Southeast Missouri (10-8, 2-2 OVC) at Tennessee State (10-7, 4-0 OVC)

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Date: Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013
Tip-Off: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Site: Gentry Center (10,500)
Series: TSU leads, 23-17
Coaches: Dickey Nutt (231-256 overall, 42-69 at Southeast, 20-36 OVC). Travis Williams (52-52 overall, 10-7 at Tennessee State, 4-0 OVC).

Southeast Missouri Game Notes

Media Coverage
Redhawks Radio Network: K103 FM (KEZS), flagship; 1440 AM (KSIM); 903 AM (KWOC); 1470 AM (KMAL). Erik Sean, Play-by-Play.
Webcast: OVC Digital Network                                   
Live Stats: TSUTigers.com
Facebook: GoSoutheast
Twitter: @GoSoutheast

Quick Tips

Redhawks Continue Road Swing
Southeast Missouri (10-8, 2-2) returns to action at Ohio Valley Conference East Division leader Tennessee State (10-7, 4-0) Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., CT, at the Gentry Center.
   
First OVC Road Swing
Southeast closes out its first Ohio Valley Conference road trip at Tennessee State. The Redhawks suffered their first road loss in league play when they fell, 107-72, at Belmont Thursday. Southeast is currently 4-4 in away games this season.   

Two-Game Skid
After starting Ohio Valley Conference play with back-to-back come-from-behind victories against UT Martin (Dec. 29) and Austin Peay (Jan. 3), the Redhawks enter Saturday's matchup on a two-game losing skid after falling to Murray State (Jan. 5) and Belmont (Jan. 10). Southeast suffered back-to-back losses for the third time and has not been on a losing streak of more than three games this season.

Against the East Division
Southeast is currently 0-1 against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference's East Division. The Redhawks dropped their first-ever meeting against Belmont at the Curb Event Center Thursday. Southeast tipped off OVC play with a three-game homestand against West Division rivals UT Martin (Dec. 29), Austin Peay (Jan. 3) and Murray State (Jan. 5).

Series History
The Redhawks trail their all-time series against Tennessee State by a count of 23-17. Southeast is looking to end a four-game losing streak against the Tigers, as the Redhawks have dropped seven of the last eight meetings between these teams. Southeast is 1-4 vs. TSU under head coach Dickey Nutt. That win came during Nutt's first year in 2009-10, a 74-66 road victory on Dec. 5.

Another Tall Order
Ohio Valley Conference East Division leader Tennessee State is on a league-best five-game winning streak and is undefeated at 4-0 in conference play. The Tigers are also a perfect 6-0 at the Gentry Center as one of three OVC teams left with undefeated home records. Belmont (5-0) and Eastern Kentucky (9-0) are the others. TSU has not lost since Dec. 18 (77-48, at Middle Tennessee) when its top player, Robert Covington, suffered a torn meniscus Covington is expected to miss at least five   more games and was averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game at the time of his injury. The Tigers have not been beaten since Covington has been out.

Keeping Up with Jones
Junior guard A.J. Jones is starting to come into his own. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Jones scored double figures in three-straight games. He scored 16 points and helped key a 16-2 run which led to Southeast's victory over Austin Peay (Jan. 3). Jones scored 10 points during that decisive surge that gave the Redhawks an eight-point lead with 2:41 left. Two days later, he poured in 20 points to lead all Southeast scorers against Murray State. Most recently, Jones dropped in 13 points at Belmont (Jan. 10). He shot 52.7 percent (19-of-36) and averaged 16.3 points per game during that stretch.

Stealin' the Show
Marland Smith needs only three more steals to reach 100 in his career. Smith, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists in 27 minutes off the bench at Belmont (Jan. 10), has 97 steals in 111 career games at Southeast. He is tied for third on the team with 12 steals this year.

Johnson Among Southeast Leaders in Blocks
Nino Johnson ranks among Southeast's all-time single-season and career blocks leaders. Johnson leads the team, ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference and rates 28th in the nation with 47 swats. He finished as the Redhawks top shot-blocker in 14 games this season. Johnson's 47 blocks in 2012-13 currently stand sixth among the school's single-season leaders. Meanwhile, his 55 career blocks are ninth.

Tighten Up the Defense
Tennessee State is second-to-last in the Ohio Valley Conference in field goal percentage and is currently the worst three-point shooting team in the league. The Tigers are making just 41.9 percent (387-of-923) from the floor and shooting 31.1 percent (97-of-312) from beyond the arc.