Missouri State Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Bears

CHARLESTON, SC - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Dana Ford of the Missouri State Bears reacts to a call during a first round Charleston Classic basketball game against the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes at the TD Arena on November 21, 2019 in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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Missouri State Basketball’s Gaige Prim Tbears Bb00207 /

This could be the year Missouri State basketball fulfills its enormous potential. The Bears have stacked together three straight outstanding recruiting classes and enter the season with what many call the most talented team in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Bears’ coach Dana Ford’s team was favored to win 2020 MVC title and finished sixth. Last year’s team (17-7) was picked to finish sixth and wound up third with a 12-6 league mark. The Bears were a bit of an enigma with stat lines that would typically equate to league title, but coming in third.

MSU was the Valley’s top rebounding team, finished first in free-throw percentage and defensive field goal percentage. They were the league’s second-highest scoring team. While they were efficient offensively the Bears were the Valley’s worst at creating turnovers and wound up last in ‘turnover margin’.

Missouri State has the best one-two punch in the league. Guard Isiaih Mosley and forward Gaige Prim are the conference’s most dangerous duo. While Mosley led the league in scoring (19.8 ppg) and free-throw percentage (.847), Prim was third in scoring (16.7) and led the conference in rebounding (9.1 per game). Both were all-league performers.

Ford has the luxury of seeing virtually every player of significance returning and two important additions to his roster. This is the most talented Bears’ squad in over a decade and is a team that looks like it could end MSU’s 22-year NCAA Tournament drought.

MSU is looking for its first regular-season title since the Cuonzo Martin-led 2010-11 team and their first league tournament championship since Charley Spoonhour sparked the then, Southwest Missouri State team to an Arch Madness crown.