Game 19 - Missouri State Bears (10-8, 2-5 MVC) vs.  Illinois State Redbirds (8-10, 2-5 MVC)
Date and Time	Saturday, January 20, 2024 | 1:00 p.m. (Central)
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promos & Specials	Kids Day (Kids Free) | Heroes Free - $5 Guests | 2023-24 Promo Calendar
Fan Info	Digital Program | Gates Open at 12:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | The Varsity Network App
Television	ESPN+ (Tom Ackerman, Adam Emmenecker) | Watch
Series	Illinois State leads 46-35 | Last Meeting: ILST 76, MSU 66 (ot) (1/11/23) | Box Score
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | Illinois 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	The Bears host Drake on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7:00 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

• After splitting a two-game road trip through the state of Indiana in the past week, Missouri State returns to Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday (1 p.m./ESPN+) to entertain Illinois State. Against the Redbirds, the Bears have won 3 straight home games in the series and 5 of the last 7 meetings overall. It's Kids Day and Heroes Day at The Vault with free admission for both groups.
• Bears head coach Dana Ford is a 2006 graduate of Illinois State where he played for coaches Tom Richardson and Porter Moser from 2002-06. He was a regular starter for ISU, leading the Redbirds in steals his senior year. Ford is 6-4 in his career against Illinois State, including a 6-3 ledger as Missouri State's head coach (3-0 at Great Southern Bank Arena).
• As a team, the Bears continue to rank high nationally in most defensive categories, particularly with 3-point field goal percentage defense (.299) and total field goal percentage defense (.410), which rank 43rd and 68th nationally. KenPom also ranks Missouri State 38th in effective FG percentage defense (.462) and 57th in minimizing opponents' offensive rebound percentage (.258). 
• N.J. Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) remains one of the best rim protectors in the country with 37 total rejections this season, which ranks 19th among all DI players, and 2.06 blocks per game, which ranks 28th. Benson is 2nd in the MVC in both categories. Meanwhile, his 30 dunks so far this season rank as the fifth-best season total on record at MSU, just 12 shy of the club season mark. Last Saturday, Benson posted a career-high 22 points on 10-of-14 field goals with 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in the win at Evansville. 
• Sixth-year head coach Dana Ford (99-74) is on the brink of 100 wins with the Bears which would make him the eighth MSU coach to reach the century mark in victories. Under Ford, the Bears have won 12 or more Valley games the past three seasons, making him the only coach in club history to reach that milestone (in any conference). Saturday's game vs. Illinois State is Ford's 100th MVC game (58-41).
• Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) needs 3 points for 1,500, 5 rebounds for 800, 1 blocks for 150 and 2 steals for 100 in his career (145g). He currently ranks 16th among active DI players in games played (145), 35th in rebounds (795), 34th in blocked shots (149), and 82nd in scoring (1,497). His 886 points in 82 games at MSU ranks 41st on MSU's career list. 
• Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) ranks 6th in the MVC in scoring (17.1) and 5th in 3-pointers per game (2.44). He is coming off his 30th double-figure scoring game at MSU (47 games) with 15 points in Wednesday's game at Indiana State. For his MSU career, Mason needs 19 points to reach 600 and 2 assists to reach 150.
• Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, P.R.) ranks 3rd in the MVC in assists per game (4.7). For his career, Lee needs 10 points to reach 700 (98 games) and 1 three-pointer to reach 100.
• Missouri State leads the MVC in rebounds per game (38.06), rebound margin (+3.7) and defensive rebounds per game (28.83). The club's dominance on the defensive glass has the Bears ranked 23rd nationally. Individually, N.J. Benson's 2.89 offensive rebounds per game leads the MVC and ranks 78th nationally, while his 7.2 rebounds per game overall ranks 4th in The Valley.
• Cesare Edwards (Jr., Hartsville, S.C.) is 3 points from 200 for his career (56 games). He ranks 49th nationally in 2-point FG percentage (.678) and has 5 double-figure scoring games this year, including three times off the bench.
   

The Series

• The series between the Bears and Redbirds dates back to the 1967 NCAA Division II national semifinals - a 93-76 win by the Bears en route to their national runner-up showing. Illinois State leads the all-time series, 46-35. Against the Redbirds, MSU is 23-13 in Springfield (8-5 at Great Southern Bank Arena), 9-29 in Normal, and 3-4 at neutral sites.
• The Bears have won five of the last seven meetings between the clubs, including season sweeps of ISU in 2019-20 and 2020-21. The squads played just once last season (1/11/23) in Normal with ISU prevailing in overtime, 76-66.
• In that game, Illinois State made all 10 of its free throws in overtime and 29-of-32 (.906) for the game. With the score tied at the end of regulation, the Bears missed a pair of close-range shots just before the final buzzer, but then jumped out to a 64-61 lead early in the extra period thanks to three free throws from Donovan Clay. But the rest of the OT period belonged to the Redbirds who only made two field goals in overtime. ISU pulled ahead by two on a pair of foul shots from Kendall Lewis with 2:16 to go and extended its lead on a triple from Luke Kasubke moments later. From there, the home club made all eight free throws in the final 83 seconds to cap a 13-0 run and put the game away. Seneca Knight's 22 points led five Redbirds in double-figures with Malachi Poindexter adding 16 points. Chance Moore led MoState with 17 points, while Dalen Ridgnal scored 14 points behind three treys. Clay added a dozen points for the visitors. The Bears committed a season-high 27 fouls and matched ISU's 26 points in the paint. Four MSU players fouled out.  | Box Score
• See page 8 of game notes for complete series history.

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 99-74 (.572) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 58-22 (.725) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 30-40 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 156-139 (.529) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 58-41 (.586) in Valley games (31-18 at home, 27-23 away).  
• Coach Ford is 6-3 vs. Illinois State overall, including a 6-3 record as head coach at MSU (3-0 at Great Southern Bank Arena).
• 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