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Missouri State

Darrion Sutton

Red-Hot Bears Continue CUSA Play Wednesday at Kennesaw

January 06, 2026

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 15 - Missouri State Bears (9-5, 3-0 CUSA) at Kennesaw State (8-6, 0-3 CUSA)
Date and Time Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 | 6:00 p.m. (Central)
Location VyStar Arena at the Convocation Center (3,805) | Kennesaw, Ga.
Tickets Tickets
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | Listen Live | Bears Radio Network | Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Nolan Alexander, Brandon Johnson) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 1-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 78, KSU 55 (12/17/11) | Box Score
Live Stats StatBroadcast
Game Notes Missouri State | Kennesaw | CUSA Weekly 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. 10 | 4:00 p.m. | vs. FIU | Tickets
Spirit Day | Doubleheader Ticket Special
    
The Ten Count
  • Off to its best conference start since 2017-18, Missouri State puts its unblemished Conference USA record on the line Wednesday night (6 p.m., Central) when the Bears travel to Georgia to square off with Kennesaw State.
  • Trey Williams Jr. (G, Centralia, Ill.) was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week on Monday. He averaged 12.7 points per game over MSU's three conference wins last week while logging 3.0 assists and 2.3 threes per contest. He made 4-of-5 threes and scored 15 points against UTEP, racked up 13 points, 3 triples and 4 assists in the home win over New Mexico State, and had a 10-point effort at Delaware that featured 3 assists.
  • KenPom ranks the Bears No. 11 in Division I in FTRate (47.2), a "Four Factor" metric that represents a team's ability to get to the line (=FTA/FGA). The Bears ranked 67th nationally (4th in CUSA) in FT attempts per game (24.1) and have had more free throw attempts than their opponents in 11-of-14 games, ranking 22nd nationally in FT scoring point distribution (24.7%).
  • Forward Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J.) has scored in double figures in 13-of-14 games this season and leads CUSA in FG attempts (191). He ranks 56th nationally (4th in CUSA) in defensive rebounds per game (5.79) and is in the top dozen in CUSA in scoring (6th, 17.2), rebounding (9th, 7.1) and assists (12th, 3.3).
  • Kobi Williams (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) has led the Bears in scoring (20.0 ppg) during its 3-0 conference start and is coming off a career-high 32 points in Sunday's win over New Mexico State in which he was 7-for-9 from 3-point range. He ranks 3rd in CUSA in FT% (.843), 4th in minutes per game (33:32), 6th in 3-pointers per game (2.43) and 11th in CUSA in scoring (14.1).
  • Forward Michael Osei-Bonsu (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) leads CUSA in FG percentage (.609), which ranks 27th nationally (min. 5 FG per game). He is also No. 30 nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.2) and 56th nationally (5th in CUSA) in offensive rebounds per game (3.18). The Bears are 4-0 since his return to the starting lineup.
  • Under Cuonzo Martin, the Bears are 58-13 (8-2 this season) when shooting a higher FG% than their opponents.
  • The Bears have held 5 straight opponents under 10 assists with opponents averaging 7.4 helpers per game during MSU's current five-game win streak.
  • With a Missouri State win:
    • The Bears would be 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 2010-11 (also under Cuonzo Martin)
    • MoState would extend its current win streak to 6 in a row, which would be the club's longest since 2023-24.
    • Coach Cuonzo Martin (79-69) would pick up his 80th win as Bears head coach (5th season total).
Series
  • Missouri State leads 1-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 78, KSU 55 (12/17/11) | 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 has a 282-226 (.555) 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 79-69 (.534) in his fifth season (and second stint) at Missouri State, including 59-21 at home, 15-42 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.
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