ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced Tuesday (Sept. 22), the men’s basketball conference schedules for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
Missouri State will open its 31st season in the Missouri Valley on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at Northern Iowa, followed by a nine-game slate in January and eight contests in February. The regular season culminates with the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, March 4-7.
“We are looking forward to the season ahead,” said Bears head coach Dana Ford. “With some start dates and direction from the NCAA and The Valley, we can start working on finalizing our non-conference schedule and getting started.”
Missouri State’s January home games include Evansville (Jan. 2), Loyola (Jan. 7), Southern Illinois (Jan. 13), Illinois State (Jan. 23) and UNI (Jan. 27). In February, the Bears are slated to host Drake (Feb. 6), Valparaiso (Feb. 13), Indiana State (Feb. 17) and Bradley (Feb. 24). The Bears will be on the road for their MVC finale at SIU on Feb. 27.
Last week, the NCAA announced a Nov. 25 regular-season competition start date for Division I men’s and women’s basketball while reducing the number of allowable contests by four and eliminating all preseason exhibition games.
Ford, who is entering his third season as MSU head coach, noted he and his staff are actively working on the Bears’ non-conference schedule, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
