Game 15 - Missouri State Bears (7-7, 3-1 MVC) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (4-11, 0-4 MVC)
Date and Time	Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023 | 7:02 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 6:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live Varsity App
Television	ESPN+ (Tom Ladd, Don West) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 41-36 | Last Meeting: MSU 88, UE 79 (2/26/22) | Box Score
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State | Evansville | 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 Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 7 | 4 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 wraps a two-game home stand Wednesday when the Bears host Evansville (7 p.m., ESPN+) in a conference showdown between the two long-time rivals. The Bears have won three straight and are looking for their second 4-1 start in Missouri Valley Conference play in three years. Fans are encouraged to wear maroon BearWear to the game.
• Missouri State forward Dalen Ridgnal (Sr., Kansas City, Mo.) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Monday after leading the Bears to a 2-0 week with wins over MVC preseason favorite Drake and a rare road win at UNI. For the week, Ridgnal averaged 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds, both team highs, while squaring up 7-of-14 3-pointers (.500) and 11-of-19 (.579) field goals. He began the week with a game-high and career-high 24 points at UNI (Dec. 28) with a game-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double and just the second by a Bear this season. 
• The Bears start the week at No. 115 in the KenPom rankings (107 NET), while Evansville is No. 329 (323 NET).
• Senior Donovan Clay (G/F, Alton, Ill.) eclipsed 1,000 career points in Sunday's win over Drake, reaching the milestone in his 111th career game (48th at Missouri State). He eclipsed 1,000 with a shot off the glass with 8:21 remaining in the game, a shot the put MSU up 39-38 at the time. Likewise, his team-high 15 points vs. the Bulldogs gave Clay his 50th career double-figure scoring game (18th at Missouri State).   
• The Bears rank 46th nationally -- and tops in the MVC -- in bench points per game (27.36). 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 road game. MSU also ranks 6th nationally in bench minutes (43.2 pct.) per game with Bear reserves scoring at least 20 points in 11-of-14 games this season and combining for 30 points on 5 occasions.
• Donovan Clay has posted an assist in 15 straight games and has led MSU in assists 9 times this season (5 games in a row). In 7 career games against Evansville (all starts), Clay is averaging 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He is 3 field goals shy of 400 for his career (111 games).
• Chance Moore (So., Brookhaven, Ga.) is averaging a team-best 12.5 points in home games this season. He and Alston Mason (So., Overland Park, Kan.) also share the team lead with 10 3-pointers at Great Southern Bank Arena.
• MSU ranks 31st nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 61.2 points per game this season. The Bears have also surrendered 56.3 ppg in league play, which is 2nd in the MVC behind Bradley (50.3).
• Missouri State's Damien Mayo Jr. (G, St. Louis, Mo.) and Evansville's Zaveion Chism-Okoh were teammates at Link Year Prep last season in Branson, Mo. 
• Jonathan Mogbo (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) is quickly developing a reputation as one of the league's most-impactful defensive players, ranking 5th in the MVC in blocks (1.2) and 9th in steals (1.6). He also ranks 17th in the league in total rebounds per game (5.4).
• Missouri State has won 6 of the last 7 meetings against Evansville (+8.0 scoring margin) with season sweeps in two of the last three seasons. Bears' head coach Dana Ford is 6-2 against the Aces, including a 2-1 ledger at home.
• The Bears are 41-5 under coach Dana Ford when they shoot 50 percent or better from the field (4-1 this season).

The Series

• The series between the Bears and Aces is a rich one that dates back to March 13, 1959 when Evansville beat MSU in the championship game of the Division II Tournament, 83-67, at Roberts Stadium. MSU now leads the series, 41-36, with Missouri State posting a 23-11 record in Springfield against Evansville (9-4 at GSB Arena), an 14-23 ledger in Evansville (5-7 at Ford Center) and 4-2 mark at neutral sites. Missouri State swept the regular-season series with UE last season.
• In game one (1/29/22), Gaige Prim posted a game-high 23 points, and Donovan Clay racked up 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists on his birthday to help lift MSU to a 72-58 win. Evansville got 18 points from Jawaun Newton and 17 from Shamar Givance. After UE led 42-38 with under 12 minutes to go, Prim saved the day, scoring MSU's next 9 points as part of a decisive 13-0 run for the Bears.
• In the rematch in Evansville (2/26/22), Prim scored 28 points, and Isiaih Mosley had 20 to help MSU overcome 16 3-pointers from Evansville to take home an 88-79 road win. The Bears shot 50.9 percent from the field and converted 25-of-29 (.862) free throws to pull away late. Mosley also paced MSU on the glass with 11 rebounds, and Ja'Monta Black also added four 3-pointers and 15 points for MSU. The Aces a 57-56 lead with 8:22 to play, but the Bears reeled off 9 unanswered points late, including a put-back by Clay with 3:31 to go. (Box Score)

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 79-58 (.577) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 47-18 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 25-29 record in away games, and 7-11 mark at neutral sites. He is now 136-123 (.525) in his ninth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 47-29 in Valley games (24-14 at home, 23-15 away). 
• Coach Ford is 6-2 vs. Evansville (2-1 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