Bears Set for Home Showdown with Unbeaten Drake

• Two of the hottest clubs in the Missouri Valley Conference square off Tuesday (7 p.m.) and Wednesday (8 p.m.) when Missouri State (9-1) entertains the unbeaten Drake Bulldogs (13-0) at JQH Arena. Tuesday’s game will also be the annual NABC “Suits and Sneakers” game. Through fundraising and educational initiatives, the Coaches vs. Cancer program has supported the American Cancer Society in its efforts to save lives from cancer in the US and worldwide. For more information or to donate, visit CoachesvsCancer.org.
• Tuesday’s game will mark the Bears’ 200th game at JQH Arena. The 11,000-seat facility, which opened on Nov. 18, 2008 is the largest on-campus arena in the MVC. The Bears are 139-60 (.698) in 13 seasons at “The Q,” including a perfect 6-0 mark at home this season and 10 straight home wins dating back to Feb. 5, 2020.
• The Bears’ 9-1 start to the season is the team’s best since a 12-0 start to the 2009-10 campaign under coach Cuonzo Martin. That team finished 24-12 overall and won the CIT Postseason Tournament in Martin’s second season at MSU.
• Isiaih Mosley (So., Columbia, Mo.) has scored 20 or more points in 8 straight games — the only Bear of the program’s Division I era (1982-83 to present) to reach that milestone (see p. 4). He is also just the third MVC player over the last 10 years with 8 straight 20-point games, joining Creighton’s Doug McDermott (10) and Evansville’s D.J. Balentine (8).
• The Bears boast the top two scorers in The Valley and three of the top 9. Mosley (23.5 ppg) and Gaige Prim (16.7) rank 1-2 in the league, while Ja’Monta Black (13.1) ranks 9th. Mosley’s second-half scoring average (16.0 ppg) — which includes three 20-point halves — would rank as the fourth-highest scoring average in the league by itself. Mosley also ranks No. 2 nationally in scoring and No. 2 on Kenpom’s offensive player ratings (behind Iowa’s Luka Garza on both).
• Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored in double figures in 22 straight games. He ranks 7th nationally in FG percentage (.663) and leads the Missouri Valley Conference in field goal percentage, rebounding (8.8), offensive rebounding (3.1). He has recorded three double-doubles this season, including 2 of the last 3 games.
• The Bears have eclipsed the 50-percent mark in field goal shooting 8 times in their first 10 games (and 10 of their last 13 dating to last season). MSU starts the week ranked 14th nationally (3rd in the MVC) in field goal percentage (.507), while Drake ranks 3rd nationally and leads the MVC in that category (.535). The Bears, who are now 23-0 under Dana Ford when shooting 50%, also rank No. 2 nationally in two-point FG percentage (.636), trailing only Gonzaga (.639).
• Prim’s first double-double at MSU came one year ago at Drake (Jan. 26) with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Des Moines.
• Keaton Hervey (Jr., Cedar Park, Texas) ranks 25th in both Kenpom Effective FG% (.664) and True Shooting% (.691).
• Ja’Monta Black (So., Columbia, Mo.) continues to lead the MVC in 3-point field goals made per game (3.0) and is 4th in minutes played per game (32.6). He has already surpassed his freshman totals in scoring (131) and 3-pointers (30).
• The last time an undefeated team visited Springfield in January was 1/11/14 when No. 6 ranked Wichita State came to JQH Arena. The Bears led 54-35 with 11:48 to go only to fall 72-69 in overtime in front of MSU’s third-largest home crowd ever (10,776). Fred VanVleet scored 7 of his 16 points in OT for Wichita, while Austin Ruder’s 17 points led the Bears.

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 41-34 (.547) in his third season as Missouri State head coach, including a 28-8 ledger at JQH Arena, 11-20 record in away games, and 2-6 mark at neutral sites. He is now 98-99 (.497) in his seventh season as a head coach. Ford is 1-3 in his career against Drake.
• Ford was named to ESPN’s College Basketball 40 Under 40 list this season. Ford was No. 35 on the 2020-21 rankings compiled by the ESPN staff to highlight the nation’s top young head and assistant college basketball coaches.
• Last year, Ford engineered a solid season finish that saw the Bears go 9-9 in the MVC and upset third-seeded Indiana State in the Valley Tournament quarterfinals. MSU matched or out-rebounded 24-of-33 opponents, including nine of their last 10, to finish 25th nationally in rebound margin (6.2). The Bears also posted their second-best free throw percentage (.749) of the program’s Division I era and had their highest scoring average in league games (71.6) in 10 years. The Bears also boasted two All-MVC performers for the second year in a row with second team selection Keandre Cook and third-teamer Gaige Prim, who also earned MVC All-Newcomer Team laurels.
• In his first season in Springfield in 2018-19, Ford led the Bears to a tie for third place (10-8) in The Valley with the program’s first winning conference record since 2011. He guided two players — Tulio Da Silva (first team) and Keandre Cook (third team) — to All-MVC honors in addition to three players on the MVC All-Newcomer Team, including Newcomer of the Year Da Silva.
• He was introduced as Missouri State’s 18th men’s basketball coach on March 22, 2018 after coaching the previous four seasons at Tennessee State. The native of Tamms, Illinois was 57-65 (.467) at Tennessee State, including a 52-39 ledger in his last three seasons in Nashville. He coached five All-OVC players and two OVC All-Newcomer Team selections during his tenure at TSU. Under his leadership, Tennessee State also doubled its home attendance average and twice earned votes in the AP Top 25 poll in 2016-17.
• Ford, 36, was awarded the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation’s top Division I minority coach. That same year, he was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 19 Coach of the Year after engineering one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history, swaying Tennessee State from a 5-26 record in his first season to a 20-11 mark in 2015-16.
• He has served as an assistant at Tennessee State, Wichita State and Illinois State and was responsible for recruiting future NBA talents such as Robert Covington (Rockets) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors).

Series History

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• The series between the Bears and Drake started in Honolulu in 1986 and resumed in 1991 when MSU joined the Missouri Valley. MSU leads the all-time series, 44-18, including a 25-4 record in Springfield (9-3 at JQH Arena), 17-12 record in Des Moines, and a 2-1 ledger at neutral sites.
• Last season, Drake won the opener, 71-69, in Des Moines (Jan. 26) after the Bears nearly erased a 13-point deficit with 11 minutes to go. Gaige Prim had a career day for the Bears, going for season highs with 23 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double at MSU. Keandre Cook posted 12 points and 13 boards, the first MSU teammates since 2018 to secure double-doubles in the same game. Drake led 37-25 at the half and had a nine-point advantage with two-and-a-half minutes to go before MSU’s defense kept the Bulldogs without a field goal for a key seven-minute stretch. Roman Penn, who hit the game-winning shot for DU, had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
• In the rematch in Springfield (Feb. 12), the Bears posted a season-high point total in a 97-62 win at JQH Arena to snap a five-game Drake win streak in the series. MSU knocked down 14 triples and forced 18 turnovers to give the Bears their highest conference point total since 2010. Keandre Cook scored 19 points with 5 treys, while Lamont West scored 15 points, and Gaige Prim tallied 15 points in just 10 minutes. Drake was led by Noah Thomas with 14 points and D.J. Wilkins with 13. Bos Score

Rebound Foundation

• Bears’ head coach Dana Ford and his wife, Christina, are founders of the Rebound Foundation. The not-for-profit raises funds and awareness to help renew and restore women who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to abuse victims and their children. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.
• Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link