Missouri State was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference and it's now time to see if the Bears can live up to expectations despite an up-and-down non-conference season.
The Bears open up MVC play on Tuesday at 4 p.m. against an Evansville (9-4) team that will be without its head coach.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Bears going into Valley play:
1. Bears aren’t living up to expectations
After an offseason of hype and high-expectations, Missouri State didn’t show up defensively on opening night when it allowed a go-ahead bucket with four seconds remaining to lose by one.