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Missouri State

Oba vs UE

Men's Hoops Begins Two-Game Road Swing

February 13, 2025

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 27 - Missouri State Bears (9-17, 2-13 MVC) at UIC Flames (14-11, 7-8 MVC)
Date and Time Sunday, February 16, 2025  | 2:02 p.m. (Central)
Location Credit Union 1 Arena (8,000) | Chicago, Illinois
Tickets UICFlames.com | (312) 413-8421
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
The Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Sam Brief, Chris Sparks) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 17-5 | Last Meeting: UIC 80, MSU 63 (1/7/25) | Box Score
Follow Along Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | UIC | MVC 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, Feb. 19 at Valparaiso (7:00 p.m.)
Next Home Game: Saturday, Feb. 22 vs. Illinois State (7:00 p.m.) TICKETS

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State begins a two-game road swing on Sunday afternoon when the Bears travel to UIC for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Credit Union 1 Arena. MoState is coming off a 71-54 home win over Evansville on Wednesday to mark the club's second Valley win in its last four outings. Sunday's game will be MSU's first trip to UIC since Nov. 30, 2022.
  • The Bears have shot 50 percent or better from the field in 5 of their last 7 games. Missouri State is 6-4 this season when shooting 50% or better (26-6 overall under coach Cuonzo Martin). The Bears are also 50-9 under Martin (7-6 this season) when shooting at a higher percentage than their opponents.
  • In his first start since Jan. 15, Wesley Oba (Sr., Manchester, England) posted season highs with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 25 minutes in Wednesday's win over Evansville. He is 7-for-12 (.583) from the field the past two games with 3 dunks.
  • Missouri State ranks 63rd nationally (6th in MVC) in 3-point FG percentage (.366), converting 192-of-525 from beyond the arc this season. The Bears are shooting .406 (65-of-160) from long range over their last 8 games. 
  • Michael Osei-Bonsu (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) leads the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (3.04). He also ranks 2nd in The Valley in total rebounds (188), 3rd in total rebounds per game (7.2) and 3rd in double-doubles (4). His team-high 16 points against Evansville on Wednesday boosted him to 15 double-figure scoring games this season.
  • MoState has forced 13.38 turnovers per game this season which ranks 2nd in the MVC (behind Drake's 14.04). The Bears have also recorded 10 or more takeaways in 23-of-26 games this winter (five games in a row), while averaging 7.5 steals per game (2nd-best in the MVC) for the campaign.
  • Zaxton King (Fr., Lawrence, Kan.) has 49 threes this season which ranks 4th all-time among MSU freshmen, while his 252 points ranks 12th on the rookie list. He is just 1 point behind Chuck Williams (1967-68) for 11th place and 15 behind Isiaih Mosley (2019-20) for 10th all-time among MSU's freshman scorers.
  • Vincent Brady II (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) needs 1 FG for 100 for this season (24 games) and needs just 56 points to reach 1,000 for his career (87 games). He has scored in double-figures 17 times this year and 4 in a row.
  • Dez White (So., Jefferson City, Mo.) ranks 4th in the MVC in 3-point percentage (.386), 4th in 3-pointers per game (2.64), 4th in free throw percentage (.841), 6th in minutes per game (34:30) and 9th in scoring average (14.8). In true road games this season, White is averaging a team-best 14.2 points per game. 
  • Jalen Hampton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) needs 5 rebounds for 400 in his career (57 games). Over his last 4 appearances, Hampton is 20-of-23 (.869) from the field while averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
The Series
  • Missouri State leads the all-time series with UIC, 17-5. The Bears are 11-1 at home all-time against the Flames, 5-3 in Chicago, and 1-1 at neutral sites in the series. The teams were members of the Mid-Continent Conference together from 1984 to 1990.
  • Earlier this season in Springfield (1/7/25), visiting UIC shot 62 percent in the second half and racked up 11 three-pointers to top Missouri State, 80-63. The Flames were led by Tyem Freeman's 18 points, while Filip Skobalj added 17 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc to tie a Great Southern Bank Arena record. UIC was 7-of-11 from three in the second half. MoState was led by freshman Zaxton King's 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Michael Osei-Bonsu was the only other Bear in double-figures in the scoring column with 10 points. Vincent Brady II was MSU's top rebounder (3) and assist man (3). | Box Score
  • The teams played just once last season, a 69-59 MoState win on 3/3/24 at Great Southern Bank Arena. Damien Mayo Jr. posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the Bears to a senior day victory in the regular-season finale. The Bears also got 12 points from Cesare Edwards, all in the second half, with Matthew Lee pitching in a dozen points. Likewise, Chance Moore poured in 11 points for MoState with senior Donovan Clay finishing with 8 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Toby Okani led four UIC players in double-figures with 14 points. The Flames also got 12 points apiece from Skobalj and Isaiah Rivers. Missouri State out-rebounded its visitors by a 50-30 margin and accounted for 14 second-chance points on 18 offensive caroms. MSU also racked up a season-high 44 points from its reserves. 
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 273-215 (.559) 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 70-58 (.547) in his fourth season (and second stint) at Missouri State University. Martin is 0-1 all-time against UIC (at Missouri State).
  • 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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