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MoState Gears Up for Valley Matchup at Evansville

January 11, 2024

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 17 - Missouri State Bears (9-7, 1-4 MVC) at Evansville Purple Aces (10-6, 1-4 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024 | 6:00 p.m. (Central)
Location Ford Center (10,000) | Evansville, Indiana
Tickets TicketMaster.com | (812) 488-2237
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Rick Kindhart) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
The Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Kyle Peach, Preston Leinenbach) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 44-36 | Last Meeting: MSU 90, UE 78 (11/29/23) | 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 Missouri State travels to Indiana State on Tuesday, Jan. 16 (6 p.m.)
Next Home Game: vs. Illinois State on Saturday, Jan. 10 (1 p.m) | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State looks to get back on track Saturday when the Bears travel to Evansville (6 p.m./ESPN+) for a key Missouri Valley Conference matchup against the Purple Aces. MoState is gunning for its third straight season sweep of the Aces after defeating UE in Springfield on Nov. 29. Both clubs have fallen on challenging times since then with the Bears dropping three in a row to start the new year and Evansville currently riding a four-game skid.
  • The Bears (15.2) and Evansville (14.4) commit the fewest fouls per game in the MVC. Evansville ranks 28th nationally in that category while MSU ranks 60th.
  • The Bears have been out-rebounded the last three games, but still lead the Missouri Valley Conference in defensive rebounds per game (29.95), total rebounds per game (38.38) and rebound margin (4.1). The Bears rank 20th nationally in defensive rebounding average. The last time MSU was out-rebounded three games in a row was Dec. 3-10 last season. MoState is 70-30 under coach Dana Ford when out-rebounding its opponents.
  • Cesare Edwards (Jr., Hartsville, S.C.) is shooting 67.3 percent from two-point range, which ranks hims 58th nationally. Over the last 3 games, Edwards has averaged team-bests 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game along with a .643 (18-of-28) field goal percentage.
  • Defensively, the Bears rank 14th among all Division I teams in 3-point FG percentage defense (.278), 63rd in blocked shots per game (4.5) and 71st in total FG percentage defense (.407). On the road this season, the Bears have allowed opponents a combined .437 overall FG percentage, including .315 from 3-point range. 
  • N.J. Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) ranks 12th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (17.3) and 20th in blocked shot percentage (10.1), according to KenPom. He is 2nd in the MVC in blocks per game (2.06) and 1st in the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (2.81).
  • Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) needs 15 rebounds for 800 and 4 blocks for 150 in his career. He currently ranks 16th among active DI players in games played (143), 33rd in rebounds (785), 34th in blocked shots (146), and 79th in scoring (1,471). His 860 points in 80 games as a Bear ranks him 44th on MSU's career scoring list. 
  • Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) ranks 5th in the MVC in scoring (17.1) with double-figure scoring efforts in 12-of-14 games this season. His 15.8 ppg scoring average on the road this season leads all Bears players.
  • Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, P.R.) ranks 4th in the MVC and 64th nationally in assists per game (4.8). He needs 18 points to reach 700 for his career (96 games) and needs 3 three-pointers for 100.
  • The Bears rank 24th nationally in effective field goal percentage defense (45.3), according to KenPom.
  • During Dana Ford's six seasons, the Bears have won 26 MVC road games, second only to Drake's 27 in that same span. Likewise,the Bears are 18-12 in Valley road games the last four seasons (0-2 this season).
  • Coach Ford is 9-2 all-time against Evansville, including a 5-1 ledger at Ford Center in Evansville.
  • Evansville's Ben Humrichous ranks 6th nationally in 3-point FG percentage (.484), which leads the MVC. He has made 30-of-62 attempts from beyond the arc this winter, including 2-of-5 against the Bears on Nov. 29.
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 NCAA Division II Tournament, 83-67, at Roberts Stadium. MSU now leads the series, 44-36, with Missouri State posting a 25-11 record at home (11-4 at GSB Arena), a 15-23 ledger in Evansville (6-7 at Ford Center) and 4-2 mark at neutral sites. MSU has won four in a row in the series.
  • Earlier this season in Springfield (11/29/23), Chance Moore scored a career-high 28 points and knocked down five 3-pointers to help lift Missouri State to a 90-78 win. Moore also snagged 8 rebounds and went 7-for-7 at the line to lead four MoState players in double figures. The Bears also got 20 points from Matthew Lee, while Donovan Clay scored 19, and N.J. Benson tallied 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Lee also dished out 8 assists. Evansville was led by Chuck Bailey's 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Ben Humrichous added 14 points behind a pair of 3-pointers for the visitors. Back-to-back dunks from Benson expanded Missouri State's 14-point halftime lead to 18 early in the second half. The Missouri State advantage swelled to 23 points after the under-12 media timeout with Moore knocking down a 3-pointer and a layup before a pair of free throws from Lee made it 61-38 with 11:49 to play.  | Box Score
  • See page 8 of game notes for complete series history.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 98-73 (.573) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 58-22 (.725) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 29-39 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 155-138 (.529) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 57-40 (.588) in Valley games (31-18 at home, 26-22 away).  
  • Coach Ford is 9-2 all-time against Evansville (4-1 at home, 5-1 in Evansville).
  • He picked up his 150th career win on Nov. 20, 2023 with the Bears' 87-69 win over Abilene Christian in the Virgin Islands and his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 with a Bears' win at Illinois State (72-62). He coached his 100th game at Missouri State on Dec. 15, 2021 vs. South Dakota State. His win over Oakland on Nov. 27, 2022 in The Bahamas was his 75th victory at MSU, while his OT victory at Drake on Jan. 18, 2023 was his 50th MVC win.
  • In 2022-23, the new-look Bears featured 14 new faces and ultimately turned the squad into Valley contenders. The Bears landed an All-MVC selection in second-teamer Donovan Clay and All-Bench Team honoree Chance Moore. Clay, who was also on the MVC All-Defensive Team, led the Bears in scoring (11.9 ppg) and assists (108) while becoming the first Bear since 2018-19 to reach the century mark in assists. Moore averaged 10.6 points per game and racked up 17 double-figure scoring games.
  • Ford's fifth season in Springfield concluded with a 12-8 conference record, making him the first sideline boss in program history to collect a dozen or more conference wins in three straight seasons. The Bears allowed just 63.2 points per game on the year, which ranked 24th nationally and was the club's best scoring defense in more than a decade. MSU also eclipsed its season record for blocked shots (140) -- a mark that had held for nearly a quarter century -- and ranked second in The Valley in rejections.
  • 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, 39, earned the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation's top Division I minority coach, a distinction he has been nominated for three times. 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 (Clippers) and Fred Van Vleet (Rockets).
  • Ford was recognized by 417 Magazine as one of its top 100 most-influential professionals in 2022 and 2023. He also serves on the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee. 
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 is Saturday, Feb. 17 vs. Valparaiso
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today! Pledge Link
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