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Missouri State

Donovan Clay

Men's Hoops Returns Home for Battle with Middle Tennessee

November 18, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 3 - Missouri State Bears (1-1) vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (2-1)
Date and Time Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022 | 2:02 p.m. (Central)
Location Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promotions Super Hero Day |  Student T-Shirt Giveaway | Season Promos
Fan Info Digital Game Program | Gates open at 1 p.m.
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Don West, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Varsity App
Television KOZL-TV / ESPN3 (Shane Friebe, Jim Middleton) | Watch 
Series Series tied 1-1 | Last Meeting: MSU 87, MTSU 79 (3/17/10)
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Middle Tennessee | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next November 25-27 at Baha Mar Nassau (Bahamas) Championship | Tourney Site

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State returns to Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon (KOZL/ESPN3, 2 p.m.) to entertain Middle Tennessee on Super Hero Day. The game marks' MSU's final home game for the month of November and the team's third contest in an 11-game non-conference slate.
  • The Bears enter the weekend ranked No. 130 in the KenPom overall Division I rankings, while Middle Tennessee is No. 108. Last season, the Bears completed a 23-11 campaign ranked No. 70 in KenPom.
  • Missouri State is 63-11 under coach Dana Ford when the Bears shoot a higher field goal percentage than their opponent. Likewise, MoState is 38-4 under Ford when they shoot 50 percent or better from the field (1-0 this season).
  • KenPom ranks the Bears high in steal percentage, 3rd in the nation (3.0), and turnover percentage, ranked 30th among all Division I programs (13.6). 
  • The Bears were picked 4th in the new-look, 12-team Missouri Valley Conference this season, the league announced Oct. 19 with its preseason poll of coaches, media and communications staffs. Coach Dana Ford's squad returns one starter (Donovan Clay) from a 23-11 squad that finished as MVC runners-up and advanced to the NIT.  
  • Missouri State committed just 9 turnovers in Wednesday's 66-64 loss at BYU, while forcing 13 turns and snagging 6 steals. The Bears also racked up 37 bench points in the contest, accounting for 58 percent of MSU's scoring from its reserves.
  • The countdown to 1,000 career points has begun for MSU's only returning starter, Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.). Clay is currently at 908 career points (99 games), including 63 games at Valparaiso. Saturday's game vs. Middle Tennessee will be Clay's 100th career ball game. The only other active Bear with 1,000 career points in Kendle Moore (Sr., Danville, Ill.) who has 1,044 points in 122 career games (120 at Colorado State). 
  • Missouri State is 155-68 (.695) all-time at Great Southern Bank Arena with a 1-0 ledger this season at "The Vault."  MSU's current home win streak stands at 4 games, dating back to last season. The Bears have recorded 51 straight home winning seasons, dating back to 1971-72 season and encompassing three different home venues in that span.
  • Akrron transfer Bryan Trimble Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) needs just 9 3-pointers to reach 200 for his collegaite career (113 games). He a career 35-percent shooter from beyond the arc with a career-best 74 treys during his junior season in 2020-21 at Akron.
  • After this week's 1,243-mile trip to Provo for the BYU game, the Bears will embark on a 1,260-mile trip next week to participate in the Baha Mar Nassau (Bahamas) Championship. That event will feature a first-round game against UNC Wilmington, a second-round game vs. Vermont or Ball State; and either North Texas, San Jose St., Oakland or Long Beach on the final day.
  • Middle Tennessee was tabbed 4th in the C-USA Preseason Poll, behind league favorite UAB (119 points), Western Kentucky (102) and North Texas (100). Sophomore Teafale Lenard Jr. is the only Blue Raiders player on the Preseason All-C-USA Team.
The Series
  • The series between Missouri State and Middle Tennessee is tied 1-1, with both previous games taking place in Springfield.
  • The first meeting between the clubs took place on Dec. 22, 2008 with the Blue Raiders prevailing 63-51 on the final night of the Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tourney at Great Southern Bank Arena. MTSU shot 65.4 percent in the first half, pushing ahead by as many as 25 points, before the Bears climbed back within 8 points on two occassions. Desmond Yates led MTSU with 22 points, while Demetrius Green scored 10. The Bears were led by Cardell McFarland with 14 points and freshman Kyle Weems who scored 12.
  • Missouri State avenged the loss the following season with an 87-79 win over MTSU in the opening round of the CIT at Great Southern Bank Arena on March 17, 2010. The Bears shot a season-high 60.4 percent from the field and got 24 points from Kyle Weems, 17 from Adam Leonard and 13 from Jermaine Mallett. Weems was 4-of-7 from 3-point range, while Leonard was 3-of-4. Desmond Yates scored 30 points for the Blue Raiders with Montario Haddock tacking on 16 points. 
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 73-52 (.584) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 44-16 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 23-27 record in away games, and 6-9 mark at neutral sites. He is now 130-117 (.526) in his ninth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 44-28 in Valley games (23-13 at home, 21-15 away). 
  • He is 1-3 all-time against Middle Tenn., all when he coached at Tennessee State.
  • CollegeInsider.com recently named Ford one of the dozen "Coaching Names to Remember" for the 2021-22 season.
  • He picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62) and coached his 100th game at Missouri State on Dec. 15, 2021 vs. South Dakota State.
  • In a breakout 2021-22 campaign, Missouri State finished the season as one of the nation's most-efficient offensive teams, ranking 2nd nationally in free throw percentage (.797), 14th in field goal percentage (.482) and 23rd in 3-point FG percentage (.374) -- the only DI team to rank in the top 25 in all three. KenPom also rated the Bears 21st in effective FG percentage (54.6) and 23rd in adjusted offensive efficiency (113.2). MSU led the MVC in all of those metrics, except 3-point percentage, while also leading The Valley in scoring (77.3) and turnovers per game (10.6), which ranked 38th and 34th in the country, respectively.
  • Likewise, the 2021-22 Bears finished as runners-up in the Missouri Valley Conference, racking up a 23-11 overall record and 13-5 record in the league. The Bears' season win total was the program's most since 2011 and the 10th-best in team history. The squad advanced to the MVC Tournament semifinals for the third straight year and also represented The Valley in the NIT in Ford's first postseason tournament showing at MoState. The Bears also set team records for 3-point field goals (283) while boasting two first-team all-conference players in the school's all-time best scoring tandem – Gaige Prim and Isiaih Mosley -- while Donovan Clay earned MVC All-Defensive Team honors, and Isaac Haney landed on the MVC All-Freshman Team. Jaylen Minnett was also named to the MVC All-Bench squad.
  • For the third time in his head coaching career, Ford was a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
  • 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, 38, 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, 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).
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.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link
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