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Missouri State

Donovan Clay

Bears Return Home to Square Off with Evansville

January 27, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 23 - Missouri State Bears (15-7, 6-3 MVC) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (5-14, 1-7 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 | 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
Promotions Space Jam Theme | Sneaker Night
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Tom Ackerman, Rich Zvosec) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads, 39-36 | Last Meeting: UE 72, MSU 63 (2/27/21) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Evansville |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 at Southern Illinois (8 p.m.) | MVC TV Network

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State returns to JQH Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) to take on Evansville as the Bears start the second half of the MVC season against the Purple Aces. MSU has won 7 of its last 8 home games and is averaging 82.5 points per game at The Q this season.
  • The Bears are 6-3 at the turn in the MVC's 18-game league schedule, matching the club's third-best performance in the first half since joining the league in 1990-91. MSU finished second in the final standings in both previous six-win efforts. Evansville is the only Valley team MSU has yet to play this season.
  • Missouri State has been one of the nation's top teams in terms of taking care of the basketball this season, averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game which is tops in the MVC and 28th nationally. MSU also ranks 24th in TO percentage (.156).
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has scored 20 points or more in 6 straight games, matching Winston Garland (2/4/87 to 2/21/87) for the second-longest streak of the team's Division I era. Mosley also holds the program's longest 20-point scoring streak of the DI period, reeling off 8 straight from 12/21/20 to 1/17/21). Mosley leads The Valley and ranks 8th nationally in scoring at 21.3 points per game.  
  • The Bears have eclipsed 200 3-pointers for the 12th time in school history and fifth time in the last six seasons. Their 205 triples ranks 8th among DI programs, while MSU's 9.3 threes per game ranks 41st. The team's current pace has the Bears on track for their first-ever season of 300 triples.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has 8 double-doubles this season, which ranks 20th nationally and tops in The Valley. Prim also ranks 24th nationally in total rebounds (177) and 31st in FG percentage (.566), both of which lead the MVC. He has scored in double figures in 6 straight games and is averaging 12.7 points per game in that span.
  • Mosley is the first MVC player since Hersey Hawkins (1987-88) to win MVC Player of the Week three weeks in a row. Mosley and Hawkins also share the honor of being the last two MVC players to score 40 or more points multiple times in the same season. Mosley earned National Player of the Week honors by four different agencies earlier this week, including the USBWA, CollegeInsider, ESPN and NCAA.
  • With one of the most-productive offenses in Division I, MSU ranks 7th nationally in 3-point FG percentage (.392), 8th in FT percentage (.795) and 17th in FG percentage (.488) while boasting a league-best 78.8 points per game (33rd). KenPom also ranks the Bears 13th in effective field goal percentage (.557) and 24th in offensive efficiency (113.9).
  • Mosley continues to lead the MVC in scoring (21.3 ppg) and FT percentage (.906), while his season point total (469) and field goals made (171) are tops in the nation. He enters the weekend 8th nationally in points per game and 16th in FT%.
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has made at least one 3-pointer in 14 straight games and leads the MVC with 59 triples on the season (21st nationally). He also ranks among the nation's leaders in 3-point attempts (25th), 3-point FG percentage (54th) and 3-pointers per game (67th). He needs 2 more threes to catch Ben Kandlbinder (1994-98) for 9th on Missouri State's career list (142).
  • Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) ranks 23rd nationally in minutes played (699:20), which ranks 2nd in the MVC. Over the last 3 games, Clay is averaging 11.3 points per game and firing at a 61.9-percent clip from the field (13-for-21). He needs 5 points to reach 800 for his college career.
  • As of Thursday, the Bears rank No. 65 in the NCAA's NET rankings, second only to Loyola (25) in the MVC, while checking in at No. 51 in the KenPom rankings.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 64-47 (.577) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 39-15 ledger at JQH Arena, 20-24 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 121-112 (.519) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 4-2 all-time against Evansville. CollegeInsider.com recently named Ford one of the dozen "Coaching Names to Remember" for the 2021-22 season.
  • 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 Aces is a rich one that dates back to March 13, 1959 when Evansville beat MSU in the championship game of the Division II Tournament, 83-67, at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.
  • Missouri State now leads the series, 39-36, with Missouri State posting a 22-11 record in Springfield against Evansville (8-4 at JQH Arena), an 13-23 ledger in Evansville (4-7 at Ford Center) and 4-2 mark at neutral sites. The teams have split the regular-season series the last four years, and Missouri State has not swept the regular-season series since 2013-14.
  • Last season in Evansville, the Bears won Game One (2/26/21), shooting a season-high 69-percent from the field with a combined 59 points from Gaige Prim and Isiaih Mosley in a 90-81 win. Prim finished 15-of-19 from the field for a career-high 33 points and his fourth straight 20-plus point output, while Mosley tallied 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting with three 3-pointers. Evansville was led by Jajuan Newton with 26 points and Shamar Givance with 21. | Stats
  • In Game Two (2/27/21), Missouri State made a late run, but couldn't overcome a sizable road deficit, falling to the Aces, 72-63, in the regular-season finale. Evansville knocked down a dozen 3-pointers, compared to just one triple by the Bears to keep MSU at arm's length most of the game. The Purple Aces got five 3-pointers from Evan Kuhlman and four more from Givance to help UE build an 18-point lead with 5:27 to go. MSU turned up the defensive intensity to get within eight twice and later pulled within 69-63 on a bucket from Darian Scott with 10 seconds to go. Mosley's 22 points led the Bears, while Prim pumped in 17 points and 6 rebounds. Demarcus Sharp also tacked on 13 points and 6 rebounds. | 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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