Game 24 - Missouri State (13-10, 7-5 CUSA) vs. Louisiana Tech (13-10, 6-6 CUSA)
Date and Time	Thursday, February 12, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promos & Specials	CBS Sports National Broadcast | Mental Health Awareness Day | 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+ (Jake Schrantz, BJ Taylor) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 2-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 69, LA Tech 40 (3/22/10) | Box Score
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | LA Tech | 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, Feb. 14 | vs. Delaware | 2:00 p.m. | Tickets | Hall of Fame Weekend Wednesday, Feb. 18 | vs. Kennesaw State | 7:00 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

• Missouri State begins a three-game home stand on Thursday evening when the Bears host Louisiana Tech at 7:30 p.m. for a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network. The Bears are 10-3 at Great Southern Bank Arena this season and are looking to secure an 11th home victory for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign. 
• Forward Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J.) has scored in double figures in 21-of-23 games this season and remains the only CUSA player to rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring (3rd, 18.2), assists (6th, 3.7) and rebounding (8th, 7.0). He is coming off his 11th 20-point game of the season in Saturday's narrow loss at league-leading Liberty after scoring a game-high 25 points. He is averaging 18.6 ppg at home this season.
• MSU is closing in on its 800th Division I victory. The Bears are 799-574 (.582) in their 44th DI campaign.
• Michael Osei-Bonsu (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) ranks 1st in Conference USA (37nd nationally) in FG percentage (.587). He has scored in double figures 7 straight games (17.0 ppg) and is also one of the nation's top offensive rebounders (51st) with 3.1 per game - 2nd in CUSA. Osei-Bonsu also ranks 8th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.8) and just entered MSU's career top 100 in scoring with 638 points (96th) in just 52 games.
• Kobi Williams (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) has scored in double figures 9 times in his last 10 games, and is averaging 16.3 points and 3.2 threes per game in that span. He leads CUSA in FT percentage (.851) and ranks 4th in CUSA in three-pointers per game (2.55) and three-point percentage (.373). Williams also ranks 45th nationally in minutes per game (35:11). In league games only, he is averaging 15.6 points (9th) and 3.1 threes per game (2nd).
• KenPom ranks the Bears No. 9 nationally in FTRate (45.5), a "Four Factor" metric that represents a team's ability to get to the line (=FTA/FGA). MSU also ranks 47th nationally (5th in CUSA) in FT attempts per game (24.3).
• Zaxton King (So., Lawrence, Kan.) needs 28 points to reach 500 for his career (55 games). 
• The Bears are 12-2 this season (62-13 all-time under Cuonzo Martin) when firing at a higher FG percentage.
• Antwan Burnett (Sr., Montgomery, Ala.) ranks 4th in CUSA in steals per game (1.5) and is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game over the squad's last 5 ball games.
• In conference games, the Bears rank 1st in CUSA in rebounding defense (32.00), 2nd in steals (7.50), 3rd in scoring margin (+3.17) and 3rd in FG Percentage (.459).
• Trey Williams Jr. (Fr., Centralia, Ill.) needs 14 points to crack Missouri State's all-time top 20 in freshman scoring. He has racked up 189 points this season (8.2 ppg) with 37 three-pointers -- 10th on MSU's freshman list. 
• Cameron Boone (Jr., East St. Louis, Ill.) is 8-for-10 FG (.800) in CUSA games with 8.0 rebounds per 40 min.
• MoState has eclipsed 70 points in 10 of its last 11 games and are 51-20 under Martin when scoring 70+ points. 

Series

• Missouri State leads 2-0
• Last Meeting: MSU 69, LA Tech 40 (3/22/10) CIT Quarterfinals | 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 286-231 (.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 83-74 (.529) in his fifth season (and second stint) at Missouri State, including 61-22 at home, 17-46 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.