2018–19 Missouri State Bears basketball team

2018–19 Missouri State Bears basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record16–16 (10–8 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJQH Arena
Seasons
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Loyola Chicago 12 6   .667 20 14   .588
Drake 12 6   .667 24 10   .706
Southern Illinois 10 8   .556 17 15   .531
Missouri State 10 8   .556 16 16   .500
Bradley 9 9   .500 20 15   .571
Northern Iowa 9 9   .500 16 18   .471
Illinois State 9 9   .500 17 16   .515
Indiana State 7 11   .389 15 16   .484
Valparaiso 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Evansville 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
2019 MVC tournament winner

The 2018–19 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by first-year head coach Dana Ford, played their home games at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 10–8 in MVC play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 4 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Bradley.

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2017–18 season 18–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they beat Valparaiso in the first round before losing to Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals.

On March 3, 2018, the school announced that head coach Paul Lusk had been fired.[1][2] He finished at Missouri State with a seven-year record of 106–121. The school announced that former Tennessee State head coach Dana Ford had been named head coach of the Bears on March 21.[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Abdul Fofana 0 F 6'7" 207 Sophomore Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso Walk-on; didn't return
Mustafa Lawerence 1 G 6'0" 186 Freshman Newark, NJ Transferred to Tallahassee CC
Reggie Scurry 2 F 6'5" 213 Junior Atlanta, GA Transferred to Middle Tennessee
James Byrd 3 G 6'1" 185 Junior Kansas City, MO Walk-on; transferred to Central Missouri
Greg Williams 13 G 6'6" 180 RS Freshman Houston, TX Retired from basketball due to injury
Ronnie Roussau III 14 G 5'10" 163 Senior Cincinnati, OH Graduated
Jarrid Rhodes 15 F 6'6" 185 Senior Palmeto, FL Graduated
J. T. Miller 23 G 6'2" 190 RS Senior Clinton, NC Graduated
Alize Johnson 24 F 6'9" 212 Senior Williamsport, PA Graduated
Tanveer Bhullar 34 C 7'2" 278 RS Senior Etobicoke, ON Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Josh Webster 0 G 6'4" 175 Senior St. Louis, MO Transferred from Texas Tech. Will be eligible to play immediately since Webster graduated from Texas Tech.
Keandre Cook 1 G 6'5" 190 Junior Baltimore, MD Junior college transferred from Odessa College
Kabir Mohammed 5 G 6'5" Junior Lagos, Nigeria Junior college transferred from San Jacinto College
Spencer Brown G 6'3" 190 Junior Fayetteville, AR Junior college transferred from Lyon College. Will join the team as a walk-on.
Tulio Da Silva F 6'7" 206 RS Junior Formiga, Brazil Transferred from South Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Chastain will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Tyrik Dixon G 6'1" 184 Junior Bentonville, AR Transferred from Middle Tennessee. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dixon will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Josh Hall G/F 6'6" 190 Junior Detroit, MI Transferred from Nevada. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hall will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jan Wójcik
PF
Pełczyce, Poland Élan Chalon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) May 12, 2018 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Szymon Wójcik
PF
Pełczyce, Poland Élan Chalon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) May 1, 2018 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.

