2019–20 Missouri State Bears basketball team

The 2019–20 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by second-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 16–17, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Indiana State in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Valpariso.

2019–20 Missouri State Bears basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	16–17 (9–9 MVC)
Head coach	Dana Ford (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Corey Gipson Jake Headrick Jase Herl
Home arena	JQH Arena
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Iowa	14	–	4		.778			25	–	6		.806
Loyola Chicago	13	–	5		.722			21	–	11		.656
Indiana State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	12		.600
Bradley †	11	–	7		.611			23	–	11		.676
Southern Illinois	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
Missouri State	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Valparaiso	9	–	9		.500			19	–	16		.543
Drake	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
Illinois State	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Evansville	0	–	18		.000			9	–	23		.281
† 2020 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2018–19 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.

Offseason

2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (80)
Tyem Freeman #44 SF	Springfield, MO	Hillcrest High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 11, 2018
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (78)
Dajuan Harris PG	Columbia, MO	Rock Bridge High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Aug 11, 2018
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (NR)
Ja'Monta Black SG	Columbia, MO	Rock Bridge High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Apr 14, 2018
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (NR)
Gaige Prim PF	Aurora, CO	South Plains College	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Sep 29, 2018
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved October 14, 2018.

Roster

2019–20 Missouri State Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Tyrik Dixon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) RS Jr Southwest Christian Academy Middle Tennessee Bentonville, AR G 1 Keandre Cook 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Sr Edmondson-Westside HS Odessa College Baltimore, MD G 3 Spencer Brown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS Jr Fayetteville HS Lyon College Fayetteville, AR G 4 Ja'Monta Black 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Fr Rock Bridge HS Columbia, MO F 5 Tyem Freeman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Fr Parkview HS Springfield, IL F 11 Isiaih Mosley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Rock Bridge HS Columbia, MO F 15 Lamont West 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Sr Miller Grove HS West Virginia Cincinnati, OH G 21 Ross Owens (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Sr Woodlawn HS Woodlawn, IL F 23 Kabir Mohammed 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 237 lb (108 kg) Sr National Christian Academy San Jacinto College Lagos, Nigeria G 24 Ford Cooper Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr United Faith Christian Academy Charlotte, NC C 25 Darian Scott 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Centennial HS Las Vegas, NV G/F 33 Josh Hall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 213 lb (97 kg) RS Jr Genesis Academy Nevada Houston, TX F 34 Jared Ridder 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) RS So Kickapoo HS Xavier Springfield, MO F 44 Gaige Prim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Grandview HS South Plains CC Aurora, CO	Head coach Dana Ford (Illinois State) Assistant coach(es) Corey Gipson (Austin Peay) Jake Headrick (Montevallo) Jase Herl (Colorado Mesa) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 5, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2019* 7:00 pm		Washington (MO)	W 76–59		JQH Arena (3,209) Springfield, MO
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Little Rock	L 66–67	0–1	JQH Arena (5,002) Springfield, MO
November 10, 2019* 2:00 pm, KOZL/ESPN+		Alabama State	W 59–50	1–1	JQH Arena (3,639) Springfield, MO
November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, KOZL/ESPN+		Cleveland State	W 73–53	2–1	JQH Arena (3,800) Springfield, MO
November 15, 2019* 6:00 pm, FSN		at No. 21 Xavier Charleston Classic campus game	L 56–59	2–2	Cintas Center (10,463) Cincinnati, OH
November 21, 2019* 10:30 am, ESPNU		vs. Miami (FL) Charleston Classic quarterfinals	L 70–74	2–3	TD Arena (2,914) Charleston, SC
November 22, 2019* 1:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Saint Joseph's Charleston Classic consolation 2nd round	W 71–69	3–3	TD Arena (3,245) Charleston, SC
November 24, 2019* 2:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Buffalo Charleston Classic 5th place game	L 74–75	3–4	TD Arena (3,122) Charleston, SC
November 29, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+		at LSU	W 73-58	3–5	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,892) Baton Rouge, LA
December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	W 71–69	4–5	JQH Arena (3,817) Springfield, MO
December 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, KOZL/ESPN3		Mississippi Valley State	W 86–62	5–5	JQH Arena (3,552) Springfield, MO
December 11, 2019* 7:00 pm, KOZL/ESPN+		Arkansas State	W 75–53	6–5	JQH Arena (3,891) Springfield, MO
December 15, 2019* 6:00 pm, MASN		at VCU	L 51–61	6–6	Stuart C. Siegel Center (7,693) Richmond, VA
December 21, 2019* 1:00 pm, KOZL		at Oral Roberts	L 72–82	6–7	Mabee Center (2,490) Tulsa, OK
MVC regular season
January 4, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 65–52	7–7 (1–0)	JGH Arena (4,206) Springfield, MO
January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, FSMW		at Loyola–Chicago	L 58–62	7–8 (1–1)	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,795) Chicago, IL
January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, KOZL/ESPN+		at Illinois State	W 67–63	8–8 (2–1)	Redbird Arena (3,656) Normal, IL
January 11, 2020 3:00 pm, FSMW		Northern Iowa	L 57–80	8–9 (2–2)	JGH Arena (3,520) Springfield, MO
January 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Bradley	L 78–90	8–10 (2–3)	JGH Arena (4,583) Springfield, MO
January 18, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 68–58	9–10 (3–3)	Ford Center (4,591) Evansville, IN
January 23, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN		at Valparaiso	W 67–60	10–10 (4–3)	JGH Arena (4,536) Springfield, Mo
January 26, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Drake	L 69–71	10–11 (4–4)	Knapp Center (3,593) Des Moines, IA
January 29, 2020 6:00 pm, FSMW		at Northern Iowa	W 95–66	10–12 (4–5)	McLeod Center (4,076) Cedar Falls, IA
February 1, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3		Indiana State	L 68–78	10–13 (4–6)	JGH Arena (4,284) Springfield, MO
February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Illinois State	W 80–60	11–13 (5–6)	JGH Arena (2,991) Springfield, MO
February 8, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Southern Illinois	L 66–68	11–14 (5–7)	Banterra Center (6,528) Carbondale, IL
February 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	W 97–62	12–14 (6–7)	JGH Arena (3,185) Springfield, MO
February 16, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPNU		at Indiana State	W 71–58	13–14 (7–7)	Hulman Center (3,988) Terre Haute, IN
February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, FSMW		at Bradley	L 79–83 OT	13–15 (7–8)	Carver Arena (5,708) Peoria, IL
February 22, 2020 2:30 pm, CBSSN		Loyola–Chicago	W 74–62	14–15 (8–8)	JGH Arena (4,251) Springfield, MO
February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	L 74–89	14–16 (8–9)	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,476) Valparaiso, IN
February 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3		Southern Illinois	W 84–59	15–16 (9–9)	JGH Arena (3,887) Springfield, MO
Missouri Valley tournament
March 6, 2020 8:35 pm, ESPN+	(6)	vs. (3) Indiana State Quarterfinals	W 78–51	16–16	Enterprise Center (6,521) St. Louis, MO
March 7, 2020 5:05 pm, CBSSN	(6)	vs. (7) Valparaiso Semifinals	L 82–89	16–17	Enterprise Center (8,145) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[1]