SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State men's basketball head coach Dana Ford has announced an 11-game non-conference slate for his Bears for the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.
 
The slate includes as many as four foes that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, one that competed in the NIT and as many as seven that won at least 20 games last season. The Bears will host four non-conference home games, including a Nov. 13 home opener with long-time rival Oral Roberts.
 
"We're excited and looking forward to the challenge of our non-league schedule," said Ford. "We have four NCAA tournament teams, an NIT participant and seven 20-game winners on the schedule. This collection of opponents will give us multiple quad one and quad two game opportunities throughout the first eight weeks of our season. Also, re-establishing a home-and-home series with a longtime rival in Tulsa is an added bonus."
 
Ford will begin his sixth season at the helm of the Bears by traveling to West Virginia on Monday, Nov. 6. The Mountaineers were 19-15 a year ago but earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. It will mark just the second basketball matchup between the programs with WVU squeaking out a 70-68 overtime win over the Bears in Las Vegas early in the 2011-12 season.
 
A home showdown with Oral Roberts follows on Monday, Nov. 13. It will be the 15th meeting between the clubs since 2010. MSU is 38-3 in home openers during its Division I era and has won five straight home games against the Golden Eagles who turned in a 30-5 record last season as part of an NCAA Tournament run.
 
The Bears will compete in three games at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, Nov. 17-20. MSU will open the three-game event against Florida Gulf Coast with a matchup against Kent State or Hampton in the second round. Abilene Christian, Fordham, Hampton, Norfolk State and San Jose State make up the other half of the bracket. Fordham was 25-8 last season, Kent State compiled a 28-7 ledger and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, Norfolk State was 22-11 and advanced to the MEAC Championship game, while San Jose State was 21-14 en route to a CBI second-round run.
 
Ford's troops return to Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday, Nov. 25 when they entertain South Carolina State in the first-ever meeting between the teams.
 
After an expected two-game Missouri Valley stretch, the Bears will resume the non-conference slate in early December with a trip to Middle Tennessee on Dec. 5. The Blue Raiders were 19-14 a year ago and were eliminated from the CUSA Tournament with a three-point loss to eventual Final Four participant FAU in the semifinals. The Bears beat MT in Springfield last season, 75-51.
 
The Bears will entertain Sam Houston on Saturday, Dec. 9. The matchup in Springfield between the clubs was canceled last year due to a winter weather event, but the Bears beat the Bearkats on the road two seasons ago, ahead of Sam Houston's 26-8 run to the NIT in 2022-23.
 
Missouri State will renew a longtime rivalry with Tulsa from the American Conference on Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Reynolds Center. The Golden Hurricane was 5-25 last season under second-year Eric Konkol and will host the Bears for the first time since 2014 in the first meeting between the squads since 2015. The series between the Bears and Tulsa dates back to 1932.
 
The Bears return to Great Southern Bank Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 19 to play Lindenwood for the first time. The latest Division I program from the Show-Me State was 11-21 a year ago in its first season in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
MoState concludes its non-conference run with its third trip to Saint Mary's in three seasons on Friday, Dec. 22 in Moraga. The Gaels were 27-8 last season and beat VCU in the NCAA Tournament before falling to UConn in the second round. Saint Mary's was runner-up in the WCC last season and defeated the Bears by a 66-46 score.
 
The 2024 MVC Tournament will take place in St. Louis, March 7-10 at Enterprise Center.
 
Ford returns three starters, seven lettermen and 11 players in all from a 17-15 squad. The Bears are also coming off a 12-8 finish in the Missouri Valley Conference, giving Missouri State three straight seasons with a dozen or more conference victories for the first time in program history.
 
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