2020–21 Missouri State Bears basketball team

The 2020–21 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by third-year head coach Dana Ford, played their home games at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. In a season limited by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 17–7, 12–6 in MVC play to finish in third place. They defeated Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament before losing to Drake in the semifinals.

2020–21 Missouri State Bears basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record17–7 (12–6 MVC)
Head coach
Associate head coachCorey Gipson
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJQH Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Loyola Chicago 16 2   .889 26 5   .839
Drake 15 3   .833 26 5   .839
Missouri State 12 6   .667 17 7   .708
Indiana State 11 7   .611 15 10   .600
Evansville 7 11   .389 9 16   .360
Valparaiso 7 11   .389 10 18   .357
Northern Iowa 7 11   .389 10 15   .400
Bradley 6 12   .333 12 16   .429
Southern Illinois 5 13   .278 12 14   .462
Illinois State 4 14   .222 7 18   .280
2021 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Bears finished the 2019–20 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 Valparaiso. All postseason play was thereafter canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Roster

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2020–21 Missouri State Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 DeMarcus Sharp 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Charleston HS
Colby CC
Charleston, MO
G 1 Isiaih Mosley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 201 lb (91 kg) So Rock Bridge HS Columbia, MO
G 2 Elijah Bridgers 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Kickapoo HS Springfield, MO
G 3 Spencer Brown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS Sr Fayetteville HS
Lyon College
Fayetteville, AR
G 4 Ja'Monta Black 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Rock Bridge HS Columbia, MO
G 5 Jake Branham   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 172 lb (78 kg) RS So Springfield Catholic HS
Central Methodist
Springfield, MO
G 11 Raphe Ayres 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Fr Vermont Academy Arlington, VT
F 13 Melvyn Ebonkoli 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 227 lb (103 kg) Fr Putnam Science Academy Trappes, France
G/F 14 Keaton Hervey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Cedar Park HS
New Mexico JC
Cedar Park, TX
F 20 Nic Tata 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 261 lb (118 kg) Jr Mt. Eliza Secondary
Blinn CC
Melbourne, Australia
C 25 Darian Scott 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Jr Centennial HS Las Vegas, NV
C 33 Dawson Carper 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 278 lb (126 kg) Jr Rampart HS
Hawaii
Colorado Springs, CO
F 34 Jared Ridder 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Kickapoo HS
Xavier
Springfield, MO
F 44 Gaige Prim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Grandview HS
South Plains CC
Aurora, CO
G 52 Lu'Cye Patterson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Minnesota Prep Academy Minneapolis, MN
G 55 Skylar Wicks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Surge Christian Academy Jersey City, NJ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: December 29, 2020

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
December 16, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
William Jewell W 73–64  1–0
JQH Arena (1,279)
Springfield, MO
December 19, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Northwestern State W 94–67  2–0
JQH Arena (1,064)
Springfield, MO
December 21, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Little Rock W 85–77  3–0
JQH Arena (1,201)
Springfield, MO
December 27, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Iowa W 79–59  4–0
(1–0)
McLeod Center (668)
Cedar Falls, IA
December 28, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Iowa L 75–85  4–1
(1–1)
McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA
January 2, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Indiana State W 84–74  5–1
(2–1)
JQH Arena (1,139)
Springfield, MO
January 3, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Indiana State W 70–66  6–1
(3–1)
JQH Arena (1,139)
Springfield, MO
January 9, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Valparaiso W 81–68  7–1
(4–1)
Athletics–Recreation Center 
Valparaiso, IN
January 10, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Valparaiso W 78–68  8–1
(5–1)
Athletics–Recreation Center (80)
Valparaiso, IN
January 17, 2021*
5:00 pm
Missouri S&T W 94–49  9–1
JQH Arena (592)
Springfield, MO
January 26, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Drake L 61–68  9–2
(5–2)
JQH Arena (1,989)
Springfield, MO
January 27, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN+
Drake L 73–78  9–3
(5–3)
JQH Arena (1,744)
Springfield, MO
January 31, 2021
2:00 pm, CBSSN
Loyola L 46–72  9–4
(5–4)
JQH Arena (1,505)
Springfield, MO
February 1, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Loyola L 50–70  9–5
(5–5)
JQH Arena (1,122)
Springfield, MO
February 6, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Illinois State W 74–67  10–5
(6–5)
Redbird Arena 
Normal, IL
February 7, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Illinois State W 72–62  11–5
(7–5)
Redbird Arena 
Normal, IL
February 10, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Southern Illinois W 65–53  12–5
(8–5)
JQH Arena (917)
Springfield, MO
February 13, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Bradley W 80–58  13–5
(9–5)
JQH Arena (1,372)
Springfield, MO
February 14, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN+
Bradley W 72–57  14–5
(10–5)
JQH Arena (801)
Springfield, MO
February 17, 2020
8:15 pm, ESPN3
at Southern Illinois W 68–53  15–5
(11–5)
Banterra Center 
Carbondale, IL
February 26, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Evansville W 90–81  16–5
(12–5)
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
February 27, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Evansville L 63–72  16–6
(12–6)
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
MVC tournament
March 5, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(3) vs. (6) Valparaiso
Quarterfinals
W 66–55  17–6
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2021
3:00 pm, CBSSN
(3) vs. (2) Drake
Semifinals
L 69–71  17–7
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[2]

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA cancels March Madness tournaments, all other winter and spring championships". NBC News. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "2020–21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Missouri State. Retrieved December 29, 2020.