# 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.

## 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.

## 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