2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2019)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Brinson
#31 PG
Los Angeles, CA Westchester High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oct 5, 2018 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 80
Tyem Freeman
#44 SF
Springfield, MO Hillcrest High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Aug 11, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 78
Dajuan Harris
PG
Columbia, MO Rock Bridge High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Aug 11, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Jamonta Black
SG
Columbia, MO Rock Bridge High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Apr 14, 2018 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Gaige Prim
PF
Aurora, CO South Plains College 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sep 29, 2018 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2018–19 Missouri State Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Josh Webster 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Christian Brothers College
Texas Tech
St. Louis, MO
G 1 Keandre Cook 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Jr Edmondson-Westside
Odessa College
Baltimore, MD
F 5 Onediah Church 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr Springfield Springfield, IL
F 10 Szymon Wojcik 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Fr Élan Chalon Pełczyce, Poland
G 11 Jarred Dixon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Sr Lee's Summit West Kansas City, MO
G 15 Szymon Wojcik 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Fr Élan Chalon Pełczyce, Poland
G 20 Ryan Kreklow 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Rock Bridge Columbia, MO
G 21 Ross Owens (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Jr Woodlawn Woodlawn, IL
F 23 Kabir Mohammed 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Jr National Christian Academy
San Jacinto College
Lagos, Nigeria
C 25 Darian Scott 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Centennial Las Vegas, NV
F 34 Jared Ridder 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Kickapoo
Xavier
Springfield, MO
G Spencer Brown (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Jr Fayetteville
Lyon College
Fayetteville, AR
F Tulio Da Silva 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 211 lb (96 kg) RS Jr Arlington Country Day School
South Florida
Formiga, Brazil
G Tyrik Dixon Current redshirt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) Jr Southwest Christian Academy
Middle Tennessee
Bentonville, AR
G/F Josh Hall Current redshirt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Montverde Academy
Nevada
Detroit, MI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 30, 2018*
7:00 pm
Evangel W 77–28 
JQH Arena (3,209)
Springfield, MO
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Oral Roberts W 84–50  1–0
JQH Arena (5,014)
Springfield, MO
Nov 9, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Robert Morris
Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game
W 74–60  2–0
JQH Arena (5,038)
Springfield, MO
Nov 11, 2018*
3:00 pm, KOZL
Stetson
Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game
W 83–70  3–0
JQH Arena (3,879)
Springfield, MO
Nov 19, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Nebraska
Hall of Fame Classic semifinals
L 62–85  3–1
Sprint Center 
Kansas City, MO
Nov 20, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. USC
Hall of Fame Classic consolation
L 80–99  3–2
Sprint Center (6,521)
Kansas City, MO
Nov 24, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Murray State L 66–77  3–3
CFSB Center (2,701)
Murray, KY
Nov 28, 2018*
8:15 pm
at Air Force
MW–MVC Challenge
L 69–88  3–4
Clune Arena (1,629)
Colorado Springs, CO
Dec 1, 2018*
6:00 pm, P12N
at Oregon State L 77–101  3–5
Gill Coliseum (4,369)
Corvallis, OR
Dec 5, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Kentucky W 84–78  4–5
JQH Arena (4,893)
Springfield, MO
Dec 15, 2018*
7:30 pm
at North Dakota State L 67–74  4–6
Scheels Center (1,942)
Fargo, ND
Dec 18, 2018*
7:00 pm
at Arkansas State L 63–71  4–7
First National Bank Arena (1,409)
Jonesboro, AR
Dec 22, 2018*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 93–72  5–7
JQH Arena (3,826)
Springfield, MO
Dec 30, 2018*
5:00 pm, ESPN+
William Woods W 110–56  6–7
JQH Arena (3,174)
Springfield, MO
Missouri Valley regular season
Jan 2, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Illinois L 70–75  6–8
(0–1)
SIU Arena (4,167)
Carbondale, IL
Jan 5, 2019
1:00 pm
Valparaiso L 66–82  6–9
(0–2)
JQH Arena (4,179)
Springfield, MO
Jan 8, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Indiana State W 72–57  7–9
(1–2)
Hulman Center (3,420)
Terre Haute, IN
Jan 12, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bradley W 69–64  8–9
(2–2)
Carver Arena (5,009)
Peoria, IL
Jan 16, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Evansville L 64–70  8–10
(2–3)
JQH Arena (4,923)
Springfield, MO
Jan 20, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPN3
at Drake L 63–74  8–11
(2–4)
Knapp Center (3,124)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 23, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN
Loyola–Chicago W 70–35  9–11
(3–4)
JQH Arena (4,863)
Springfield, MO
Jan 26, 2019
3:00 pm, FSMW
Bradley W 55–37  10–11
(4–4)
JQH Arena (5,215)
Springfield, MO
Jan 29, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Valparaiso W 55–54 OT 11–11
(5–4)
Athletics–Recreation Center (1,333)
Valparaiso, IN
Feb 2, 2019
7:00 pm
at Northern Iowa L 59–64  11–12
(5–5)
McLeod Center (3,882)
Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 6, 2019
7:00 pm, FSMW
Southern Illinois W 65–59  12–12
(6–5)
JQH Arena 
Springfield, MO
Feb 10, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3
Illinois State W 66–65  13–12
(7–5)
JQH Arena 
Springfield, MO
Feb 13, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Evansville W 68–56  14–12
(8–5)
Ford Center (5,289)
Evansville, IN
Feb 17, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3
at Loyola–Chicago W 65–61  15–12
(9–5)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,722)
Chicago, IL
Feb 20, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Northern Iowa L 43–63  15–13
(9–6)
JQH Arena (6,751)
Springfield, MO
Feb 23, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Indiana State W 67–61  16–13
(10–6)
JQH Arena (5,788)
Springfield, MO
Feb 27, 2019
6:00 pm, FSMW
at Illinois State L 57–65  16–14
(10–7)
Redbird Arena (4,468)
Normal, IL
Mar 2, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPN2/CBSSN/ESPN3
Drake L 62–73  16–15
(10–8)
JQH Arena (7,894)
Springfield, MO
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 8, 2019
 MVC TV
(4) vs. (5) Bradley
quarterfinals
L 58–61  16–16
Enterprise Center (6,774)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[4]

References

  1. ^ Rothstein, Jon (March 3, 2018). "Missouri State fires Paul Lusk". fanragsports.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "Sources: Missouri State parts ways with Lusk". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (March 21, 2018). "Missouri State hiring Dana Ford of Tennessee State". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Missouri State University Official Athletic Site". www.missouristatebears.com.