2018–19 Missouri State Bears basketball team American college basketball season
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 : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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 : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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:
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 : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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 : Rivals : 247Sports : N/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 : Rivals : 247Sports : 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 : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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 : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
173 lb (78 kg)
Jr
Southwest Christian Academy Middle Tennessee
Bentonville, AR
G/F
Josh Hall
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
Venues People Seasons NAIA national championships in bold