Game 21 - Missouri State (12-8, 6-3 CUSA) vs. Sam Houston Bearkats (13-7, 5-4 CUSA)
Date and Time	Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 | 7:02 p.m.
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promos & Specials	Faith & Family Night | Steve Max, Master of Simon Sez | Promo Calendar
Fan Info	Flip Card | Digital Program | Gates open one hour before tipoff
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | Listen Live |  Bears Radio Network | Varsity Network App
Television	ESPN+ (Don West, Tom Mast) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 3-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 69, SHSU 60 (12/9/23) | Box Score | Highlights
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | Sam Houston | 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	Saturday, Jan. 31 | vs. Jacksonville State | 2:00 p.m. | Tickets  White Out | Kids Club Day | OMB Cub Crawl

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

• Fresh off two Conference USA road victories, Missouri State (6-3) sits alone in second place in the CUSA standings heading into a two-game home weekend ahead. The Bears begin the stretch with a 7 p.m. showdown against Sam Houston on Wednesday (ESPN+) with a special halftime performance by the Master of Simon Sez Steve Max. Missouri State is 9-2 at home this season (3-0 in CUSA) with five of its next six games at GSB Arena.
• Michael Osei-Bonsu (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) is this week's Conference USA Co-Player of the Week after he averaged 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in two road wins while shooting .636 (14/22) from the field. He had the game-winning layup at UTEP with 12 seconds left, while his 21-point outing at NM State marked his sixth 20-point effort of the season. He is MSU's first ever CUSA POW.
• Forward Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J.) has scored in double figures in 18-of-20 games this season and remains the only CUSA player to rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring (4th, 17.9), rebounding (8th, 7.0) and assists (7th, 3.7). In fact, he is one of just 9 Division I players to rank in the top 10 in their respective conference in all three categories. He needs 6 points to reach 1,500 and 2 rebounds to reach 700 for his career (108 games). 
• In conference games, MoState ranks 2nd in CUSA in scoring margin (4.78), rebound margin (3.67), and steals (7.22). Over the last two games, the Bears are averaging +7.0 in scoring and +5.0 in rebounding margins. At home this season, the Bears are +11.4 scoring and +4.2 in rebounding margins.   
• Trey Williams Jr. (Fr., Centralia, Ill.) needs 33 points to crack Missouri State's all-time top 20 in freshman scoring. He has racked up 170 points this season (8.5 ppg) with 33 three-pointers -- which is currently 10th on MSU's freshman list for triples in a season.
• KenPom ranks the Bears No. 6 nationally in FTRate (46.8), a "Four Factor" metric that represents a team's ability to get to the line (=FTA/FGA). The Bears also rank 39th nationally (4th in CUSA) in FT attempts per game (24.8) and have attempted more free throws than their opponents in 15-of-20 games.
• Michael Osei-Bonsu (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) will be playing in his 50th game as a Bear (590 pts., 357 reb.). He currently ranks 1st in Conference USA in FG percentage (.600), which ranks 29th nationally.
• Kobi Williams (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) has scored in double figures 7 times in the last 8 games, and is averaging 17.4 points and 3.6 threes per game in that span. He has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in 11 straight games and ranks 40th nationally in minutes per game (35:07). He needs 16 points to reach 300 for the third straight year.
• The Bears are 11-2 this season (61-13 all-time under Cuonzo Martin) when firing at a higher FG percentage.

Series

• Missouri State leads 3-0
• Last Meeting: MSU 69, SHSU 60 (12/9/23) | Box Score | Highlights
• Previous Meeting: MSU 77, SHSU 55 (11/17/21) | Box Score | Highlights
• First Meeting: First Meeting: MSU 77, SHSU 61 (12/2/00)

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 284-229 (.554) 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 81-72 (.529) in his fifth season (and second stint) at Missouri State, including 59-21 at home, 17-45 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.