Southeast Missouri (7-2) vs. Illinois-Chicago (3-6)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Site: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: Southeast leads, 1-0
Head Coaches: Dickey Nutt (245-266 overall; 56-79 at Southeast; 26-42 OVC). Howard Moore (36-68
    overall; 36-68 at Illinois-Chicago)


Media Coverage
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM; Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean, Play-by-Play; Todd Bonacki, Analyst
Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter Updates: @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri

Southeast Returns Home
Southeast Missouri (7-2) returns home to host Illinois-Chicago (3-6) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Action
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean and Todd Bonacki will call the action. Video can be accessed online at the OVC Digital Network and live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com.

Winter Wonderland
Join Southeast Athletics for Rowdy's Winter Wonderland from 5-6:30 p.m. before Saturday's game between the Redhawks and Illinois-Chicago. Kids age 14 and under receive FREE admission. The event features hot chocolate, cookie decorating, face painting, pictures with Santa and much more.

Streaking Redhawks
Southeast is on an Ohio Valley Conference best five-game winning streak. The Redhawks, who are 2-0 at home this season, return to the Show Me Center for the first time since Nov. 22. Southeast's five-game winning streak is the longest under head coach Dickey Nutt. The Redhawks have heated up to win seven of their last eight contests.

Going for Six
A win against Illinois-Chicago would push the Redhawks winning streak to six games. Southeast was last on a winning streak of six or more games during the 2004-05 season when it won seven in a row from Jan. 22-Feb. 12. All of those wins came during conference play.

Another Win . . .
Would give Southeast its longest winning streak in non-conference play during its NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks have never won six-straight non-league contests since joining the Division I ranks in 1991-92. Only the 1999-2000 and 2013-14 Southeast teams have put together five-game non-conference winning streaks.

Elite Company
Southeast currently leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 11th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 87.4 points per game. The Redhawks have scored over 80 points in five games and surpassed 100 points on three occasions this season. Iowa State  (91.7 ppg) leads the nation, while Oregon (91.4 ppg), BYU (90.8 ppg), Toledo (90.5 ppg), Oklahoma State (90.4 ppg), Iowa (89.5 ppg), Gonzaga (89.4 ppg), VMI (89.0 ppg), UCLA (88.4 ppg) and Boise State (87.8 ppg) also rate ahead of Southeast. The Redhawks are also tied for eighth nationally with a .513 field goal percentage.

Redhawks Get Votes in Mid-Major Top-25 Poll
The Redhawks were among teams receiving votes in the this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll (as of Dec. 9). Southeast received 12 votes and ranked 39th overall. Belmont (4th) and Eastern Kentucky (23rd) are currently the Ohio Valley Conference schools ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.
 
More Exposure   
Forward Jarekious Bradley made CollegeInsider.com reporter Angela Lento's my5 #HeCanPlay list on Dec. 9. Bradley, IUPUI's Marcellus Barksdale, Navy's Tilman Dunbar, Canisius' Jordan Heath and Sam Houston State's Jabari Peters filled out the five spots this week. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Bradley was also named the CollegeHoopsDaily.com Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Month for November.

Series History
Southeast is 0-1 all-time against Horizon League member Illinois-Chicago. The Flames return the trip to Cape Girardeau after the first-ever meeting between these teams a year ago. UIC won that matchup, 56-45, on Nov. 24, 2012.

Strong Start
The Redhawks are 7-2 this season and off to their best start under head coach Dickey Nutt. The 7-2 start is Southeast's best since going 8-1 through its first nine games of the 1999-2000 campaign.

Fall Semester Winding Down   
Saturday's game is one of three that Southeast will play prior to the Christmas holiday. The Redhawks will head to nationally-ranked Memphis (Dec. 21) at the end of their finals week and turn around to host IUPUI (Dec. 23) two days later. Guard Josh Langford, who signed with Southeast in January, will make his debut at Memphis. Langford spent two seasons at Auburn and was the state of Alabama's No. 1 player out of Huntsville's Lee High School prior to joining the Redhawks.

Johnson Approaching 100 Career Blocks
Nino Johnson needs one more block to reach 100 in his career. Johnson, who set a new Southeast single-season record with 84 blocks in 2012-13, currently ranks third all-time with 99 swats. William "Bud" Eley (156 blocks from 1995-99) and Drew Demond (112 blocks from 1999-02) are the others with over 100 career blocks at Southeast.

Road Warriors
Southeast opened its 2013-14 season with seven of its first nine games away from home. The Redhawks recently slipped past Southeastern Louisiana, 74-73, on Dec. 7. Southeast, at one time, trailed by 12 points and overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to beat the Lions. The last time the Redhawks won four-straight games outside of Cape Girardeau was toward the end of the 1999-2000 season. Southeast completed that year with a six-game winning streak, including victories at Eastern Illinois, at Morehead State, at Eastern Kentucky, vs. Middle Tennessee (OVC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.) and vs. Murray State (OVC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.).

Second Half Stone
Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Tyler Stone scored 20 points, including 16 in the first 8:31 of the second half to lead Southeast to its latest 74-73 victory at Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 7). A native of Memphis, Tenn., Stone helped the Redhawks erase a seven-point halftime deficit, connecting on 7-of-8 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws during that span. He also buried the jumper that gave Southeast a 59-57 edge with 11:29 remaining. After Stone's scoring spree, Southeast never trailed again. Stone, who scored just four points in the first half, wound up shooting 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field for the game. He also pulled down nine rebounds in 37 minutes. It marked the fifth time Stone has scored double figures in the second half this season.

Bradley Nabs Another
Jarekious Bradley was named Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week for the third-straight week and league-best fourth time this season on Dec. 9. Bradley scored 20 or more points for the third-consecutive game and seventh time in nine starts this season when he turned in a double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds against Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 7). He shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field against the Lions, dropping in 13 of his points in the second half. Bradley also won the honor on Nov. 11, Nov. 25 and Dec. 2 this season.

Three-Point Threats
One of the concerns going into 2013-14 was how Southeast would fare from three-point range since it lost three players (Corey Wilford, Marland Smith, Nick Niemczyk) who accounted for 74 percent of the Redhawks three-pointers made last season. So far, Southeast has been shooting the ball well from behind the arc where it currently leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a .391 clip (77-of-197). The Redhawks heated up to shoot 50 percent or better from three-point range in two of their last three games, including a season-best 61.7 percent (8-of-13) vs. Texas State (Dec. 1). Jarekious Bradley leads the team with 22 threes, while Jamaal Calvin and Darrian Gray follow with 14 and 11, respectively. Southeast finished its 2012-13 season ranked first in the OVC and eighth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage.

How May I Assist You?
Lucas Nutt leads the Ohio Valley Conference in assists and assist/turnover ratio. Nutt, who has led the Redhawks in assists every game this season, is averaging 6.1 per game and has a total of 55 through nine starts. He ranks 20th in the nation in assists per game and 23rd in total assists. In addition, Nutt is atop the OVC with a 3.4 assist/turnover ratio (55 assists/16 turnovers).