Men's Basketball Opens 2026-27 Season Tuesday at Home

GAME 1 Missouri State Bears (0-0) vs. Lincoln Blue Tigers (0-0)
Date / Time	Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 \| 7:00 p.m.
Stadium Info	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) Springfield, Mo. Parking Map \| Clear B ag Policy \| Purchase Parking
Tickets	Purchase Tickets \| (417) 836-7678
Promos	Win & You're In Ticket Promo \| 2026-27 Promo Calendar
Radio	KWTO (93.3 FM) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) \| Bears Radio Network \| Varsity Network
Television	ESPN+ \| Watch (Tom Ladd, Tom Mast)
Fan Information	Shop BearWear \| Digital Program
Series	Missouri State leads 23-16 Last Meeting: Mo State 61, LU 49 (12/18/2024)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State \| Lincoln \| CUSA Notebook \| Mo State Media Guide
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Follow	Athletics Facebook \| Athletics Twitter \| Basketball Twitter \| Instagram \| #ItAllCounts \| @MoStateMBB

First and Ten Notes

Missouri State kicks off its 115th basketball season, 45th season in Division I, and second season in Conference USA on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Bears host in-state foe Lincoln University at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1982-83, the Bears are 41-3 in home openers, including wins in 19 of their last 21 lid lifters and three straight.
The Bears are also 30-14 (.682) in season openers since joining the DI ranks in 1982-83.
Missouri State guard Trey Williams Jr. (So., Centralia, Ill.), was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA Men's Basketball Team on Oct. 8, as selected by the league coaches. His 321 points (9.4 ppg) last season matched the third-highest scoring total ever by a Missouri State freshman while starting all 34 games and scoring in double figures 21 times. He also ranked 4th in CUSA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.42).
Missouri State has 12 newcomers on the 2026-27 roster, including 5 international student-athletes. According to the NCAA Stats research, only 8 Division I schools have more international newcomers than the Bears and only 20 programs have more total international players on their roster.
Starting his 6th total season as head coach at Missouri State, Cuonzo Martin owns a 62-26 (.705) home record at Great Southern Bank Arena, including an 11-7 home ledger last season.
The Bears start the season with 5 straight home games at Great Southern Bank Arena. It marks the most consecutive home contests to begin a campaign since hosting 5 in a row in 2009-10, also under coach Cuonzo Martin.
Last season, the Bears ranked 40th nationally in free throw attempts per game (23.9). The squad's 814 charity shots were its most since 2003-04 and 7th-most in program history. Mo State also became the first CUSA program to make 11 or more free throws in all 34 games for the season.
Trey Williams Jr. made 63 threes last season -- the second-most ever by a maroon-clad freshman.
Mo State has increased its average player height from 6-foot-5.9 last year to 6-foot-7.4 this winter.
The Bears return 16.7 percent of their scoring, 13.1 percent of their rebounding and 22.0 percent of minutes played from last year's 16-18 squad.
During its DI era, Mo State is 112-61 in November (4-3 last year) and 80-60 on Tuesdays (4-1 a year ago).

Series History

Missouri State leads 23-16
Last Meeting: Mo State 61, LU 49 (12/18/2024)
Box Score | Recap | Highlights

Missouri State Personnel

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Trey Williams Jr.

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Trey Williams Jr.

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