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Missouri State

White Out vs Loyola

Bears Prepare for Sunday's Rumble with the Ramblers at JQH

February 04, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 25 - Missouri State Bears (17-7, 8-3 MVC) vs. Loyola Ramblers (17-4, 8-2 MVC)
Date and Time Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022 | 1:01 p.m. (Central)
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena
Ticket Specials available in $5-10-15-20 levels
Promotions White Out | Rebound Foundation | Headband Giveaway for Students
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN2 (Clay Matvick, Kevin Lehman) | Watch
Series Loyola leads, 10-8 | Last Meeting: MSU 79, LUC 69 (1/22/22) | 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 Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 at Drake (7:00 p.m.) | Bally Sports MW (MVC TV Network)

The Ten Count
  • After collecting their ninth win over the last 11 games on Wednesday, the Bears (17-7, 8-3 MVC) return to JQH Arena on Sunday at 1 p.m. for a nationally-televised game (ESPN2) against Valley co-leaders Loyola. Missouri State enters the weekend a half game behind the Ramblers and Drake for first place in the MVC standings and looking for its first season sweep of Loyola since the 2018-19 season.
  • The Bears are 21-9 in their last 30 Valley games, matching the team's third-best 30-game stretch since it joined the MVC in 1990-91. MoState is 2 wins away from locking up its third winning season in four years under coach Dana Ford (the team was also 9-9 under Ford in 2019-20). Ford is 39-26 against Valley opponents in his four seasons.
  • The Bears enter the weekend ranked 54th in the KenPom.com rankings and 64th in the NCAA's NET rankings -- both second among Valley schools. Loyola checks in at 33 in KenPom and 32 in the NET.
  • Missouri State has secured its 51st consecutive winning record at home, dating back to the 1971-72 season and including three different home venues. The Bears are 9-3 this season at JQH Arena and 151-67 (.693) all-time at The Q.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) continues to lead the MVC in scoring (21.0 ppg), which ranks 10th in the country heading into the weekend. His 505 points this season is tops among DI players and makes him just the 29th MSU player to score 500 points in a single campaign. Mosley's 1,247 career points are just 1 shy of Bears' great Winston Garland (1985-87) for 14th place on Missouri State's career scoring list.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored in double figures in 8 straight games and is averaging 15.1 points per game in that span. He is coming off his 20th career 20-point game (6th this season) with 22 points at SIU, while eclipsing 1,500 points in his NCAA career (112 games). Prim's 8 double-doubles and .579 FG percentage both lead the MVC and rank 23rd nationally. He also ranks 2nd in the MVC in total rebounds (188) and rebounds per game (7.8).
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has made at least one 3-pointer in 16 straight games and ranks 41st nationally with 61 triples this season. He ranks 9th in program history with 143 career 3-pointers. .
  • Missouri State is the only team in the nation with three players boasting 50 or more 3-pointers. Led by Ja'Monta Black (61), Isiaih Mosley (54), and Jaylen Minnett (52), the Bears rank 14th nationally in total threes (216).
  • Lu'Cye Patterson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) turned in a game-high and career-high 10 rebounds in Wednesday's win over Southern Illinois, while dishing out 5 assists. His efforts helped the Bears post a +15 rebound margin, the team's best since out-rebounding the Salukis a year ago (2/17/21) with a +16 margin. The Bears are 13-3 when Patterson starts.
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) is just 3 points away from 1,600 for his collegiate career. Minnett scored 1,403 points in 111 games at IUPUI before transferring to Missouri State this season. In 132 Division I games, Minnett has 1,597 points, 278 assists and 337 3-pointers, which ranks 6th among all active DI Players.
  • The Bears continue to be one of the nation's top offensive clubs, ranking 8th in the country in FT percentage (.789), 13th in FG percentage (.486) and 13th in 3-pt. FG percentage (.486), while ranking 38th in scoring (78.1), all of which lead the MVC. KenPom also ranks the Bears 18th in effective FG percentage (.553), 26th in adjusted offensive efficiency (112.9) and 35th in 2-point FG percentage (.547).
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 66-47 (.584) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 40-15 ledger at JQH Arena, 21-24 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 123-112 (.523) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 4-3 all-time against Loyola. 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 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 10-8, however Missouri State is 5-4 all-time at home against the Ramblers.
  • Last season on its way to the NCAA Tournament, Loyola swept the Bears in Springfield (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2021), following a season split in the 2020 series and MSU's sweep of the season series in 2019.
  • Earlier this season (1/22/22) in Chicago, Missouri State got 40 points from Isiaih Mosley and shot 61 percent in the second half to take down No. 22-ranked Loyola Chicago, 79-69, and halting the Ramblers' 30-game home win streak and 23-game MVC home win streak. It also marked MoState's first victory over a ranked opponent since 2011. Mosley's output was just the fifth 40-point scoring game in school history, but his second in five games, helping him earn MVC Player of the Week and National Player of the Week from four different organizations. After leading by two points at the half, the Bears used lock-down defense to hold Loyola to one field goal in the first 11 minutes of the second stanza. Meanwhile, Mosley and company turned up the heat, going on a 14-3 run over a key five-minute stretch to extend their lead from 48-39 to 62-42 with 7:14 to go. Mosley had 11 points in that key stretch, and his pass to a cutting Dawson Carper on MSU's next possession for a huge dunk to make it 64-44 lead. MSU held off a late surge by LUC down the stretch by converting 13-of-14 free throws in the game's final three-and-a-half minutes. | 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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