Game 18 - Missouri State Bears (8-9, 4-3 MVC) vs. Indiana State Sycamores (13-5, 6-1 MVC)
Date and Time	Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 | 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	Wear Maroon | Season Promos
Fan Info	Digital Game Program | Gates open at 1:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live Varsity App
Television	ESPN+ (Mike McClure, Don West) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 52-27 | Last Meeting: MSU 79, INST 70 (2/15/22) | Box Score
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State | Indiana State | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	MSU travels to Drake on Wednesday, Jan. 18 | 7 p.m. | Tickets

Accessibility
Missouri State University is committed to providing an accessible and supportive environment for those with disabilities. To request reasonable disability accommodations, contact the Deputy Compliance Officer at (417) 836-6755 or DeputyComplianceOfficer@MissouriState.edu. 

The Ten Count

• Missouri State returns home Sunday for a 2 p.m. showdown against Missouri Valley Conference front runner Indiana State at Great Southern Bank Arena (ESPN+). The game kicks off a demanding stretch for the Bears who will play four league games in the span of nine days.
• The Bears have won 3 straight home games with a +15.7 scoring margin at "The Vault" in that span. Chance Moore (So., Brookhaven, Ga.) is MSU's top scorer (13.4 ppg) and 3-point shooter (15) at home, while Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) is 2nd on the club in home scoring (9.7 ppg) and 1st in rebounding (44) and assists (30). MSU is 5-2 at home this season.
• Missouri State has won 12 of the last 14 meetings against the Sycamores, including 3 consecutive wins in Springfield.
• The Bears rank 51st nationally -- and tops in the MVC -- in bench points per game (26.12). MSU also ranks 7th nationally in bench minutes (43.3 pct.) per game with Bear reserves scoring at least 20 points in 12-of-17 games this season and combining for 30 points on 6 occasions. MSU has outscored its opponent's reserves 14 times this year.
• Senior Donovan Clay (G/F, Alton, Ill.) has posted an assist in 18 straight games and has led MSU in assists 11 times this season, including 3.9 assists per game against Valley foes. Clay is Missouri State's top scorer in league games (12.7 ppg), converting 38-of-72 (.528) field goals in the league. 
• The Bears snagged 20 offensive rebounds in Wednesday's game at Illinois State, marking the first time in more than 3 years they have reached that milestone. MSU's last game with 20 offensive caroms was vs. Miami on 11/21/19 at the Charleston Classic.
• MSU ranks 36th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 62.9 points per game this season (62.4 in MVC games). 
• Jonathan Mogbo (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) has posted a double-doubles in 2 of the last 3 games, including 12 points and a career-high 12 boards in Wednesday's game at Illinois State (1/11/23). Mogbo also averages 1.87 steals per game this season, which ranks 88th nationally and 1st in the MVC.
• All 13 Missouri State players who have seen the floor this season have started at least one game with the Bears using 9 different starting lineups. A total of 11 different Bears have scored in double figure this season. Missouri State is one of 41 teams in the nation with at least 11 players who have scored 10 or more points in a game in 2022-23. 
• The Bears have matched or out-rebounded 6 of their last 7 opponents, posting a +6.4 rebound margin since Dec. 16.
• Kendle Moore (So., Danville, Ill.) needs 5 threes for 200 in his career (137 games). He also needs 36 points to reach the 1,200-point milestone in his collegiate career, which began at Colorado State..  
• The Bears rank in the top 100 nationally in 3-point FG per game (96th, 8.2) an 3-point attempts per game (71st, 24.8), which rank 4th and 3rd, respectively in The Valley.
• MSU leads the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (11.12), well ahead of Bradley which is 2nd in the league (9.89).
• Illinois State's 29 free throw attempts in Wednesday game in Normal marked the most by a Bears' foe this season, shattering the previous opponent high on the season (17 vs. UNCW).

The Series

• The Bears lead the all-time series against Indiana State, 52-27, in a rivalry that dates back to 1951-52. Missouri State is 32-6 in Springfield (12-3 at Great Southern Bank Arena), 16-20 in Terre Haute, and 4-1 at neutral sites vs. ISU. 
• The Bears have won 12 of the last 14 meetings, dating back to 2016, including a two-game sweep in 2020-21.
• In the first game last season (1/25/22), ISU scored 11 first-half 3-pointers and 14 for the game en route to a 76-72 win. Isiaih Mosley led Missouri State with 25 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, while Gaige Prim added 15 points. Indiana State got 16 points from Cameron Henry and 15 from Zach Hobbs. MSU fell behind 41-29 at the half and by as many as 17 in the second half before pouring it on late to get within 74-72 after a 3-pointer by Ja'Monta Black with 44 seconds to go. After Black's bomb, the Bears got a defensive stop with Lu'Cye Patterson snagging a critical defensive rebound. The Bears fed the ball to Mosley who drove to the bucket but couldn't convert the potential game-tying bucket, and ISU added two more free throws from there to seal the upset.
• In the rematch in Springfield (2/15/22), Prim scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help Missouri State to a 79-70 come-from-behind win. Prim's 18 free throws (on 21 attempts) was just one shy of a school record. It was his 10th double-double of the season. Fellow senior Jaylen Minnett also had a memorable evening for the Bears, matching a season-high with 22 points behind six 3-pointers. Cooper Neese led the Sycamores (11-15, 4-10) with 23 points, while Cameron Henry pitched in 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the visitors. A 16-1 run late in the game put things on ice. Prim accounted for 11 points in that six-minute stretch. Box Score

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 80-60 (.571) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 48-18 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 25-31 record in away games, and 7-11 mark at neutral sites. He is now 137-125 (.523) in his ninth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 48-31 in Valley games (25-14 at home, 23-17 away). 
• Coach Ford is 7-2 vs. Indiana State overall, including a 6-2 ledger as head coach at MSU and 3-0 record at Great Southern Bank Arena.
• 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.
• CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein listed Missouri State head coach Dana Ford among his "20 coaches on the rise entering the 2022-23 college basketball 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 Tuesday, Feb. 21 vs. Murray State