Missouri State Bears basketball

The Missouri State Bears basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. The Bears compete in Conference USA. They are currently coached by Cuonzo Martin. Missouri State plays its home games at the 11,000-seat Great Southern Bank Arena.

Missouri State Bears basketball
2024–25 Missouri State Bears basketball team
University	Missouri State University
First season	1908
Head coach	Cuonzo Martin (1st of current stint, 4th overall season)
Conference	Conference USA
Location	Springfield, Missouri
Arena	Great Southern Bank Arena (capacity: 11,000)
Nickname	Bears
Student section	The Cave
Colors	Maroon and white[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1999
NCAA tournament appearances
Division I 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999 Division II 1958†, 1959*, 1966, 1967*, 1968, 1969*, 1970, 1973, 1974*, 1978 * National runner-up    † Elite Eight
NAIA tournament champions
1952, 1953
Other NAIA tournament results Appearances 1939, 1943, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954
Conference tournament champions Mid-Continent Conference 1987, 1989 Missouri Valley Conference 1992
Conference regular-season champions Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1928, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1978 Mid-Continent Conference 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 Missouri Valley Conference 2011

The Bears have been a Division I school since the 1982–83 season. Prior to 2005, the school was known as Southwest Missouri State. Missouri State has appeared six times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 1999. The Bears most notable NCAA tournament run came in 1999 when they advanced to the Sweet 16, defeating #5 seed Wisconsin and #4 seed Tennessee.

Prior to joining Division I, they were members of the NAIA, winning national championships in 1952 and 1953, and NCAA Division II, where they were the national runner-up four times (1959, 1967, 1969, 1974). They were also champions of the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Head coaches

Main article: List of Missouri State Bears basketball head coaches

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Bears have appeared in six NCAA Division I Tournaments, all as Southwest Missouri State. Their combined record is 3–6.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1987	No. 13	Round of 64 Round of 32	No. 4 Clemson #5 Kansas	W 65–60 L 63–67
1988	No. 13	Round of 64	No. 4 UNLV	L 50–54
1989	No. 14	Round of 64	No. 3 Seton Hall	L 51–60
1990	No. 9	Round of 64	No. 8 North Carolina	L 70–83
1992	No. 12	Round of 64	No. 5 Michigan State	L 54–61
1999	No. 12	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	No. 5 Wisconsin #4 Tennessee #1 Duke	W 43–32 W 81–51 L 61–78

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Bears appeared in ten NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 23–10.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1958	Regional Quarterfinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Centenary Regis South Dakota	W 74–69 W 73–65 L 58–63
1959	Regional Quarterfinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	Abilene Christian Centenary Hope Cal State Los Angeles Evansville	W 87–67 W 65–62 W 76–74 W 72–59 L 67–83
1966	Regional Semi-finals Regional Finals	Arkansas State Abilene Christian	W 72–71 L 58–63
1967	Regional Quarterfinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	Arkansas AM&N Lincoln (MO) Valparaiso Illinois State Winston-Salem State	W 83–80 W 87–77 W 86–72 W 93–76 L 74–77
1968	Regional Semi-finals Regional Finals	Colorado State-Pueblo Evansville	W 69–68 L 73–79
1969	Regional Quarterfinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	Saint Olaf South Dakota State Montclair State Ashland Kentucky Wesleyan	W 75–47 W 87–74 W 92–76 W 58–48 L 71–75
1970	Regional Semi-finals Regional 3rd Place Game	South Dakota State Cornell (IA)	L 71–82 W 76–65
1973	Regional Semi-finals Regional 3rd Place Game	South Dakota State Colorado State-Pueblo	L 74–85 W 76–62
1974	Regional Quarterfinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	North Dakota Kentucky Wesleyan Saint Joseph's (IN) New Orleans Morgan State	W 71–63 W 89–86 W 80–78 W 68–63 L 52–67
1978	Regional Semi-finals Regional Finals	Columbus State Lincoln (MO)	W 69–67 L 83–84

NAIA tournament results

The Bears appeared in six NAIA Tournaments. Their combined record is 15–4, and they are two-time NAIA national champions (1952, 1953).

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1939	First round	East Texas State	L 45–68
1943	First round	Murray State	L 44–72
1949	First round Second Round	Portland Beloit	W 59–56 L 47–66
1952	First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semi-finals National Championship Game	Chadron State Indiana State Morningside Texas State Murray State	W 87–66 W 82–64 W 87–74 W 70–67 W 73–64
1953	First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semi-finals National Championship Game	Gonzaga Stetson Nebraska Wesleyan Indiana State Hamline	W 95–74 W 98–71 W 78–74 W 84–78 W 79–71
1954	First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semi-finals National 3rd Place Game	East Tennessee State Gustavus Adolphus Texas State Western Illinois Arkansas Tech	W 77–72 W 66–57 W 65–59 OT L 75–78 W 75–61

NIT results

The Bears have appeared in 10 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 10–10.^[2]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1986	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Pittsburgh Marquette Florida	W 59–52 W 83–69 L 53–54
1991	First round Second Round	Coppin State Southern Illinois	W 57–47 L 69–72
1993	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	St. Joseph's Jackson State UAB	W 56–34 W 70–52 L 52–61
1997	First round	North Carolina State	L 66–77
2000	First round Second Round	SMU Mississippi	W 77–64 L 48–70
2005	First round Second Round	Rice Davidson	W 105–82 L 76–86
2006	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Stanford Houston Louisville	W 76–67 W 60–59 L 56–74
2007	First round	San Diego State	L 70–74
2011	First round Second Round	Murray State Miami (FL)	W 89–76 L 72–81
2022	First round	Oklahoma	L 72–89

CIT results

The Bears have appeared in two CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments (CIT). Their combined record is 4–1 and were the 2010 Champions.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2010	First round Quarterfinals Semi-finals Finals	Middle Tennessee State Louisiana Tech Creighton Pacific	W 87–79 W 69–40 W 67–61 W 78–65
2014	First round	Murray State	L 63–66

Retired numbers

Main article: List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers

Missouri State Bears retired numbers
No.	Player	Tenure	No. ret.	Ref.
22	Winston Garland	1985–1987		[3]
32	Danny Moore	1996-1999	2023
32	Daryel Garrison [n 1]	1971–1975	2008	[3]
43	Jerry Anderson	1951–1955		[3]
54	Curtis Perry	1966–1970		[3]

Notes

1. Bears all-time leading scorer with 1,975 points.

Bears in NBA

Draft

The following former Missouri State players were drafted into the NBA:

• Don Anielak
• Merton Bancroft
• Joe Beck
• Winston Garland
• Forrest Hamilton
• Keith Hilliard
• Jack Israel
• Alize Johnson
• Bud Julian
• Bill Lea
• Jonathan Mogbo
• Curtis Perry
• Russ Robinson
• Lou Shephard
• Preston Ward