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Missouri State

Blackout vs BYU

Opportunity Knocks as Bears Host No. 12 BYU Saturday

December 02, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 8 - Missouri State Bears (4-3) vs. #12 BYU Cougars (6-1)
Date and Time Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021 | 3:00 p.m. (Central)
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena
Promotions Black Out Game (Fans Wear Black) | NCAA Trophy Tour
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, Tim Doyle)
Series Series Tied, 1-1 | Last Meeting: MSU 62, BYU 61 (ot) (1/6/87)
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Brigham Young |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Wednesday, Dec. 8 - Bears at Little Rock | 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

The Ten Count
  • After three weeks away from home, Missouri State makes its long-awaited return to JQH Arena on Saturday when the Bears entertain No. 12-ranked Brigham Young at 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Net). It will be the first meeting between the Bears and Cougars since 1987 and the first-ever meeting between the clubs in Springfield.
  • Coming in at No. 12 in this week's AP rankings (and No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll), BYU represents the second-highest ranked team to ever play at JQH Arena. The Bears fell to No. 6-ranked Wichita State, 72-69 in overtime, on Jan. 11, 2014, in a game in which Missouri State led by 19 with 12 minutes to play.
  • Missouri State's Keaton Hervey (G/F, Cedar Park, Texas) and BYU's Gideon George (F, Minna, Nigeria) were teammates at New Mexico Junior College in 2019-20. Hervey averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 rebounds for coach Luke Adams' Thunderbirds that season, while George averaged 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds for a 23-9 squad.
  • Both teams are coming off overtime road losses on Wednesday night. The Bears dropped a 79-74 decision at Illinois State in their MVC opener, while BYU fell at Utah Valley, 72-65, for its first loss of the season.
  • The Bears' last win over a ranked opponent came on Dec. 28, 2011 with a 77-65 road win over No. 21 Creighton in the MVC opener in Omaha. Missouri State is looking for its first win over a ranked foe at JQH Arena (opened in 2008) with 9 previous games vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at "The Q."
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in all 5 games he has played at Missouri State, firing at a .529 (18-for-34) clip from beyond the arc. The graduate transfer from IUPUI has now accumulated 303 career threes (116 games) with at least one triple in 19 consecutive games.
  • Lu'Cye Patterson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) is coming off career-high 10 points at Illinois State on Wednesday, going 4-of-7 from the field in 27 minutes off the bench. He scored 6 of the Bears' 10 overtime points in the MVC opener.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) is coming off his 22nd career double-double and his 4th this season after posting game-highs 27 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday at Illinois State. He was also 13-for-15 from the field against the Redbirds in producing his 4th 20-point outing of the season.
  • Prim ranks 9th nationally in double-doubles (4), 15th in rebounding (10.6), 21st in FG percentage (.654), 22nd in offensive rebounding (3.43), 25th in defensive rebounding (7.14) and 33rd in scoring (20.0).
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) leads the MVC and ranks 31st nationally in free throw percentage (.917) on 22-of-24 makes at the stripe. Last season, Mosley became the first Bear to lead The Valley in scoring (19.8 ppg) and finished 3rd in the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year voting.
  • As a team, Missouri State ranks 14th nationally in FT percentage (.797), 35th in field goal percentage (.487), and 52nd in 3-point percentage (.380). According to KenPom.com, the Bears rank 24th in effective field goal percentage (.563) and 29th in offensive efficiency.
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) is closing in on several milestones. His next start will be the 50th of his career, while he is just 4 three-pointers away from 100 career and 9 points from 400 (63 games).
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 53-43 (.552) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 32-13 ledger at JQH Arena, 16-22 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 110-108 (.505) in his eighth season as a head coach. This is his first game coaching against BYU.
  • Ford picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 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, TSU 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).
Series History
  • The Bears and Cougars have met twice, both in Provo, with the teams splitting the all-time series, 1-1.
  • In the most-recent meeting (1/6/87), the Bears escaped with a 62-61 overtime victory before 15,048 fans as Winston Garland poured in 25 points, Stan Worthy scored 12, and Greg Ball snatched 13 rebounds for the visitors. Garland, who played over 500 games in the NBA, beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to force overtime, then won the game with a jumper with 3 seconds left in overtime. That 1986-87 Missouri State team would go on to win the Mid-Continent Conference title and upset Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
  • The first-ever meeting between the clubs took place in the BYU Classic on Provo on 12/14/84 with BYU shooting 52 percent from the field en route to a 66-46 win over the Bears. Chris Ward (16), Phil Schlegel (14) and Handy Johnson (12) scored in double figures for Missouri State, while Timo Baarelainen led BYU with 16 points. The Bears shot just 2 free throws in the game and trailed 32-18 at the half.
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.
  • This year's Rebound Foundation game will be Sunday, Feb. 6 vs. Loyola.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link


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