Missouri State Bears

Date/Time: Wednesday November 24th @ 5:30 PM ET at The Community School of Naples in Naples, FL.
TV: FloHoops
Preseason Ranks: 66th (KenPom), 76th (Bart Torvik), 114th (CBS), 73rd (SI)
2020-21 Record: 17-7, 12-6 (3rd in MVC)
2021-22 Projected Record: 20-11, 12-6 (3rd in MVC)

Coach: Dana Ford, 49-40 in three seasons at Missouri State, with a 31-23 MVC record (which is pretty decent). Before arriving in Springfield (Missouri), Ford spent four years at Tennessee State. After a disastrous first year, he turned things around quickly, winning 20 games (a 15 game improvement!) in year 2, which was good enough for a CIT bid. He won OVC coach of the year that season and definitely deserved it. Since that first year coaching, Ford has turned in six consecutive .500 or better records in conference. He played four years at MVC rival Illinois State before serving as an assistant at Chipola (NJCAA), Tennessee State, Wichita State, and Illinois State. Ford has covered four "state" schools so far, but has a lot to more to get through if he wants to set any kind of record. An in-state matchup against SLU could be called the "Ford" bowl, but that sounds more like two Michigan teams facing off against each other.

Head-to-Head: First time facing off against the Bears. Outside of SLU, we are 0-3 against the other Show-Me State teams. We played UMKC a couple years back for the first time and lost to them by 6 before winning the next two games in the ballroom, perhaps the most unqiue venue we've played in.

Offensive Efficiency: 41st (KenPom), 32nd (Bart Torvik)
Defensive Efficiency: 97th (KenPom), 161st (Bart Torvik)
Pace: 164th (KenPom), 209th (Bart Torvik)
Returning Minutes: 87.1% (43rd in country)

Key Returning Players:
Isiaih Mosley (Sophomore; Columbia, MO) 19.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1 SPG; 51% FG, 39% 3-PT, 85% FT
Gaige Prim (Senior; Aurora, CO) 16.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.3 BPG; 60% FG, 73% FT
Ja'Monta Black (Sophomore; Columbia, MO) 9.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.7 APG; 40% FG, 36% 3-PT, 75% FT
Demarcus Sharp (Junior; Charleston, MO) 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.7 APG; 50% FG, 32% 3-PT, 71% FT
Keaton Hervey (RS Junior; Cedar Park, TX) 7.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG; 49% FG, 44% 3-PT, 75% FT

Key Losses:
Jared Ridder (Left Team; Springfield, MO) 7.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG; 39% FG, 37% 3-PT, 70% FT

Comments:
Despite a delayed start to the season, it was a successful year for Dana Ford and his Missouri State Bears in 2020-21. Mo State lost the first 5 games of the year due to COVID resulting in them playing just three games OOC (2 against D1 competition). That didn't prevent them from stringing together three 4+ game winning streaks over the course of the year (we are still waiting for our first 3 game win streak in the JC era).

In many ways, Missouri State was the team in the MVC that fell under the radar. Drake's hot start to the year (resulting in the Bulldogs being ranked for the first time in 13 years) and Loyola Chicago's continued success (belated congrats to the Ramblers for joining the A10 next year) helped the Bears sneak up on teams. Unfortunately, 5 out of their 7 losses came against those two teams which placed Mo State squarely in tier 2 - a solid NIT team but not quite at an NCAA tournament level.

This season, the top of the MVC got a little more crowded with Northern Iowa's star AJ Green (not the Cardinals wide receiver) returning from injury. Drake returns nearly everyone from last season, and they've already knocked off Richmond OOC. Although Loyola lost Moser to Oklahoma in the offseason, hiring Valentine from within was the right move and he has kept the program at the top of the league so far (it will be interesting to see what happens next season when it's more of his guys - they have 6 seniors). That presents a difficult challenge for Missouri State if they are looking to make the big dance this season. While they have the personnel, an early season loss to SEMO to begin the year hurt any at-large chances and the Bears have not won the MVC conference tournament since 1992, when they went by Southwest Missouri State.

