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Missouri State

Team huddle

Bears Begin Key Road Swing Saturday at No. 22 Loyola

January 20, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 21 - Missouri State Bears (14-6, 5-2 MVC) vs. #22/24 Loyola Ramlbers (15-2, 5-0 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 | 2:30 p.m. (Central)
Location Gentile Arena (4,963) | Chicago, Illinois
Tickets RamblerTickets.com | (773) 508-9653
Fan Info COVID Game Day Guidelines
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television CBS Sports Network (Chris Lewis, Tim Doyle) | Watch
Series Loyola leads series, 10-7 | Last Meeting: LUC 70, MSU 50 (2/1/21) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Loyola |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Tuesday, Jan. 25 at Indiana State (6 p.m., CT) on ESPN+

The Ten Count
  • A nationally-televised clash between the top two teams in the MVC awaits the Missouri State Bears on Saturday when they travel to No. 22/24-ranked Loyola Chicago at 2:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Net). The Bears have clawed their way into second place in the MVC standings with 10 wins in their last 12 games, while Loyola brings an 8-game win streak into Saturday's game in addition to its 30-game home court win streak -- the fourth-longest active streak in Division I.
  • Missouri State is the last MVC team to defeat Loyola at Gentile Arena with the Ramblers reeling off 23 straight conference wins at home since the Bears' 65-61 win in Chicago on Feb. 17, 2019 in coach Dana Ford's first season. The Bears got 18 points from Keandre Cook in that game, while current Bears' grad. assistant Ryan Kreklow scored 9 points behind three 3-pointers. No other current Bears were on the roster for that game, while the only current Loyola player to play in that contest was Aher Uguak who scored 6 points.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) continues to post jaw-dropping offensive numbers, racking up 132 points over his last 4 games (33.0 ppg), while shooting 62.2 percent from the field (46-of-74), 48.0 percent from three (12-for-25) and 90.3 percent at the free throw line (28-of-31) with 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in that span. Mosley has jumped to 15th in the KenPom player efficiency ratings (115.3) and ranks 10th nationally in FT% (.914) and 20th nationally in scoring average (20.2 ppg). He has earned MVC Player of the Week honors the last two weeks.
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in each of his last 7 games, making 24-of-47 (.511) from long range in that span. For the season, Black has made multiple 3-pointers in 15-of-20 games and has moved into 10th place on MSU's career 3-pointer list (137). He ranks 13th nationally in 3-pointers (56) -- tops in the MVC.
  • Missouri State is 32-3 under coach Dana Ford when shooting 50% or better from the field, including a 6-3 mark this year. The Bears are also 13-1 this winter (54-10 under Ford) when out-shooting their opponents from the field.
  • Mosley has scored in double figures in 50-of-76 career games, including 27 games with 20 or more points. With his 24-point outing vs. Illinois State on Wednesday, he moved into the program's career top 20 in scoring (1,146). He also posted 22 points in the second half vs. Illinois State, the 9th time in his career he has scored 20 or more points in a half.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) is coming off his 7th double-double of the season and 25th of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds vs. Illinois State. Prim ranks 2nd in the MVC in rebounds per game (8.2), while leading the MVC and ranking high nationally in FG percentage (35th), double-doubles (22nd), and total rebounds (17th).
  • According to KenPom, MSU ranks 16th in effective field goal percentage (.560) and 31st in adjusted offensive efficiency (112.6). Among 350 Division I programs, the Bears rank 16th nationally in FG percentage (.490), 10th in FT percentage (.789) and 7th in 3-pt. FG% (.400), while scoring 79.1 points per game, which ranks 32nd, tops in The Valley.
  • Missouri State is one of two teams in the country (Davidson) to boast three players with 40 or more 3-pointers this season. Led by Ja'Monta Black with 56, Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) with 48 and Isiaih Mosley with 44, the Bears' 190 threes ranks 9th nationally. MSU has eclipsed 200 threes 11 times, including four of the last five seasons.
  • The Bears are 10-2 this season with Lu'Cye Patterson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) in the starting lineup.
  • MSU's last win (and only road win) over an AP Top 25 team was a 77-65 victory over No. 21 Creighton (12/28/11).
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 63-46 (.578) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 39-15 ledger at JQH Arena, 19-23 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 120-111 (.519) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 3-3 all-time against Loyola, all at Missouri State.
  • Ford picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62). The Dec. 15, 2021 win over South Dakota State was Ford's 100th as Bears head coach.
  • 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 series between the Bears and Loyola began in 1964, two seasons after the Ramblers won the NCAA title, with LUC earning an 87-83 victory over the then-Division II Bears in Chicago. LUC now leads the series 10-7, including a 6-2 ledger at Gentile Arena against MSU.
  • Last season on its way to the NCAA Tournament, Loyola swept the Bears in Springfield, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2021. After a Bears' season sweep in 2019, Loyola has now won three of the last four meetings.
  • In Game One (1/31/21), visiting Loyola Chicago jumped out to a 22-2 lead less than nine minutes in, and Missouri State was unable to get a foothold from there in a 72-46 setback. Loyola got 18 points from Cameron Krutwig who was 8-for-18 from the field with 5 asssits. Keith Clemons added 12 for the visitors who shot 52.8 percent from the field. Missouri State was led by Keaton Hervey's 9 points. The Bears also got 8 points and 10 rebounds from Isiaih Mosley who came within an eyelash of his third straight double-double. MSU made just one of its first 11 field goal attempts with nearly 8 minutes between FGs. | Stats
  • In Game Two (2/1/21), Demarcus Sharp scored a game-high 21 points, but Missouri State could not keep pace with a hot-shooting Loyola squad, 70-50. Loyola was led by Krutwig's 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Aher Uguak added 12 points for the Ramblers to help them to their eighth straight win. The Ramblers came out gunning, knocking down their first four 3-point attempts and a hook shot by Krutwig to take a 14-2 lead before the first media timeout. Missouri State used a 6-0 run, powered by Nic Tata, to get within 20-16, but a subsequent 15-4 sequence pushed the visitors up by 15 four minutes before the intermission. | Stats
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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