# 2023–24 Missouri State Bears basketball team

The 2023–24 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by sixth-year head coach Dana Ford, played their home games at the Great Southern Bank Arena located in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

## Previous Season

The Bears finished the 2022–23 season 17–15, 12–8 in MVC play to finish in sixth place. They defeated UIC in the opening round of the MVC tournament, before losing in the quarterfinals to Southern Illinois.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 2, 2023* 7:00 pm | | Westminster (MO) | W 100–51 | – | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,292) Springfield, MO |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at West Virginia | L 59–67 | 0–1 | WVU Coliseum (9,691) Morgantown, WV |
| November 13, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Oral Roberts | W 84–69 | 1–1 | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,248) Springfield, MO |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Florida Gulf Coast Paradise Jam first round | W 70–61 | 2–1 | Sports and Fitness Center (724) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| November 19, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Kent State Paradise Jam semifinals | W 56–52 | 3–1 | Sports and Fitness Center (924) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| November 20, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Abilene Christian Paradise Jam championship | W 87–69 | 4–1 | Sports and Fitness Center (1,825) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| November 25, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Carolina State | W 92–74 | 5–1 | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,197) Springfield, MO |
| November 29, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 90–78 | 6–1 (1–0) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,692) Springfield, MO |
| December 2, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 57–74 | 6–2 (1–1) | Knapp Center (3,562) Des Moines, IA |
| December 5, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 73–77 $^{OT}$ | 6–3 | Murphy Center (2,605) Murfreesboro, TN |
| December 9, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sam Houston | W 69–60 | 7–3 | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,821) Springfield, MO |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tulsa | L 72–73 | 7–4 | Reynolds Center (3,558) Tulsa, OK |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lindenwood | W 79–57 | 8–4 | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,031) Springfield, MO |
| December 23, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Mary's | W 69–64 | 9–4 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,412) Moraga, CA |
| January 3, 2024 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | L 62–64 | 9–5 (1–2) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,276) Springfield, MO |
| January 6, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 60–86 | 9–6 (1–3) | Carver Arena (5,174) Peoria, IL |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | L 53–77 | 9–7 (1–4) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,109) Springfield, MO |
| January 13, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 74–64 | 10–7 (2–4) | Ford Center (3,978) Evansville, IN |
| January 16, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | L 66–88 | 10–8 (2–5) | Hulman Center (4,803) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 20, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Illinois State | L 60–69 | 10–9 (2–6) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,103) Springfield, MO |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Drake | W 83–80 $^{2OT}$ | 11–9 (3–6) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,461) Springfield, MO |
| January 27, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 81–70 | 12–9 (4–6) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,591) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 76–75 $^{OT}$ | 13–9 (5–6) | Banterra Center (5,002) Carbondale, IL |
| February 3, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | W 87–80 | 14–9 (6–6) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,412) Springfield, MO |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 65–72 | 14–10 (6–7) | McLeod Center (3,833) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 10, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | L 71–73 | 14–11 (6–8) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,517) Springfield, MO |
| February 14, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 72–82 | 14–12 (6–9) | CFSB Center (5,021) Murray, KY |
| February 17, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 82–74 | 15–12 (7–9) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,852) Springfield, MO |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 62–86 | 15–13 (7–10) | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO |
| February 24, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 78–93 | 15–14 (7–11) | Curb Event Center (3,261) Nashville, TN |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 74–75 | 15–15 (7–12) | CEFCU Arena (4,287) Normal, IL |
| March 3, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UIC | W 69–59 | 16–15 (8–12) | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO |
| MVC Tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2024 12:00 pm, MVC TV | (9) | vs. (8) Murray State Opening round | W 60–35 | 17–15 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| March 8, 2024 12:00 pm, MVC TV | (9) | vs. (1) Indiana State Quarterfinals | L 59–75 | 17–16 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: