Game 30 - Missouri State (13-16, 7-11 CUSA) vs. WKU Hilltoppers (18-11, 11-7 CUSA)
Date and Time	Thursday, March 5, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promos & Specials	Beach Night Theme | First 750 Fans Receive MoState Beach Shirt | 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, Carly Stubblefield) | Watch
Series	Missouri State Leads 2-1 | Last Meeting: WKU 87, MSU 72 (1/14/26) | Box Score | Highlights
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Missouri State | WKU | 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, March 7 | vs. Middle Tennessee | 2:00 p.m. (Central) | Senior Day | Kids Club Day

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 men's basketball returns to Great Southern Bank Arena for the last two games of the regular season, starting with a Thursday (7 p.m.) rematch against Western Kentucky on Beach Night at Great Southern Bank Arena. The first 750 fans in attendance will receive a free Missouri State-themed beach shirt.
• Trey Williams Jr. ranks 12th on MSU's freshman scoring list with 254 points (8.8 ppg), while his 51 three pointers sits 5th on MSU's freshman chart. He is 30 points from breaking into Missouri State's freshman scoring top 10. Over the last 7 games, he is averaging, 9.3 points and 5.0 assists with a 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The Bears have boasted two 20-point scorers in the same game seven times this season, including five times in conference play. Michael Osei-Bonsu (24) and Keith Palek III (21) did so in Saturday's game at Sam Houston. 
• Kobi Williams (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) has scored in double figures in 11 straight games (17.5 ppg) and has made at least on 3-pointer in 24 consecutive contests, dating back to Nov. 22. He ranks 3rd in CUSA in free throw percentage (.854); 4th in 3-point percentage (.375); 4th in threes per game (2.79); 4th in minutes per game (35:45); and 9th in scoring (15.1). He needs 2 more threes to become just the 5th MSU individual to make 80 in a season.
• Keith Palek III (Sr., Woodbine, N.J.) averaged 25.0 points per game last week, which ranked 30th nationally and tied for 1st in Conference USA in that span (with Delaware's Justyn Fernandez). Palek's 525 points ranks 23rd on MSU's single-season scoring list, while his 14 20-point games this season ranks 13th.
• Trey Williams Jr. is coming off his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 assists at Sam Houston on Saturday. He is the first Bear to record double-figure assists in a game since Josh Webster tallied 10 helpers at Loyola on Feb. 17, 2019. Trey's 8.0 assists per game last week ranked 10th nationally and tied for 1st in CUSA.
• Michael Osei-Bonsu (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) has recorded 732 career points in 78 games, which ranks 73rd on MSU's career scoring list and 21st among two-year Bears. He is closing in on No.'s 71 Don Carlson and Arnold Bernard (736), No. 70 Harry Policape (739), No. 69 Allen Phillips (744) and No. 68 Art Helms (750). He remains Conference USA's individual leader in FG percentage (.567) and offensive rebounding (3.31) this season.
• Five of seven losses during Missouri State's current losing streak have been by a single possession (4 points or less) with a scoring margin of just -3.9. Overall, 9-of-11 Conference USA losses have been by single figures.
• Missouri State's 48 points in the paint at Sam Houston marked the club's most in conference play and most overall this season since logging a club record 60 close-range points vs. Northwestern Oklahoma on Nov. 8.
• The Bears are averaging 75.1 points per game this season -- their second-highest scoring average since 1997. MSU has lost 5 times this season in games it has scored 80 or more points.

Series

• Missouri State Leads 2-1
• Last Meeting: WKU 87, MSU 72 (1/14/26) | Box Score | Highlights

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 286-237 (.547) 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 83-80 (.509) in his fifth season (and second stint) at Missouri State, including 61-25 at home, 17-49 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.