Game 21 - Missouri State Bears (7-13, 0-9 MVC) vs.  Drake Bulldogs (17-2, 7-2 MVC)
Date and Time	Saturday, January 25, 2025 | 3:02 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	KC Wolf Visit | Athletics Hall of Fame | Stripe Out | Kids Day $10 Ticket Special at Box Office | Promo Calendar
Fan Info	Digital Program | Gates Open at 2:00 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Art Hains, Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | The Varsity Network App
Television	ESPN+ (Tom Ladd, Jay Spoonhour) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 49-23 | Last Meeting:  MSU 83, DU 80 (2ot) (1/24/24) | Box Score
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | Drake | MVC Weekly Notebook | 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: Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Indiana State, 6:00 p.m. (Central) Next Home Game: Saturday, Feb. 1 vs. Murray State, 2:00 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 reaches the halfway point in the Valley schedule this Saturday when the Bears return home to take on Drake at 3 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena. It is Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend in Springfield with a special visit from Kansas City Chiefs mascot KC Wolf, a Stripe Out promotion, and Kids Day activities. 
• The Bears are coming off their third-best shooting effort of the season in Tuesday's game at UNI (.532) and their second-best 3-point percentage (.500). MoState is averaging 74.6 points per game at home this season.
• Dez White (295 points) has already surpassed his freshman-season scoring total at Austin Peay (277 pts.). He ranks 2nd in the MVC in free throw percentage (.893) -- which is 29th nationally. He also ranks 3rd in The Valley in 3-pointers per game (2.74), 4th in scoring (15.5) and 4th in 3-point percentage (.388).
• Missouri State's 13.40 takeaways per game ranks 2nd in the MVC, forcing 10 or more turns in 18 games.
• Zaxton King's 40 three-pointers this season puts him 8th all-time among Missouri State freshman shooters. With his 17 points at UNI on Tuesday, King became the 17th 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 14-of-20 games this season.
• Vincent Brady II (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) is averaging 12.9 points per game at home this season. He needs 5 steals for 100 and 3 assists for 150 in his career (81 games). He ranks 15th in the MVC in scoring (13.3 ppg).
• Under coach Cuonzo Martin, the Bears are 49-15 (.766) all-time at Great Southern Bank Arena.
• MoState has jumped to 70th nationally in 3-point FG percentage (.362) after going 11-for-22 at UNI on Tuesday.
• Michael Osei-Bonsu (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) ranks 2nd in The Valley in rebounds per game (7.1), 2nd in total rebounds (142), 2nd in offensive rebounds per game (3.05) and 8th in steals per game (1.40).
• The Bears have matched their season-high with 11 3-pointers in their last two ball games (at Illinois State and at UNI). Missouri State is led by Dez White (52) and Zaxton King (40) from beyond the arc, with the Bears on pace to make more than 200 triples for the eighth time in nine seasons.
• Chase Martin (Sr., Columbia, Mo.) needs 1 field goal for 50 in his career (47 games).
• Jalen Hampton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) needs 25 points for 500 in his career (52 games). He ranks 6th in The Valley in rebounds per game (6.6).
• The weekend's Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame class includes recognitions for the 1979 Field Hockey AIAW national championship team (1978-81 era); coaches Rob Brewer (women's soccer); Paul Evans (baseball); Sue Frederick (softball); Keith Guttin (baseball); Holly Hesse (softball); Jon Leamy (men's soccer); Beth Perine (softball); and legacy inductee Kenny Brown (baseball). 

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 271-211 (.562) 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 68-54 (.557) in his fourth season (and second stint) at Missouri State University. Martin is 4-2 vs. Drake in his career (all 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

• Missouri State leads the all-time series against Drake, 49-23, with victories in five of the last seven meetings. The Bears are 28-6 all-time in Springfield against the Bulldogs (12-5 at GSB Arena), 19-14 in DesMoines, and 2-3 at neutral sites. 
• A year ago in Springfield (1/24/24), Missouri State got a career-high 36 points from Alston Mason, including 29 after halftime, to help lead the Bears to a thrilling, 83-80, double-overtime win over visiting Drake. The Bears trailed by 16 points late in the first half and matched the third-largest deficit overcome for victory in program history. The Bears needed every second of the second period to close the double-digit gap as Nick Kramer's jumper from the right baseline with 1.0 seconds to go, tied the game, 65-65, to force overtime. In the second overtime, Cesare Edwards and Donovan Clay pushed the Bears ahead by four in the first 90 seconds. Later, Edwards scored at the 42-second mark to make it 82-79. The Bulldogs would turn the ball over on their next possession, and the Bears held on for a thrilling and needed home victory over the Valley co-leaders. | Box Score
• Earlier last 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. 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.