Game 18 - Missouri State Bears (7-10, 0-6 MVC) vs.  Southern Illinois Salukis (6-11, 1-5 MVC)
Date and Time	Wednesday, January 15, 2025 | 6:06 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	Great Southern Bank Scarf Giveaway | White Out | AD Honor Roll | Promo Calendar
Fan Info	Digital Program | Gates Open at 5:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | The Varsity Network App
Television	MVC-TV Network (John Rooney, Rich Zvosec) | ME-TV Ozarks, ESPN+ | Watch
Series	Southern Illinois leads 54-44) | Last Meeting: SIU 88, MSU 78 (ot), 1/11/25 | Box Score
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | Southern Illinois | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #GoBears | #ItAllCounts
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Next Game: Saturday, Jan. 18 at Illinois State, 4:00 p.m. Next Home Game: Saturday, Jan. 25 vs. Drake, 3:00 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

• Missouri State looks to even the score with Southern Illinois on Wednesday when the Bears entertain the Salukis at 6 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena in the second game between the teams in five days. Wednesday's game will be the 99th all-time meeting between the clubs, which will air on the new MVC-TV Network, including ME-TV 33.3 locally and ESPN+. The Bears are 26-16 at home against SIU (10-5 at Great Southern Bank Arena).
• Standout freshman Zaxton King (Lawrence, Kan.) has earned MVC Freshman of the Week honors this week. He helped ignite MSU's thrilling comeback at Carbondale on Saturday, scoring 7 points in the span of two-and-a-half minutes late in regulation to help the Bears erase a 13-point deficit. King finished with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-16 field goals, 4-of-9 threes, and 5 rebounds. He led all MVC freshman last week (and 8th among all DI freshmen) with 20.0 points per game.
• The Bears have forced 10 or more turnovers in 16-of-17 games this season, including 11 takeaways against SIU on Saturday. MoState is 2nd in the MVC in turnovers forced per game (13.82), including 14.1 turnovers forced per game at home. MSU is just 3 steals shy of matching its season steal total from a year ago (142 in 33 games).
• Saturday's game at Carbondale marked the first time since Feb. 28, 2024 (at Illinois State) that two MSU players scored 20 points in a game. Vincent Brady II (24 pts.) and Zaxton King (23) sparked the Bears' comeback at SIU, combining for 32 points in the second half and overtime with Brady scoring all 6 MSU points in OT.
• At home this season, the Bears are averaging 77.5 points per game, while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three. Likewise, MSU boasts four players averaging double-figures in scoring at home, led by Dez White (16.3), Vincent Brady II (14.1), Michael Osei-Bonsu (12.0) and Zaxton King (10.6).
• Jalen Hampton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) will be making his 50th NCAA appearance. In 49 Division I games at Missouri State and Northwestern State, Hampton has compiled 455 points and 355 rebounds.
• Missouri State is coming off a season-high 11 three-pointers in its overtime loss at Carbondale, the most treys scored by a Bears team since knocking down 11 in an 83-80 home win over Drake on Jan. 24, 2024.
• Vincent Brady II (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) has been a model of consistency over the past 5 games, averaging a team-best 16.6 points during the club's current losing streak while shooting 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the field.
• Dez White (So., Jefferson City, Mo.) needs 16 points to match his scoring total from last year (277 pts., 35g). White needs 2 free throws to give him 100 for his career (98-of-111, 88.3 percent).
• Zaxton King's 32 three-pointers this season puts him 9th all-time among Missouri State freshman shooters. He is also 26 points away from becoming the 21st MSU freshman to eclipse 200 points in a season.
• MSU ranks 2nd in the MVC in steals (8.2) and turnovers forced (13.82), both of which rank in the top 75 nationally.

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 271-208 (.566) 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 68-51 (.571) in his fourth season (and second stint) at Missouri State University. Martin is 5-4 vs. the Salukis in his career (4-4 at MSU).
• 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

• SIU leads the all-time series, 54-44, in a rivalry that dates back to 1957. MSU is 26-16 at home against the Salukis (10-6 at GSB Arena), 11-30 all-time in Carbondale, and 6-8 at neutral sites. 
• In the first meeting of the season between the clubs (1/11/25), visiting Missouri State overcame a 13-point second-half deficit – and 10-point margin with 3:50 to play – to force overtime, but SIU open a tied game over the contest's final two minutes to score an 88-78 decision. Jarrett Hensley scored a game-high 30 points for SIU, while Drew Steffe added 16. The Bears got 24 points from Vincent Brady II and a career-high 23 from freshman Zaxton King, including 17 in the second half. MoState shot 60 percent in the second half to help pace the comeback, while King led a 15-5 MSU surge down the stretch with a triple and two more clutch buckets before Chase Martin's trey from the left corner with 27 ticks left in regulation tied the game, 72-72. In overtime, the Bears trailed by four before Brady got the visitors in the scoring column with a free throw and a game-tying trey with 1:51 to play to make it 76-76. Hensley and Steffe then answered for SIU with back-to-back threes, the latter come with 48 ticks to play. Brady made it a four-point game on a pair of charity shots at the 40-second mark, but SIU finished on a 6-0 run. | Box Score
• Last year, MSU earned a 76-75 overtime win in Carbondale in the only meeting between the squads on 1/31/24. MSU got a career-high 24 points from Donovan Clay, and the Bears overcame a 12-point second-half deficit. Clay scored 8 points in overtime, including a go-ahead jumper with 4.8 seconds left. After Cesare Edwards stole the ensuing SIU in-bound pass, he was fouled with 1.8 seconds left and made both free throws to put MSU up by four. SIU's Xavier Johnson then hit a 45-footer at the buzzer for the Salukis to make the final margin one and finish with a game-high 28 points for SIU. Edwards scored 12 points for MoState, including 4-of-4 at the line and a team-high 9 rebounds. Also pitching in were Chance Moore with 13, Alston Mason with 13 and Damien Mayo Jr. with 12. The Bears trailed 51-39 with 12:38 to play and 59-48 at the 6:03 mark before the improbable comeback. Mason, Mayo and Moore started a 15-4 run to end regulation and force overtime.