Game 13 - Missouri State Bears (7-5, 1-0 CUSA) vs.  UTEP Miners (4-8, 0-1 CUSA) Game 14 - Missouri State (8-5, 2-0 CUSA) vs. New Mexico State Aggies (8-4, 1-1 CUSA)
Date and Time	Friday, Jan. 2, 2026 | 7:02 p.m. |  Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 | 2:02 p.m.
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	New Year's Ticket Special | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office  Tickets for UTEP Game | Tickets for NM State Game
Promos & Specials	New Year's Ticket Special | Promo Calendar Friday - Future Bears Kids Club Day | Sunday - Youth Sports Day
Fan Info	Flip Card 1 | Flip Card 2 | Digital Program 1 | Digital Program 2 | Gates open one hour before tipoff
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | Listen Live |  Bears Radio Network | UTEP Game on Varsity App | NMSU Game on Varsity App
Television	ESPN+ (Don West, Tom Mast) | Watch UTEP Game | Watch NM State Game
Series	UTEP series tied, 2-2 | Last Meeting: UTEP 81, MSU 70 (12/29/90) NM State series tied, 1-1 | Last Meeting: NMSU 71, MSU 51 (12/22/12) | Box Score
Live Stats	UTEP Game StatBroadcast | NM State StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State vs. UTEP | Missouri State vs. NMSU | CUSA Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #WeAreMoState | #ItAllCounts
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Wednesday, Jan. 7 at Kennesaw State | 6:00 p.m. (Central) Saturday, Jan. 10 vs. FIU | 4:00 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 (vs. New Mexico State)

• Missouri State looks to continue its winning ways Sunday when the Bears host New Mexico State at 2 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena. In addition to the 26% off "New Year's Ticket Special," it is also Youth Sports Day at The Vault with special group ticket rates available for all youth sports teams.
• The Bears (2-0) are in a four-way tie for first place in CUSA along with Liberty, Middle Tennessee and Jax State. MSU is looking to secure a 5th straight victory for the first time since the squad won 6 in a row from Nov. 13-29, 2023. Likewise, MoState is chasing its first 3-0 start in conference play since 2017-18.
• Darrion Sutton (So., St. Charles, Mo.) celebrated his 22nd birthday on Saturday.
• KenPom ranks the Bears No. 29 in Division I in FTRate (44.6), a "Four Factor" metric that represents a team's ability to get to the line (=FTA/FGA). The Bears have recorded more free throw attempts than their opponents in 10-of-13 games, and rank 49th nationally in FT scoring point distribution (23.6%).
• Forward Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J.) has scored in double figures in 12-of-13 games this season and leads CUSA in FG attempts (182). He ranks 43rd nationally (3rd in CUSA) in defensive rebounds per game (6.00) and is in the top dozen in CUSA in scoring (6th, 17.3), rebounding (7th, 7.2) and assists (12th, 3.3).
• Kobi Williams (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) is coming off a game-high 20 points in MSU's win over UTEP on Friday evening. It marked his 50th career double-figure scoring game (9th 20-point game). He was 9-for-10 at the FT line in that game, pushing to 83.3 percent on the season (3rd in CUSA). The Truman State transfer is closing in on 1,000 career points, currently sitting at 937 points in 71 games.
• During MSU's current 4-game win streak, the Bears have held all four straight opponents under 70 points, under .400 FG% and under 10 assists, the first CUSA team to achieve that standard since UAB in 2000. 
• In conference games, the Bears lead CUSA in scoring defense (49.0), scoring margin (+21.0), defensive FG percentage (.352) and turnover margin (+3.0).
• Forward  Michael Osei-Bonsu (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) leads CUSA in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.0) in league games. His 3.30 offensive rebounds per game overall ranks 4th in the conference and 45th nationally.
• Trey Williams Jr. (Fr., Centralia, Ill.) .556 3-point percentage (5-for-9) in CUSA games ranks 3rd in the league.
• Under Cuonzo Martin, the Bears are 57-13 (7-2 this season) when shooting a higher FG% than their opponents.
• At 2-0 in Conference USA play and 7-2 at home, the Bears have already matched their conference and home win totals from last season. The Bears (8-5) are also one win away from matching last year's season victory total.

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 has a 281-226 (.553) career record in his 16th seasons as a Division I head coach with experience at MSU, Tennessee, California and Missouri. His teams have made 9 postseason appearances in that span, including 4 trips to the NCAA Tournament, 4 appearances in the NIT, and a CIT title with the Bears in 2010. 
• Coach Martin is 78-69 (.527) in his fifth season (and second stint) at Missouri State, including 58-21 at home, 15-40 on the road and 5-6 at neutral sites.
• Martin also  boasts 59 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 its 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's return to MoState in 2024-25 featured a roster packed with 15 newcomers for the Bears' final season in the Missouri Valley. MSU's 9-23 overall record was not a fair representation of the club's season performance which included 14 single-digit losses -- which was tied for the fourth-most in the nation.