2017–18 Missouri State Bears basketball team

American college basketball season

2017–18 Missouri State Bears basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record18–15 (7–11 MVC)
Head coach
  • Paul Lusk (7th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Corey Gipson
  • Matt Sligh
  • Keith Pickens
Home arenaJQH Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Loyola Chicago † 15 – 3   .833 32 – 6   .842
Southern Illinois 11 – 7   .611 20 – 13   .606
Illinois State 10 – 8   .556 18 – 15   .545
Drake 10 – 8   .556 17 – 17   .500
Bradley 9 – 9   .500 20 – 13   .606
Indiana State 8 – 10   .444 13 – 18   .419
Missouri State 7 – 11   .389 18 – 15   .545
Evansville 7 – 11   .389 17 – 15   .531
Northern Iowa 7 – 11   .389 16 – 16   .500
Valparaiso 6 – 12   .333 15 – 17   .469
† 2018 MVC tournament winner

The 2017–18 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by seventh-year head coach Paul Lusk, played their home games at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. Despite being the preseason favorite in the MVC, the Bears finished the 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]

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2016–17 season 17–16, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals before losing to Wichita State in the semifinals.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Jordan Martin 0 F 6'8" 235 Senior St. Louis, MO Graduated
Robin Thompson 1 F 6'6" 224 RS Sophomore St. Louis, MO Transferred to Maryville
Dequon Miller 4 G 5'10" 176 Senior Charleston, WV Graduated
Austin Ruder 15 G 6'3" 199 Senior Nixa, MO Graduated
Chris Kendrix 33 F 6'5" 185 Junior Willard, MO Graduate transferred to Minnesota State
Tyler McCullough 50 C 6'11" 252 Senior Fayetteville, AR Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Abdul-Hakim Fofana 0 F 6'7" 220 Junior Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso Junior college transferred from Dakota College at Bottineau
Reggie Scurry 2 F 6'7" 220 Junior Atlanta, GA Junior college transferred from Northern Oklahoma College
James Miller 23 G 6'4" 185 RS Senior Clinton, NC Transferred from Howard. Will be eligible to play immediately since Miller graduated from Howard.
Tanveer Bhullar 34 C 7'2" 285 RS Senior Toronto, ON Transferred from New Mexico. Will be eligible to play immediately since Bhullar graduated from New Mexico State.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jared Ridder
SF 		Springfield, MO Kickapoo High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 8, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 81
Darian Scott
#67 C 		Las Vegas, NV Centennial High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 4, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN grade: 68
Mustafa Lawrence
PG 		Las Vegas, NV Forest Hills High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oct 22, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NA
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:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2017.

Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Bears were picked to win the MVC, receiving 30 of 40 first place votes.[4] Senior forward Alize Johnson was named the preseason MVC Player of the Year.[4]

