AP Top 25 poll in 2016-17.
- Ford, 37, earned 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 (Trail Blazers) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors).
- This is the 148th meeting between the Bears and Redhawks in a series that dates back to 1911.
- SEMO is MSU's longest-standing rival, just ahead of Missouri S&T (140) and Northwest Missouri (137). MSU leads the all-time series, 92-55.
- The teams last played in 2016 with a home-and-home series 10 days apart. The Bears swept both games with a 79-91 decision at the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau (12/7/16) before a 71-66 decision at JQH Arena (12/17/16). | Box Score
- 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.
- Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today! Pledge Link
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