Missouri State men's basketball opened its 2022-23 season with an 82-47 win over Division II Missouri S&T on Wednesday night in front of 3,008 at Great Southern Bank Arena.
It was an expected win for the Bears over a Division II opponent to begin Dana Ford's fifth season as the team's head coach. With 14 newcomers, the Bears will be further tested in the weeks ahead — starting next week at BYU.
Here were some things to like about the Bears and a few things to question heading into a more difficult portion of the schedule.
Like - The athleticism is unlike what the Bears have had under Ford
From the starting five to the six players coming off the bench (with more to come when two players get healthy), there is an obvious difference between how athletic the Bears are this year compared to what they have been in recent years.