Roster

2017–18 Missouri State Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Abdul Fofana 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Jr Saint Exupery French Secondary School
Dakota College 		Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
G 1 Mustafa Lawrence 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr Essex County Vocational Newark, NJ
F 2 Reggie Scurry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Jr North Clayton
Northern Oklahoma College 		Atlanta, GA
G 3 James Byrd (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Park Hill South
Penn Valley CC 		Kansas City, MO
F 5 Onediah Church 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Springfield Springfield, IL
G 11 Jarred Dixon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Jr Lee's Summit West Kansas City, MO
G 13 Greg Williams 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Home School Houston, TX
G 14 Ronnie Rousseau III 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Sr Winton Woods
State Fair CC 		Cincinnati, OH
F 15 Jarrid Rhodes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Palmetto
Northern Oklahoma College 		Palmetto, FL
G 20 Ryan Kreklow 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Jr Rock Bridge Columbia, MO
G 21 Ross Owens (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) So Woodlawn Woodlawn, IL
G 23 J. T. Miller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Mt. Zion
Howard 		Clinton, NC
F 24 Alize Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Sr St. John Neumann
Frank Phillips College 		Williamsport, PA
C 25 Darian Scott 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Centennial Las Vegas, NV
C 34 Tanveer Bhullar 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 278 lb (126 kg) RS Sr Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary
New Mexico State 		Etobicoke, ON
F 35 Jared Ridder (W) Current redshirt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Kickapoo
Xavier 		Springfield, MO
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 21, 2017*
12:00 pm 		at Kansas State L 62–78 
Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, KS
Nov 1, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Southwest Baptist W 83–56 
JQH Arena (3,926)
Springfield, MO
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Western Kentucky W 85–80  1–0
 E. A. Diddle Arena (5,241)
Bowling Green, KY
Nov 15, 2017*
5:30 pm, ESPN3 		Southern W 86–58  2–0
 JQH Arena (4,876)
Springfield, MO
Nov 17, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		North Dakota State L 54–57  2–1
 JQH Arena (4,703)
Springfield, MO
Nov 20, 2017*
12:30 pm 		vs. Georgia Southern
Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals 		L 73–74  2–2
 Germain Arena (823)
Estero, FL
Nov 21, 2017*
10:00 am 		vs. Manhattan
Gulf Coast Showcase consolation round 		W 69–65  3–2
 Germain Arena (841)
Estero, FL
Nov 22, 2017*
12:30 pm 		at Florida Atlantic
Gulf Coast Showcase 5th place game 		W 71–60  4–2
 Germain Arena (868)
Estero, FL
Nov 24, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Evangel W 80–48  5–2
 JQH Arena (3,485)
Springfield, MO
Nov 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Colorado State
MV–MVC Challenge 		W 77–67  6–2
 JQH Arena (4,895)
Springfield, MO
Dec 2, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at South Dakota State W 73–53  7–2
 Frost Arena (2,001)
Sioux Falls, SD
Dec 2, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at North Dakota State W 71–58  8–2
 Scheels Arena (1,704)
Fargo, ND
Dec 8, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Hampton W 88–75  9–2
 JQH Arena (4,612)
Springfield, MO
Dec 10, 2017*
3:00 pm 		at Oral Roberts L 66–73  9–3
 Mabee Center (2,331)
Tulsa, OK
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Wright State W 66–50  10–3
 JQH Arena (3,123)
Springfield, MO
Missouri Valley regular season
Dec 22, 2017
8:00 pm, FSMW 		at Loyola–Chicago W 64–59  11–3
(1–0) 		JQH Arena (4583)
Springfield, MO
Dec 31, 2017
3:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Valparaiso W 67–50  12–3
(2–0) 		Athletics–Recreation Center (2,440)
Valparaiso, IN
Jan 4, 2018
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		Northern Iowa W 62–55  13–3
(3–0) 		JQH Arena (4,934)
Springfield, MO
Jan 7, 2018
1:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Illinois State L 68–72  13–4
(3–1) 		Redbird Arena (4,344)
Normal, IL
Jan 10, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Evansville L 55–64  13–5
(3–2) 		Ford Center (3,237)
Evansville, IN
Jan 14, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Indiana State W 76–73  14–5
(4–2) 		JQH Arena (4,137)
Springfield, MO
Jan 17, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Valparaiso W 64–57  15–5
(5–2) 		JQH Arena (4,876)
Springfield, MO
Jan 20, 2018
3:00 pm, FSMW 		at Drake L 58–61  15–6
(5–3) 		Knapp Center (3,647)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 23, 2018
7:00 pm 		at Bradley L 52–72  15–7
(5–4) 		Carver Arena (5,041)
Peoria, IL
Jan 27, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPNU 		Southern Illinois L 77–79  15–8
(5–5) 		JQH Arena (6,724)
Springfield, MO
Jan 30, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Illinois State L 60–76  15–9
(5–6) 		JQH Arena (4,545)
Springfield, MO
Feb 3, 2018
1:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Loyola–Chicago L 75–97  15–10
(5–7) 		Joseph J. Gentile Arena 
Chicago, IL
Feb 6, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Indiana State W 81–62  16–10
(6–7) 		Hulman Center (4,040)
Terre Haute, IN
Feb 10, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Evansville W 72–55  17–10
(7–7) 		JQH Arena (3,358)
Springfield, MO
Feb 14, 2018
7:00 pm, FSMW 		at Southern Illinois L 80–81 OT 17–11
(7–8) 		SIU Arena (4,285)
Carbondale, IL
Feb 18, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPNU 		Drake L 63–67  17–12
(7–9) 		JQH Arena (4,859)
Springfield, MO
Feb 21, 2018
7:00 pm, FSMW 		Bradley L 78–82  17–13
(7–10) 		JQH Arena (4,054)
Springfield, MO
Feb 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Northern Iowa L 56–71  17–14
(7–11) 		McLeod Center (4,834)
Cedar Falls, IA
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 1, 2018
8:30 pm, ESPN3 		(7) vs. (10) Valparaiso
First round 		W 83–79  18–14
 Scottrade Center (4,852)
St. Louis, MO
Mar 2, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		(7) vs. (2) Southern Illinois
Quarterfinals 		L 63–67  18–15
 Scottrade Center (7,077)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Rothstein, Jon (March 3, 2018). "Missouri State fires Paul Lusk". fanragsports.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "Sources: Missouri State parts ways with Lusk". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (March 21, 2018). "Missouri State hiring Dana Ford of Tennessee State". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Missouri State Picked to Win MVC Men's Basketball". Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "Missouri State Bears Basketball 2017-18 Schedule - Bears Home and Away - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "Missouri State University Official Athletic Site". www.missouristatebears.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
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