Missouri State Bears basketball

Missouri State Bears
2024–25 Missouri State Bears basketball team
University	Missouri State University
First season	1908
Athletic director	Kyle Moats
Head coach	Cuonzo Martin (4th 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[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament runner-up
1959*, 1967*, 1969*, 1974*
NCAA tournament Final Four
1959*, 1967*, 1969*, 1974*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1958*, 1959*, 1967*, 1969*, 1974*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1958*, 1959*, 1966*, 1967*, 1968*, 1969*, 1974*, 1978*, 1999
NCAA tournament round of 32
1958*, 1959*, 1966*, 1967*, 1968*, 1969*, 1970*, 1973*, 1974*, 1978*, 1987, 1999
NCAA tournament appearances
1958*, 1959*, 1966*, 1967*, 1968*, 1969*, 1970*, 1973*, 1974*, 1978*, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999 * at Division II level
NAIA tournament champions
1952, 1953
Conference tournament champions
Mid-Continent Conference 1987, 1989 Missouri Valley Conference 1992
Conference regular season champions
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1928, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1978 Mid-Continent Conference 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 Missouri Valley Conference 2011

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.