Game 9 - Missouri State Bears (5-3, 0-0 MVC) vs.  Indiana State Sycamores (5-4, 0-0 MVC)
Date and Time	Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 | 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
Promos & Specials	Powerade Drawstring Bag and Product Giveaway (first 1,000 fans) | 2024-25 Promo Calendar
Fan Info	Digital Program | Gates Open at 6:00 p.m. | SAAC Toy Drive
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | The Varsity Network App
Television	ESPN+ (Scott Warmann, Rich Zvosec) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads the series, 54-30 | Last Meeting: INST 75, MSU 59 (3/8/24) | Box Score
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | Indiana 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	Next Game: Saturday, Dec. 14 at Washington State (4 p.m., Central) Next Home Game: Wednesday, Dec. 18 vs. Lincoln (7 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 kicks off its 35th and final season in the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday (7 p.m.) when the Bears entertain defending Valley champion Indiana State at Great Southern Bank Arena. The first 1,000 fans will receive free Powerade and a Powerade drawstring bag, courtesy of the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company. The Bears are 3-0 at home this season and have won 4 straight home contests dating to last season.
• The Bears are 29-5 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference home openers, including an 13-3 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena and 2-1 mark under head coach Cuonzo Martin. Overall, the Bears are 22-12 in MVC lid lifters (regardless of location), also 2-1 under Martin.
• Dez White (So., Jefferson City, Mo.) was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday after he averaged 19.3 points per game over three games against Boston College, South Dakota State and Oral Roberts. He was also 50-percent (9-of-18) from 3-point range and made 90 percent of his free throws (17-of-19). He was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team and has scored in double figures in all 8 games this year. White ranks 48th nationally in free throw percentage (.907) and 27th in minutes per game (35:39)
• The defensive-minded Bears have forced 10+ turnovers in every game this season and have averaged 15.38 takeaways per contest, which ranks 53rd nationally. The Bears also rank 47th nationally -- and 1st in the MVC -- in steals per game (9.1).
• Under Cuonzo Martin, the Bears are 46-3 (3-0 this season) when shooting better than their opponents.
• Freshman Zaxton King (Fr., Lawrence, Kan.) has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in 7-of-8 games this year. He ranks 14th in the Missouri Valley Conference in threes per game (2.13) and 9th in minutes per game (32:48).
• The Bears lead the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (12.50) with the Bears posting double-figure offensive rebounds in 7-of-8 games. Jalen Hampton (Jr., St. Louis) ranks 58th nationally and 1st in The Valley in offensive caroms (3.00) and 2nd in The Valley in total rebounds per game (8.5). Likewise, Michael Osei-Bonsu (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) ranks 4th in The Valley in both total boards per game (7.4) offensive rebounds (2.63).
• Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin is 47-11 (.810) all-time at Great Southern Bank Arena, including a 38-3 ledger over his last three seasons in Springfield (3-0 this year). 
• Over the last two games (both starts), Chase Martin (Columbia, Mo.) has scored 8.5 points per game with 3 assists. He has also knocked down a 3-pointer in 3 of the last 4 contests.
• None of the 15 players who saw the floor in the last meeting between the Bears and Sycamores (3/8/24) are still on their respective rosters. Only four Division I teams have more newcomers than MSU's 15 this season.

Coach Cuonzo Martin

• After an extensive national search, Missouri State University announced Cuonzo Martin as its men's basketball head coach on March 27, 2024. The man who orchestrated Missouri State's only MVC regular-season championship run during his first tenure in Springfield originally coached at Missouri State from 2008 to 2011.
• Martin begins his second tenure at MoState with a 269-201 (.572) career record in 15 seasons as a Division I head coach with experience at MSU, Tennessee, California and Missouri. His teams have made nine postseason appearances in that span, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament, four appearances in the NIT, and a CIT title with the Bears in 2010. 
• Coach Martin is also 66-44 (.600) in his fourth season (and second stint) at Missouri State University. Martin is 2-5 in his career against Indiana State, all with the Bears, with a 2-1 record at Great Southern Bank Arena.
• Martin also boasts 56 college graduates during his career with stints at MoState, Tennessee (2011-14), California (2014-17) and Missouri (2017-22).
• A native of East St. Louis, Ill., Martin was a star player at Purdue from 1991-95 for coach Gene Keady and then played four years professionally. He was on the coaching staff at Purdue for eight years under Keady and Matt Painter before accepting his first head coaching position at MSU on March 26, 2008.
• In Martin's first stint in Springfield (2008-11), he was named Missouri State's 16th head coach in time for the program's 100th anniversary season and its inaugural campaign at Great Southern Bank Arena. In his second season (2009-10), Martin guided MoState to a 24-12 overall ledger, a 19-2 home record, and an impressive run to the CIT Postseason Tournament title.
• His third season at MSU (2010-11) was one of the program's most memorable, as the Bears finished 26-9 overall on the way to the program's first-ever MVC regular-season title with a 15-3 league record. The Bears fell to Indiana State in the finals of the MVC Tournament in St. Louis and capped an unforgettable campaign by advancing to the second round of the NIT. Martin was named 2011 MVC Coach of the Year and recipient of the Ben Jobe Award as the nation's top minority head coach. Over Martin's last two years at MoState, the Bears were 35-3 at home and did not lose a non-conference home game.

The Series

• The Bears lead the all-time series against Indiana State, 54-30, including a 33-7 ledger in Springfield (13-4 at GSB Arena), 17-21 record in Terre Haute, and 4-2 at neutral sites. Despite ISU's three-game sweep last season, MoState has won 14 of the last 19 meetings and 7 of the last 11.
• In the middle matchup last year in Springfield (2/10/24), MSU fought ISU through 10 ties and 17 lead changes, but the Sycamores got a baseline jumper from Isaiah Swope with 20.8 seconds left to steal a 73-71 heartbreaker. Alston Mason led MSU with 26 points, while N.J. Benson contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double. Ryan Conwell led four Sycamores in double figures with 24 points behind 6 threes, while Swope finished with 19.
• In Terre Haute (1/16/24), ISU had four players in double figures, including a game-high 25 from Conwell and 24 from Robbie Avila, to hand MoState a 88-66 setback. Benson finished 7-of-10 from the field for 14 points and 8 rebounds for MSU, while Alston Mason led the Bears with 15 points and 7 assists. Finally, in the quarterfinals of Arch Madness in St. Louis (3/8/24), MSU got 18 points from Donovan Clay and another double-double from Benson, but top-seeded Indiana State used a solid second-half effort to end the Bears' season, 75-59. The Bears trailed 34-31 at the half, but the Sycamores shot 50 percent in the second half to lead by as many as 18 down the stretch. The Bears held their own deep into the second half with Benson's dunk with 11:47 to go drawing the Bears within 54-48.