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Missouri State

Ja'monta Black

Duel in Des Moines Up Next for Basketball Bears

February 07, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 26 - Missouri State Bears (17-8, 8-4 MVC) at Drake Bulldogs (17-7, 8-3 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Location Knapp Center (7,152) | Des Moines, Iowa
Tickets GoDrakeBulldogs.com | (515) 271-3647
Fan Info Mask Policy
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television MVC TV Network (Mitch Holthus, Adam Ememenecker) | BallySportsApp
Watch on Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports KC, NBC Sports Chi.
Series Missouri State leads, 45-21 | Last Meeting: MSU 61, DU 56 (1/2/22) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Drake |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Valparaiso (3 p.m.) at JQH Arena | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State looks to get back in the winning column Wednesday when the Bears travel to Des Moines to take on Drake at 7 p.m. (MVC TV Network). The Bears are 17-13 all-time in Des Moines and making their first trip to the Knapp Center since 2020. MoState is aiming for its first season sweep of the Bulldogs since 2016.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored in double figures in 9 straight games and has posted 20 points in 3 consecutive contests. Since Jan. 8, Prim is averaging 15.8 points per game and converting 55.8 percent from the field. He is coming off his league-best 9th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds vs. Loyola on Sunday. He ranks 20th nationally in FG percentage (.580), 23rd in double-doubles and 33rd in total rebounds. His 7.9 rebounds per game ranks 2nd in The Valley.
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) is just 1 point 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 133 Division I games, Minnett has 1,599 points, 279 assists and 337 3-pointers, which ranks 8th among all active DI Players.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) continues to lead the MVC in scoring (20.7 ppg), which ranks 14th in the country to start the week. His 517 points this season is 3rd among DI players, while he boasts a national-best 186 field goals. Mosley also ranks 10th nationally -- and tops in The Valley -- in FT percentage (.919).
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has made at least one 3-pointer in 17 straight games -- and 23-of-25 games this season. He ranks 47th nationally with 62 triples this season, while his 143 career 3-pointers ranks 9th in program history.  Black also ranks 3rd among all Valley players with 2.5 threes per game.
  • Missouri State is the only team in the nation with three players boasting 50 or more 3-pointers. Led by Ja'Monta Black (62), Isiaih Mosley (54), and Jaylen Minnett (52), the Bears rank 24th nationally in total threes (220). The trio also rank among the MVC's top seven in 3-point percentage with Mosley leading the league (.435), Minnett ranking 6th (.416), and Black ranking 7th (.385).
  • Over the last 4 games, Lu'Cye Patterson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) is averaging 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 32.0 minutes per game. His 14-point effort in Sunday's game against Loyola marked his third-highest scoring output of the season. He racked up a career-high 10 rebounds at Southern Illinois two games ago (Feb. 2). He ranks 6th in the MVC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
  • The Bears continue to be one of the nation's top offensive clubs, ranking 7th in the country in FT percentage (.787), 16th in 3-pt. FG percentage (.381), 19th in FG percentage (.484) and 46th in scoring (77.4). MSU leads the MVC in scoring, FT percentage, turnovers per game (10.6) and 3-pointers (220), while KenPom ranks the Bears 27th in offensive efficiency (113.0), 22nd in effective FG percentage (.154) and 23rd in turnover percentage (7.5).
  • Missouri State leads the MVC in turnovers per game (10.6), which ranks 21st in the country. The Bears also rank 23rd in KenPom's rankings for turnover percentage (15.4), while ranking 25th in steal percentage (7.5).
  • In their last 5 trips to Drake, MSU has held DU to a combined .394 FG% and .344 3-pt. FG% with a +4.8 rebound margin.
  • Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) ranks 5th in the MVC in rebounding (6.3), 6th in blocks (1.0) and 10th in FG% (.528)
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 66-48 (.579) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 40-16 ledger at JQH Arena, 21-24 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 123-113 (.521) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 2-6 all-time against Drake.
  • 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
  • Missouri State leads the all-time series, 45-21, including a 17-13 record in Des Moines and 26-6 ledger in Springfield against the Bulldogs.
    The Bears snapped a three-game losing streak against DU in this season's first meeting (Jan. 2, 2022) in Springfield to avenge a Bulldog sweep at JQH in 2020-21.
  • In that game, Missouri State turned up its defensive pressure in the second half, and it didn't take long for the results to start showing as the Bears held visiting Drake to 31 percent shooting in the game's final 20 minutes and erased an early double-figure deficit in a 61-56 win. MoState was led by Donovan Clay's 15 points, while Gaige Prim racked up 13 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double in six career games against DU. Isiaih Mosley also pitched in 7 points, 9 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists in the win. He and Prim both eclipsed 1,000 career points at MSU. Drake managed just 10 second-half field goals on 30 possessions with eight turnovers. The Bulldogs also had just four offensive rebounds in the first 18 minutes of the second half. | 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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