Preview: Missouri State Bears vs. Florida International Golden Panthers HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Interstat) — Two teams seeking a winning record and momentum in the Conference USA tournament will meet when the seed Florida International Golden Panthers face the seed Missouri State Bears in a first-round men’s basketball game Tuesday. The matchup at Propst Arena is a rubber game, with each team winning on its home floor during the regular season. Florida International (15-16) edged Missouri State 70-67 on Feb. 21, while the Bears (14-17) won 79-71 on Jan. 10. Both teams enter the postseason on uneven trajectories. The Golden Panthers are coming off a dominant 92-67 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday, led by Corey Stephenson’s 18 points and eight rebounds. However, they had lost three of their previous four games before that. Missouri State has lost two straight and six of its last eight, including a 75-63 loss to Middle Tennessee in its regular-season finale. In that game, standout forward Michael Osei-Bonsu scored 20 points. Osei-Bonsu will be a primary focus for the Bears. The versatile forward is averaging 18.1 points over his last eight games, though he was held to six points in the loss at Florida International last month. He will need support from guards Kobi Williams and Keith Palek to advance. For Florida International, Stephenson has been consistently productive, averaging 17.1 points over his last eight contests. He scored 17 points with six rebounds in the February win over Missouri State. His frontcourt matchup with Osei-Bonsu will be pivotal. The winner will advance to face the tournament’s top seed in the quarterfinals on Thursday. With nearly identical records and a split season series, Tuesday’s contest is expected to be a closely contested elimination game where defense and rebounding will likely determine who extends their season.