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MoState Men Wrap Road Swing at UNI

January 19, 2025

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 20 - Missouri State Bears (7-12, 0-8 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (11-8, 5-3 MVC)
Date and Time Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | 7:02 p.m. (Central)
Location McLeod Center (7,018) | Cedar Falls, Iowa
Tickets UNIPanthers.com | (319) 273-4849
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
The Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Brad Wells, Matt Schniederman) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 46-42 | Last Meeting:  UNI 72, MSU 65 (2/7/24) | Box Score
Follow Along Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Northern Iowa | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide 
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Up Next Saturday, Jan. 25, vs. Drake at Great Southern Bank Arena, 3 p.m. | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State concludes a two-game road swing Tuesday when the Bears travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa for a matchup against UNI (7 p.m./ESPN+). MoState has won twice in its last five games at McLeod Center and is 21-22 all-time in Cedar Falls. The Panthers are 9-2 at home this season.
  • In his return to action, Dez White (So., Jefferson City, Mo.) scored a game-high 24 points at Illinois State on Saturday in which he converted 7-of-11 threes-pointers and 8-of-12 field goals overall. He became the 20th MSU player to make 7 threes in a single game and the first since Jaylen Minnett vs. Evangel (12/30/21). 
  • Dez White (285 points) has already surpassed his freshman-season scoring total at Austin Peay (277 pts.). He ranks 2nd in the MVC in 3-point attempts (128), 3rd in free throw percentage (.890), and 4th in several categories, including: scoring average (15.8), 3-point percentage (.391), 3-pointers per game (2.78), total points, minutes per game (34:43) and total threes (50). His FT percentage ranks 35th nationally.
  • Zaxton King's 35 three-pointers this season puts him 9th all-time among Missouri State freshman shooters. He is also 13 points away from becoming the 20th MSU freshman to eclipse 200 points in a season. He was named MVC Freshman of the Week last week and has hit multiple 3-pointers in 13-of-19 games this season.
  • Vincent Brady II (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) has scored in double figures in 8 of his last 11 games and ranks 11th in The Valley in scoring (13.8 ppg). He needs 5 steals for 100 and 5 assists for 150 in his career (80 games).
  • The Bears have forced 10 or more turnovers in 18-of-19 games this season, including 12 takeaways at Illinois State on Saturday. MoState is 2nd in the MVC (75th nationally) in turnovers forced per game (13.84). The Bears are also 3rd in the MVC in steals per game (7.8) and have surpassed its season steal total from a year ago (142).
  • Michael Osei-Bonsu (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) ranks 2nd in The Valley in offensive rebounds per game (3.00), which is 57th nationally. He is also 3rd in the MVC in total rebounds per game (7.1) and 8th in steals per game (1.42).
  • The Bears have matched their season-high with 11 3-pointers in their last two road games. MSU is averaging 9.0 triples per game in true road games this season, including 25 treys from Dez White and 15 from Zaxton King.
  • Jalen Hampton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) is coming off a team-high 8 rebounds at Illinois State in his first start since Dec. 29. He is averaging 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds over the last 2 games and ranks 6th in the MVC in rebounds per game (6.8), offensive rebounds per game (2.22) and defensive rebounds per game (4.61). The Bears are 7-6 with Hampton in the starting lineup. He is just 27 points from 500 for his career (51 games).
  • Northern Iowa ranks 6th nationally and 1st in The Valley in field goal percentage (.503). The Panthers have also been whistled for just 14.8 fouls per game, which is also tops in the MVC.
The Series
  • The Bears are 46-42 all-time against UNI in a series that dates back to 1983 when the clubs were charter members of the Mid-Continent Conference. MSU is also 21-22 all-time in Cedar Falls (5-14 at McLeod), 23-18 in Springfield (3-12 at Great Southern Bank Arena), and 2-2 at neutral sites.
  • Last season in Cedar Falls (2/7/24), a key 9-1 run midway through the second half propelled home-standing UNI to a 72-65 win, snapping the Bears' four-game Valley win streak. Nate Heise led the Panthers with 17 points, while MSU was led by Alston Mason with 19 points, Matthew Lee with 10 and N.J. Benson 10 points. After Benson scored a close-range bucket with 10:17 remaining in the game to draw the visitors within 47-46, the Panthers rode the shoulders of Jacob Hutson who scored seven Panther points during a pivotal 9-1 UNI run over the next three minutes. Hutson's layup with 7:30 to play made it a 56-47 game. Lee kept MSU alive with clutch free throws, but UNI got two threes from Trey Campbell in the final four minutes to seal the deal. Box Score
  • Also last season in Springfield (1/3/24), Missouri State got a career-high 25 points from Cesare Edwards as part of a season-best 38 bench points, but Bowen Born's corner three-pointer with 96 seconds left in the game proved to be the difference maker and put the visitors ahead 63-59. MoState responded with a 3-pointer of its own from Alston Mason with 34.6 seconds left to make it a 63-62 game. The Bears then fouled Nate Heise with 12.9 ticks remaining. Heise made the front end, but missed the second, to make it a two-point game. After a key rebound from Donovan Clay, the Bears pushed the ball up for an open three from Nick Kramer from the left corner as the final horn sounded, but the potential game-winner caromed out. Kramer finished with 10 points. Box Score
     
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 271-210 (.563) 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 68-53 (.562) in his fourth season (and second stint) at Missouri State University. Martin is 1-5 vs. UNI in his career (all at MSU).
  • 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.
  • Martin has made three head coaching stops since leaving Springfield with stints at Tennessee (2011-14), California (2014-17) and Missouri (2017-22).
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