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
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	17–7 (12–6 MVC)
Head coach	Dana Ford (3rd season)
Associate head coach	Corey Gipson
Assistant coaches	Jase Herl Sheldon Everett
Home arena	JQH Arena

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

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.

Roster

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 Dana Ford (Illinois State) Assistant coach(es) Corey Gipson (Austin Peay) Jase Herl (Colorado Mesa) Sheldon Everett (South Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 29, 2020

Schedule and results

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