It's certainly an uphill battle for Ford's squad, but returning 87% of the team from last season is a good place to build from. It all starts with guard Isiaih Mosley (that's not a typo for Isaiah, his name is actually spelled like that. His brother is named Stephfon, so the family definitely earns bonus points for creativity) and his partner down low Gaige Prim (a former JUCO).

Mosley ranked 25th nationally in scoring (Bishop was 41st) pouring in nearly 20 points per game in his second year while showcasing good vision (3.1 apg) and pitching in on the boards (6.3 rpg - second on team). He is a strong scorer from all over the floor, shooting over 50% from the field, 39% from distance, and 85% from the line. If Mosley does have a weak point, it is turning the ball over although that is partly expected given how much the ball is in his hands.

Prim, like Lindo, is a nightly double double threat having averaged 9.1 boards last season. He is perhaps the most well-rounded player on the roster which will make him a tough guard. Missouri State played through Prim at times last season made possible through his passing ability (3 assists per game). Prim is a very strong defender having led the team in steals and blocks last year. He will not stretch defenses shooting the three ball but is a reliable finisher inside where he can use his wide arsenal of moves to score down low.

Ja'Monta Black, Demarcus Sharp, and Keaton Hervey return to support the Mosley-Prim duo in complementary roles. All three can score the ball when their number is called and are decent to above-average rebounders, key for a team that doesn't really play true bigs apart from Prim. Black, who was Mosley's teammate at Rock Bridge HS in Missouri, fits Missouri State's mantra of moving the ball on offense and is a key glue guy that minimizes his mistakes. While he isn't the most efficient near the hoop, he can definitely stroke it from distance (36%) which is all the team really needs from him as Mosley/Prim get all the attention. He led the team in 3-pt makes last season. Sharp (another former JUCO) spends a lot of time on-ball which allows Mosley to focus on just scoring for stretches of the game. He is the weakest of the guards from distance but a good finisher inside. Neither Black nor Sharp get to the line that often but are solid shooters when they do. Hervey, an Incarnate Word/JUCO transfer, is the designated spot-up shooter in the attack, converting on 44% of his tries from distance.

Prim's backup is Aussie Nic Tata, yet another former JUCO guy who held his own when he played but was pretty much asked to only give Prim a breather. He may be fighting for minutes against Hawaii transfer Dawson Carper (a guy we expressed interest in during the Mojo era). Lu'Cye Patterson saw some run in his first year but has to significantly improve his efficiency if he wants to see more playing time. The same goes for true freshman Isaac Haney.

Much of Ford's success can be attributed more to his strong recruiting than his X's and O's. He did land a couple of transfers this offseason in IUPUI transfer Jaylen Minnett and Valparaiso transfer Donovan Clay who elected to remain in the MVC. Minnett was a bright spot on an IUPUI team that has had little going for them the last several years. He is a good on-ball defender but his greatest skill is his outside shooting. With all the attention going to Mosley/Prim, guys like Black, Hervey, and Minnett are going to have really good looks all season. Hervey benefitted last year from just having better players around him last season (Incarnate Word has been another disaster), and Minnett should be able to capitalize similarly this year. Clay is a good rebounder for his size and is another guy that can shoot/move the ball on offense/generate pressure defensively. With all this talk about shooting, it should not surprise any that Missouri State is shooting over 40% from distance on the year. Hope to see us guard the 3 closer to what we've been doing all season and not what we did against Kent State yesterday.

Missouri State was considered the favorite to win the Naples tournament, so this definitely has the makings of a tough contest. If our defensive rotations are as poor as they were yesterday, we could be in for a long day because Missouri State has more shooters than Kent. Offensively, I hope to see our guys moving more off the ball and getting better looks at the basket.

Projected Score: Missouri State 76, GW 66. 15% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN actually likes this game as closer to a tossup, giving us a 47.8% chance (truly kind given our play to begin the year). Missouri State is a 10 to 11 point favorite in this one.
 

Any word on Lindo's health?

Glad Lindo is fine.
But in general, we should not be underdogs or fear Missouri State or any teams in this tournament.
Our expectations keep getting lower.

Is is just me, or is the volume for the commercials about twice as high as it is for the game?  Does the winner of the third place game get a trophy?

Yes

Good block by Dean

Need to rebound better.

Welcome to the playground.  Again.

4-8 MS for 3 Seen this nightmare yesterday.