Game 20 - Missouri State Bears (10-9, 2-6 MVC) vs.  Drake Bulldogs (16-3, 7-1 MVC)
Date and Time	Wednesday, January 24, 2024 | 7:00 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	SCARF GIVEAWAY (First 1,000 Fans) | Black Out | NABC Coaches vs. Cancer (Donate)  2023-24 Promo Calendar
Fan Info	Digital Program | Gates Open at 6:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | The Varsity Network App
Television	ESPN+ (John Rooney, Rich Zvosec) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 48-23 | Last Meeting: DU 74, MSU 57 (12/2/23) | Box Score
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | Drake | 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 travel to Valparaiso on Saturday, Jan. 27 (3 p.m.)

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 looks to get back in the win column Wednesday when the Bears host MVC co-leader Drake (7 p.m./ESPN+) at Great Southern Bank Arena. MoState is 27-6 all-time at home against the Bulldogs, who ride a four-game win streak into the week. The first 1,000 fans in attendance receive a Bears scarf, courtesy of Great Southern Bank. 
• At halftime, Missouri State will recognize a record 281 student-athletes as honorees on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall 2023 semester, including six basketball Bears: N.J. Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.), Dawson Carper (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kanon Gipson (RFr., Rogersville, Mo.), Nick Kramer (RFr., St. Louis, Mo.), Damien Mayo Jr. (So., St. Louis, Mo.) and Chance Moore (Jr., Brookhaven, Ga.).
• Wednesday's game will include recognition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) annual Coaches vs. Cancer (CvC) program, which is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the NABC. Since 1993, this initiative has leveraged the personal experiences, community leadership, and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs. 
• Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) needs 1 rebound for 800 in his collegiate career (146 games) and 2 steals for 100. His 905 points in 83 games at Missouri State ranks 37th on MSU's career list. He is 95 points shy of becoming the 32nd Bear to eclipse 1,000 points for the maroon and white. Among all active DI players, Clay ranks 17th in career games played (146), 34th in blocks (154), 35th in rebounds (799) and 79th in scoring (1,516). He is one of 40 active DI players with 1,500 career points and 600 rebounds.
• N.J. Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) leads the MVC in offensive rebounding (2.95), which is 65th nationally. His 38 season blocks and 2.00 blocks per game are both 2nd in the MVC and rank 24th and 29th, respectively, in Division I.
• Playing just 20.2 minutes per game in the new year (6 games), Cesare Edwards (Jr., Hartsville, S.C.) is averaging 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 2024, which rank third and second, respectively, on the club.
• Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) has recorded multiple assists in 30 straight games and is averaging 4.13 assists per game in that span. Likewise, he has scored in double figures in 15-of-17 appearances this season and needs 1 point to reach 600 for his Missouri State career (48 games).
• Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) has made 35 straight starts. He is averaging 15.0 points over the last 3 games.
• Over his last 4 games, Damien Mayo Jr. (So., St. Louis, Mo.) is 8-of-11 (.727) FGs, 4-for-4 FTs, with 9 rebounds.
• Sixth-year head coach Dana Ford (99-75) is one victory from becoming the 8th MSU coach to reach 100 wins.
• The Bears rank 19th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (28.79) which leads the MVC. MSU also leads The Valley in total rebounds per game (38.16) and rebound margin (+3.8).
• With their 88 blocks in 19 games (4.6 bpg), the Bears rank 48th nationally and 2nd in The Valley. It is also on pace to break the club single-season record (140) set last season.

The Series

• Missouri State leads the all-time series against Drake, 48-23, with victories in 4 of the last 6 meetings between the two clubs. The Bears are 27-6 all-time in Springfield against the Bulldogs (11-5 at GSB Arena), 19-14 in DesMoines, and 2-3 at neutral sites. 
• Earlier this season in Des Moines (12/2/23), Missouri State's six-game win streak came to a halt as the Bears ran into a buzzsaw, falling 74-57 at the Knapp Center.
• Tucker DeVries led all players with 24 points for Drake on 10-of-19 field goals, while Darnell Brodie added 12 points and 9 rebounds for the home side. The Bears were led by Chance Moore's 17 points, while Tyler Bey contributed 10. Raphe Ayres also contributed 9 points for the visitors with N.J. Benson sharing game-high rebounding honors with 9.
•  Missouri State had a season-low in 3-pointers (5) and assists (6) while committing 14 turnovers behind 9 Drake steals.
• The Bears trailed by 11 at the half and cut their deficit to single digits four times before Drake gained separation midway through the second half. Ayres' 3-pointers with 13:55 to go made it a 44-36 game before the Bears surrendered a traditional three-point play on the ensuing Drake possession. | Box Score
• See page 8 of game notes for complete series history.

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 99-75 (.569) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 58-23 (.716) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 30-40 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 156-140 (.527) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 58-42 (.580) in Valley games (31-19 at home, 27-23 away).  
• Coach Ford is 5-8 all-time against Drake (3-3 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