Missouri State Bears basketball
| Missouri State Bears basketball | |||||
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| University | Missouri State University | ||||
| First season | 1908 | ||||
| Head coach | Cuonzo Martin (1st of current stint, 4th overall season) | ||||
| Conference | Missouri Valley (Conference USA in 2025–26) | ||||
| Location | Springfield, Missouri | ||||
| Arena | Great Southern Bank Arena (capacity: 11,000) | ||||
| Nickname | Bears | ||||
| Student section | The Cave | ||||
| Colors | Maroon and white | ||||
| Uniforms | |||||
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| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||||
| 1999 | |||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||||
| Division I 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999 Division II 1958†, 1959*, 1966, 1967*, 1968, 1969*, 1970, 1973, 1974*, 1978 * National runner-up † Elite Eight | |||||
| NAIA tournament champions | |||||
| 1952, 1953 | |||||
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The Missouri State Bears basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. The Bears compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are currently coached by Cuonzo Martin. Missouri State plays its home games at the 11,000-seat Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Bears have been a Division I school since the 1982–83 season. Prior to 2005, the school was known as Southwest Missouri State. Missouri State has appeared six times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 1999. The Bears most notable NCAA tournament run came in 1999 when they advanced to the Sweet 16, defeating #5 seed Wisconsin and #4 seed Tennessee.
Prior to joining Division I, they were members of the NAIA, winning national championships in 1952 and 1953, and NCAA Division II, where they were the national runner-up four times (1959, 1967, 1969, 1974). They were also champions of the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.