Game 20 - Missouri State Bears (10-9, 6-3 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois Salukis (15-5, 7-2 MVC)
Date and Time	Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023 | 1:02 p.m. (Central)
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Ticket Special	Half-Price Lower-Level Tickets
Promotions	"The Office" Theme Day (Dundie Giveaway) | Wear White | Season Promos
Fan Info	Digital Game Program | Gates open at 12:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live Varsity App
Television	ESPN3 (Don West, James Westling) | Watch
Series	Southern Illinois leads, 50-43 | Last Meeting: MSU 69, SIU 54 (2/2/22) | Box Score
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State | Southern Illinois | MVC Weekly Notebook | 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 hosts UIC on Tuesday, Jan. 24 | 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

• With back-to-back victories over upper-division Valley teams, Missouri State returns home Saturday for a 1 p.m. clash against MVC rival and co-leader Southern Illinois at Great Southern Bank Arena. The Bears, who overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat Drake on Wednesday, are just one game out of first place with Saturday's game marking the midway point in the league schedule. Half-price ticket specials are available for the game in addition to "The Office" game theme.
• MSU's Jonathan Mogbo (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) ranks 2nd in the league in steals per game (1.8), just behind SIU's Lance Jones (1.9). Mogbo has posted 2.5 steals per game over the last 6 contests and has at least 1 steal in 14-of-17 games this season. 
• Bryan Trimble Jr. (Sr., Kansas City, Mo.) is averaging 18.0 points per game over the last two contests, including 20 vs. Indiana State and a (shared) team-high 16 at Drake. He is 9-for-19 (.474) from 3-point range in that span. His 213 career treys ranks 82nd among active players. He also reached 800 career points (124g) in the Drake game.
• The Bears rank 36th nationally -- and tops in the MVC -- in bench points per game (26.53). MSU also ranks 9th nationally in bench minutes (42.1 pct.) with Bear reserves scoring at least 20 points in 14-of-19 games this season and combining for 30 points on 7 occasions. MSU's bench has outscored its opponent's reserves 16 times this year.
• Senior Donovan Clay (G/F, Alton, Ill.) has posted an assist in 20 straight games and has led MSU in assists 12 times this season, including 3.9 assists per game against Valley foes. His 68 assists this season is a new career best, surpassing his previous high of 63 at Valpo in 2020-21.
• Missouri State's Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, P.R.) and SIU's Clarence Rupert were teammates last year at Saint Peter's University and were part of last year's run to the Elite Eight by the Peacocks.
• MSU ranks 32nd nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 62.8 points per game this season (62.3 in MVC games). 
• Bears head coach Dana Ford picked up his 50th Valley victory on Wednesday at Drake, improving to 50-31 (.617) against MVC foes in his fifth season at MSU. Ford is also 49-18 (.731) at Great Southern Bank Arena during his tenure, including a 4-0 ledger against Southern Illinois at "The Vault." 
• All 13 Missouri State players who have seen the floor this season have started at least one game with the Bears using 10 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. 
• Missouri State's .458 3-point percentage at Drake (11-of-24) marked a season-high.
• Kendle Moore (So., Danville, Ill.) needs 3 3-pointers for 200 in his career (139 games). He also needs 24 points to reach the 1,200-point milestone in his collegiate career, which began at Colorado State. He is coming off a game-high and career-high 7 rebounds vs. Drake on Wednesday.
• The Bears have scored 37.98 percent of their points this season from 3-point range, which is 27th-best in the country. MoState is averaging 8.4 threes per game, which is 84th nationally and 3rd in the MVC, while the club's 24.6 attempts per game from three ranks 72nd nationally and 4th in The Valley.    

The Series

• SIU leads the all-time series, 50-43, in a rivalry that dates back to 1957. MSU is 26-15 at home (10-4 at Great Southern Bank Arena), 11-28 all-time in Carbondale, and 6-7 at three different neutral sites against the Salukis.
• The Bears have won 5 in a row in the series and 6 of the last 7 meetings overall, including two straight season sweeps.
• Last season at Great Southern Bank Arena (1/12/22), Missouri State got 33 points from Isiaih Mosley and made its final 18 free throw attempts of the night to seal an 81-76 win. Mosley scored 25 points in the second half alone, while Donovan Clay added 13 points, and Gaige Prim scored 12 for the Bears. SIU was led by Marcus Domansk's 20 points, while Steven Verplanken and Ben Coupet added 16 points apiece for the Salukis. MSU shot 52.8 percent from the field for the game, including 62 percent in the second half.
• In the rematch in Carbondale (2/2/22), Mosley and Prim scored 22 apiece, and the Bears shot 64 percent in the second half to take a 69-54 road victory. After leading 29-24 at the intermission and seeing the home side get within 32-30 early in the final period, MSU made 14-of-22 (.636) shots in the final period and out-rebounding SIU 38-23 for the game to secure the win. A layup by Donovan Clay gave the Bears their first double-figure lead of the game, 46-36, with 13 minutes to go. A 15-1 run soon followed with Dawson Carper, Mosley and Jaylen Minnett igniting things, before Prim scored six straight points over the four-and-a-half minute stretch. With 7:35 to play, MSU had built a 61-39 lead. Lance Jones led Southern Illinois with 14 points.  | Box Score

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 82-60 (.577) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 49-18 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 26-31 record in away games, and 7-11 mark at neutral sites. He is now 139-125 (.527) in his ninth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 50-31 in Valley games (26-14 at home, 24-17 away). 
• Coach Ford is 6-4 vs. SIU overall, including a 6-2 ledger as MSU head coach and a 4-0 record at Great Southern Bank Arena against the Salukis.
• 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