Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Missouri State

Ayres

Basketball Bears Resume Valley Play at UNI

December 26, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 13 - Missouri State Bears (5-7, 1-1 MVC) at  Northern Iowa Panthers (5-7, 1-1 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Location McLeod Center (6,500) | Cedar Falls, Iowa
Tickets UNIPanthers.com | (319) 273-4849
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | Varsity Network
Television ESPN+ (Eric Braley, Matt Schneiderman) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 45-39 | Last Meeting: UNI 95, MSU 75 (2/20/21) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | UNI | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next MSU hosts Drake on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2:00 p.m. | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State resumes Missouri Valley Conference play Wednesday when the Bears travel to the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls to take on long-time league foe Northern Iowa. The combatants bring identical 5-7 overall records into the game with both squads splitting their first two Valley games.
  • Georgia transfer Dalen Ridgnal (Sr., Kansas City, Mo.) has posted career scoring highs in each of the last two games, including 16 points in MSU's win over Central Michigan on Dec. 18 in his first start as a Bear. Ridgnal also scored 13 points at Oral Roberts (Dec. 16) in Tulsa and finished the week averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.
  • The Bears rank 39th nationally and 2nd in the MVC in scoring defense (61.8 ppg). The Bears have allowed 70 points or more just once in their first 12 games (80 vs. Oral Roberts on Dec. 16).
  • The countdown to 1,000 career points for Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) is currently at 13. Clay has scored 987 points in 109 games (including 63 games at Valparaiso). Clay is also sitting at 49 career double-figure scoring games (17 at Missouri State). 
  • Missouri State is 1 win away from 750 at the Division I level. The Bears are 749-518 (.591) in their 41st season as an NCAA Division I program (since the 1982-83 season). 
  • The Bears rank 57th nationally -- and tops in the MVC -- in bench points per game (27.42). Missouri State's 55 bench points at Oral Roberts on Dec. 16 matched the most points ever by MSU's reserves (also done 3/7/20 vs. Valpo) and set a club record for most bench points in a true road game.
  • Donovan Clay has posted an assist in 13 straight games and has led MSU in assists 7 times this season.
  • Missouri State averaged just 56.0 points per game during its four-game losing streak in early December, which led to the Bears ranking in the bottom 11 percent nationally in scoring (65.3 ppg). Over the last two games, the Bears are averaging 78.0 points per game and shooting 51.9 percent from the field and splashing home 11.0 3-pointers.
  • Over the last three seasons, the Bears are 14-5 in Valley road games and 16-10 in true road games. Only Drake has accumulated as many league road wins over the last three seasons (14) as Missouri State. Likewise, during Dana Ford's five seasons at Missouri State, his 22 MVC road victories tops all league programs.
  • Over the last two ball games, James Graham (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) has been Missouri State's top threat from beyond the arc, converting 7-of-11 (.636) 3-pointers and averaging a team-high 29.5 minutes per game. He has also averaged 10.5 points per game in that span, including his first career start in MSU's win over Central Michigan.
  • Jonathan Mogbo (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) is posting 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game over the last two contests, converting a team-best 71.4-percent of his field goals on 10-of-14 attempts.
  • UNI boasts the Missouri Valley's top scorer in Bowen Born (19.2 ppg) and top rebounder in Tytan Anderson (9.2 rpg) with Born also ranking 27th nationally in free throws (59).
The Series
  • The Bears are 45-39 all-time against Northern Iowa in a series that dates back to 1983 when the clubs were charter members of the Mid-Continent Conference. MSU is 20-21 all-time in Cedar Falls (4-13 at McLeod), 23-16 at home, and 2-2 at neutral sites against the Panthers.
  • Last year in Springfield (1/8/22), Northern Iowa made 20-of-22 free throws in the second half with A.J. Green scoring 33 points on 13-of-14 foul shots to steal an 85-84 win. The Panthers had no answers for MSU's Isiaih Mosley who fired in a career-high 43 points -- the third-largest scoring game in Bears history and tops of its Division I era, while he drained 5 treys and posted game highs in rebounds (9) and assists (4). Ja'Monta Black (12) and Gaige Prim (11) also scored in double figures for the Bears who had just 4 turnovers and drained 12 threes.
  • UNI did not need bailing out in the rematch (2/2/22) as the Panthers splashed home 13 threes and had five players in double figures in handing the Bears their worst loss of the season, 95-75. Prim led four MSU players in double figures with 24 points on 9-of-15 field goals, while Lu'Cye Patterson scored 18. Green's 21 points led the home-standing Panthers who shot 58.9 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from downtown. | Box Score
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 77-58 (.570) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 46-18 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 24-29 record in away games, and 7-11 mark at neutral sites. He is now 134-123 (.521) in his ninth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 45-29 in Valley games (23-14 at home, 22-15 away). 
  • Coach Ford is 1-7 vs. Northern Iowa (1-4 in Cedar Falls).
  • 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. His win over Oakland on Nov. 27 in The Bahamas was his 75th victory at MSU.
  • CollegeInsider.com recently named Ford one of the dozen "Coaching Names to Remember" for the 2021-22 season.
  • 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
  • This year's Rebound Foundation game is vs. Murray State on Feb. 21.
Print Friendly Version

Sponsors