Missouri State basketball may be catching West Virginia at the perfect time. Here's why.
Opportunities to go in and beat a Power 5 team on the road haven't come around too often for Missouri State men's basketball. Monday night's opener for the Bears might present one of their best chances in quite a while.
Dana Ford, in his sixth season, will lead the Bears at West Virginia. The Mountaineers program underwent a chaotic offseason that resulted in the parting of ways with its Basketball Hall of Fame head coach, the depletion of its roster to the transfer portal and continued questions about who will be available come Monday night.
Missouri State hasn't beaten a Power 5 opponent since 2015 when Dequon Miller scored five points in the final 20 seconds to win at Oklahoma State in Paul Lusk's second-to-last season.
Typically a well-respected program, West Virginia enters Monday's 6 p.m. battle with many unknowns. Interim head coach Josh Eilert will lead the program as he's spent the last 16 seasons on the Mountaineer staff.
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Eilert takes over for Bob Huggins who left the program after a pair of offseason incidents that happened within a month and a half of each other. He used a homophobic slur during a radio appearance and was arrested and charged with a DUI a few weeks later
Seven players decided to transfer elsewhere. The combined five returners on the roster averaged 9.4 points per game and only four of them saw playing time. Three of the eight newcomers appear unlikely to play including:
Kerr Kriisa — Likely the team's starting point guard who is suspended for nine games after admitting to accepting impermissible benefits from his time at Arizona.
RaeQuan Battle — A projected starting shooting guard whose waiver was denied by the NCAA. The West Virginia Attorney General recently wrote a letter to the NCAA urging them to reconsider with the hopes of receiving a change by tip-off on Monday.
Akok Akok — A potential starter in the post who collapsed to the ground during the Mountaineers' exhibition game with a medical emergency that stopped the game for 15 minutes. He has already been ruled out for the opener.
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For Ford, it doesn't matter who is on the court for West Virginia when it takes the floor. He knows the Mountaineers have a roster full of players that could play at the Missouri Valley Conference level.
"Obviously, anytime you play a Power 5 team, they're going to be bigger, faster, stronger," Ford said. "They may not have all their players, but the thing about that level is, most of the teams at the level if they have eight or nine guys playing, all eight or nine of those guys can play at our level. It's not even a question. It'll be tough."
A lot of Missouri State's attention will go toward Syracuse transfer Jesse Edwards, a 6-foot-11 center, who averaged 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He was an All-ACC third-teamer and a member of its all-defensive team.
More: Who is on the Missouri State men's basketball roster heading into the 2023-24 season?
The Bears hope the positives they showed in their 100-51 exhibition win over Division III Westminster will carry over to the first game that counts. A nine-man rotation, led by point guard Matthew Lee on a minutes restriction, will be featured. Xavier transfer Cesare Edwards will continue to show he can be a standout in the Bears' offense after scoring 17 points on 7 of 9 shots in his exhibition debut.
The Bears won't win by 49 against the Mountaineers but with continuity on the roster and what's gone on in Morgantown this offseason, they're catching what has been a solid program at the perfect time.
"It's going to be an uphill battle for us," Ford said. "I like what we're doing, so we'll see."
How to watch Missouri State @ West Virginia
When: Monday, 6 p.m.
Where: Morgantown, West Virginia
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KWTO FM 93.3
How to watch MSU Lady Bears @ Little Rock
When: Monday, 5 p.m.
Where: Little Rock, Arkansas
Watch: ESPN+
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State basketball opens 2023-24 season at West Virginia
