2023–24 Missouri State Bears basketball team

The 2023–24 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by sixth-year head coach Dana Ford, played their home games at the Great Southern Bank Arena located in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

2023–24 Missouri State Bears basketball
Paradise Jam Tournament champions
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	17–16 (8–12 MVC)
Head coach	Dana Ford (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Sheldon Everett Buzzy Caruthers Jay Spoonhour
Home arena	Great Southern Bank Arena
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Indiana State	17	–	3		.850			32	–	7		.821
Drake †	16	–	4		.800			28	–	7		.800
Bradley	13	–	7		.650			23	–	12		.657
Northern Iowa	12	–	8		.600			19	–	14		.576
Belmont	12	–	8		.600			20	–	13		.606
Southern Illinois	11	–	9		.550			19	–	13		.594
Illinois State	9	–	11		.450			15	–	17		.469
Murray State	9	–	11		.450			12	–	20		.375
Missouri State	8	–	12		.400			17	–	16		.515
Evansville	6	–	14		.300			17	–	18		.486
UIC	4	–	16		.200			12	–	21		.364
Valparaiso	3	–	17		.150			7	–	25		.219
† 2024 MVC tournament winner

Previous Season

The Bears finished the 2022–23 season 17–15, 12–8 in MVC play to finish in sixth place.^[1] They defeated UIC in the opening round of the MVC tournament,^[2] before losing in the quarterfinals to Southern Illinois.^[3]

Roster

2023–24 Missouri State Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Chance Moore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Arkansas Brookhaven, Georgia G 1 Alston Mason 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Oklahoma Overland Park, Kansas G 2 Davion Hill 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Neumann Regional Academy Williamsport, Pennsylvania G 3 Tyler Bey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Overtime Elite Newark, New Jersey F 4 Cesare Edwards 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Xavier Hartsville, South Carolina G/F 5 Donovan Clay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Valparaiso Alton, Illinois G 10 Damien Mayo Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Link Year Prep St. Louis, Missouri G 11 Raphe Ayres 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Vermont Academy Arlington, Virginia G 15 Matthew Lee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Saint Peter's San Juan, Puerto Rico G 20 Tommy Pinegar 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Greenwood Laboratory School Springfield, Missouri G 21 Nick Kramer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Saint Louis St. Louis, Missouri G 23 Kanon Gipson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Fr We Are United Prep Rogersville, Missouri F 33 Dawson Carper 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Hawaii Colorado Springs, Colorado F 35 N.J. Benson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Mt. Vernon Township High School Mount Vernon, Illinois	Head coach Dana Ford (Illinois State) Assistant coach(es) Sheldon Everett (South Carolina) Buzzy Caruthers (Hampton) Jay Spoonhour (Pittsburg State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 18, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2023* 7:00 pm		Westminster (MO)	W 100–51	–	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,292) Springfield, MO
Regular season
November 6, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at West Virginia	L 59–67	0–1	WVU Coliseum (9,691) Morgantown, WV
November 13, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Oral Roberts	W 84–69	1–1	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,248) Springfield, MO
November 17, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Florida Gulf Coast Paradise Jam first round	W 70–61	2–1	Sports and Fitness Center (724) Saint Thomas, USVI
November 19, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Kent State Paradise Jam semifinals	W 56–52	3–1	Sports and Fitness Center (924) Saint Thomas, USVI
November 20, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Abilene Christian Paradise Jam championship	W 87–69	4–1	Sports and Fitness Center (1,825) Saint Thomas, USVI
November 25, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		South Carolina State	W 92–74	5–1	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,197) Springfield, MO
November 29, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 90–78	6–1 (1–0)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,692) Springfield, MO
December 2, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake	L 57–74	6–2 (1–1)	Knapp Center (3,562) Des Moines, IA
December 5, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Middle Tennessee	L 73–77 OT	6–3	Murphy Center (2,605) Murfreesboro, TN
December 9, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Sam Houston	W 69–60	7–3	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,821) Springfield, MO
December 16, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tulsa	L 72–73	7–4	Reynolds Center (3,558) Tulsa, OK
December 19, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Lindenwood	W 79–57	8–4	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,031) Springfield, MO
December 23, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Mary's	W 69–64	9–4	University Credit Union Pavilion (3,412) Moraga, CA
January 3, 2024 8:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Iowa	L 62–64	9–5 (1–2)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,276) Springfield, MO
January 6, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bradley	L 60–86	9–6 (1–3)	Carver Arena (5,174) Peoria, IL
January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	L 53–77	9–7 (1–4)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,109) Springfield, MO
January 13, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 74–64	10–7 (2–4)	Ford Center (3,978) Evansville, IN
January 16, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	L 66–88	10–8 (2–5)	Hulman Center (4,803) Terre Haute, IN
January 20, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Illinois State	L 60–69	10–9 (2–6)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,103) Springfield, MO
January 24, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	W 83–80 2OT	11–9 (3–6)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,461) Springfield, MO
January 27, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	W 81–70	12–9 (4–6)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,591) Valparaiso, IN
January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	W 76–75 OT	13–9 (5–6)	Banterra Center (5,002) Carbondale, IL
February 3, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Belmont	W 87–80	14–9 (6–6)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,412) Springfield, MO
February 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	L 65–72	14–10 (6–7)	McLeod Center (3,833) Cedar Falls, IA
February 10, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Indiana State	L 71–73	14–11 (6–8)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,517) Springfield, MO
February 14, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Murray State	L 72–82	14–12 (6–9)	CFSB Center (5,021) Murray, KY
February 17, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 82–74	15–12 (7–9)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,852) Springfield, MO
February 21, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Bradley	L 62–86	15–13 (7–10)	Great Southern Bank Arena  Springfield, MO
February 24, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Belmont	L 78–93	15–14 (7–11)	Curb Event Center (3,261) Nashville, TN
February 28, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Illinois State	L 74–75	15–15 (7–12)	CEFCU Arena (4,287) Normal, IL
March 3, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		UIC	W 69–59	16–15 (8–12)	Great Southern Bank Arena  Springfield, MO
MVC Tournament
March 7, 2024 12:00 pm, MVC TV	(9)	vs. (8) Murray State Opening round	W 60–35	17–15	Enterprise Center  St. Louis, MO
March 8, 2024 12:00 pm, MVC TV	(9)	vs. (1) Indiana State Quarterfinals	L 59–75	17–16	Enterprise Center  St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[4][5]