Southeast Missouri (7-3) at #15 Memphis (7-2)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Site: FedExForum (18,400)
Series: Southeast leads, 3-2
Head Coaches: Dickey Nutt (245-267 overall; 56-80 at Southeast; 26-42 OVC). Josh Pastner (113-36
    overall; 113-36 at Memphis)



Media Coverage
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM; Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean, Play-by-Play
TV: FOX SportSouth/ESPN3 (WatchESPN). Greg Gaston, Play-by-Play; Hank McDowell, Analyst.
Live Stats: GoTigersGo.com
Twitter Updates: @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri

Southeast Heads to Nationally-Ranked Memphis Saturday
Southeast Missouri (7-3) heads to No. 15 Memphis (7-2) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at FedExForum.

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 will call the action. The game will be televised live on FOX SportSouth and ESPN3 (WatchESPN). Greg Gaston will handle play-by-play duties while Hank McDowell will provide commentary on the TV side. Live stats are also available online at GoTigersGo.com.

Happy Holidays
Southeast will play two games in three days, starting with its trip to Memphis Saturday. The Redhawks will then return home to host IUPUI on Dec. 23 prior to the Christmas holiday.

Five-Game Winning Streak Ends
The Redhawks saw a five-game winning streak end with a 75-69 home loss to Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 14. Southeast fell victim to an early 16-0 run in which it missed six field goals, turned the ball over five times and went without a basket for 6:10. The Redhawks pulled to within a point on several occasions, but never took the lead. Southeast's five-game winning streak was the longest under head coach Dickey Nutt. Additionally, the Redhawks travel to Memphis after winning seven of their last nine contests.

Did You Know . . .
Southeast second-year assistant coach Jessie Evans was an assistant coach at Arizona when Josh Pastner was a player? Evans coached under Lute Olson at Arizona from 1988-1997. Pastner played for the Wildcats from 1996-2000 and was part of Arizona's NCAA National Championship team in 1996-97.

Where Southeast Ranks
Southeast ranks 17th in the nation in scoring offense (85.6 ppg), 15th in field goal percentage (.502) and 16th in assists per game (17.1). The Redhawks have scored over 80 points five times and surpassed 100 points on three occasions this season.   

Football Standout Paul McRoberts Joins the Team
Football standout and St. Louis native Paul McRoberts officially joined the Southeast Missouri men's basketball team as a walk-on, Dec. 20. McRoberts, who is also a starting wide receiver for the Redhawks, will be with the team at Memphis this weekend. A 6-3, 192-pound forward, McRoberts last played basketball at Soldan High School. He scored 18 points and had four steals in the Tigers Class 4 state championship victory over Springfield Hillcrest. McRoberts averaged over 14 points and shot 67 percent from the field and 57 percent (37-of-65) from three-point range as a senior, leading Soldan to its third-straight Class 4 Final Four appearance and first state title since 1981. This past football season, McRoberts was Southeast's top receiver, leading the team with 44 catches for 646 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games and 10 starts. He averaged 14.7 yards per reception and 53.8 receiving yards a game. McRoberts made five catches for a career-high 133 yards and scored two touchdowns vs. Southern Illinois (9/21), and hauled in a career-long 75-yard touchdown reception in that game. He  scored two touchdowns against Murray State (10/12) and Urbana (11/2), as well. In addition, McRoberts made an 18-yard reception to tie the game with less than a minute left in regulation vs. Murray State (10/12). He later caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie the game during the first overtime possession before Southeast kicked a game-winning field goal to beat the Racers. McRoberts ranked seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference in both receptions (3.7) and receiving yards per game.

Langford's Career Begins   
Highly-touted guard Josh Langford will begin his Southeast career at Memphis Saturday. Langford signed with the Redhawks on Jan. 14, 2013 after spending two seasons at Southeastern Conference member Auburn. He stands at 6-7, 215, and is a left-handed and explosive player. Langford averaged 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15 games and five starts in 2011-12. He suffered a concussion early in SEC play that caused him to miss the rest of that season. As a freshman, Langford averaged 4.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 15 minutes per game, playing in all 31 games and starting 12. He scored a career-high 16 points and buried 4-of-5 three-pointers in the Tigers win over Florida State, which advanced to the Elite 8 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Langford was the state of Alabama's No. 1 ranked player coming out of Huntsville's Lee High School and was rated No. 1 on the final 2010 Birmingham News Boys Super Seniors list.

Memphis Connection   
Memphis natives Tyler Stone, Jarekious Bradley, Antonius Cleveland, Darrian Gray and Nino Johnson return home to face the nationally-ranked Tigers Saturday. Four of the five players in this talented Memphis connection are averaging double figures in the scoring column this season. Bradley leads the team and ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 19.5 points per game, while Stone (18.1 ppg), Gray (11.3 ppg) and Cleveland (10.5 ppg) follow. Johnson is averaging nine points and nearly seven (6.9) rebounds per contest. Southeast assistant coach Jamie Rosser has strong ties to the Memphis area and has established a strong pipeline to this basketball hotbed.

Against Nationally-Ranked Opponents
Southeast squares off against a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time this season when it faces Memphis. The Tigers are ranked 15th in the Associated Press and 14th in the USA Today National Polls. The Redhawks are 0-10 all-time against ranked NCAA Division I teams. Southeast last played a ranked opponent when it lost at then-No. 12 Missouri, 81-65, on Dec. 4, 2012. The Redhawks are 0-3 against ranked teams under head coach Dickey Nutt.
12/11/92    at #21 Cincinnati    L, 58-83
2/23/94    at #6 Missouri    L, 61-83
12/8/95    at #21 Illinois    L, 70-89
1/7/97    at #6 Cincinnati    L, 57-80
3/16/00    at #10 LSU*    L, 61-64
12/29/02    at #20 Creighton    L, 70-93
12/28/05    at #6 Illinois    L, 64-89
11/11/11    at #25 Missouri    L, 68-83
11/9/12    at #7 Kansas    L, 55-74
12/4/12    at #12 Missouri    L, 65-81

Series History   
Memphis owns a slight 3-2 edge in its all-time series against Southeast. These teams last met in Dickey Nutt's first year as the Redhawks head coach back in 2009-10. Southeast lost that game by a score of 87-57 on Dec. 22 at the FedExForum. Saturday marks the eighth time Nutt will coach against the Tigers. He is 1-6 all-time against Memphis with six of those games played when he was head coach at Arkansas State. Nutt's only win against the Tigers was an 84-72 victory in Jonesboro, Ark., during the 1999-2000 campaign.

About Memphis
Memphis is under 35,000 fans away from reaching the 4-million mark for home attendance in the 21st century. The Tigers return to the FedExForum after falling to No. 16/17 Florida, 77-75, at Madison Square Garden in New York City earlier this week. That loss snapped a six-game winning streak. Memphis is averaging 83.7 points per game, ranking second in the American Conference and 21st in the nation. The Tigers are 4-0 at home this season and have averaged just over 90 points per game (90.5) in their four home wins. Memphis is coached by Josh Pastner who is 113-36 all-time in a little over four seasons with the Tigers. Last year, Pastner guided Memphis to a 31-5 overall record and 16-0 Conference USA mark. In each of his four seasons, Pastner led the Tigers to a 20-win campaign and a postseason berth (2010 NIT; 2011, 2012, 2013 NCAA).

Bradley Nabs Another
Jarekious Bradley earned his fifth Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honor in six weeks of the basketball season on Dec. 16. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Bradley won the award for the fourth week in a row. He scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 14. Bradley made 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) field goals and 6-of-7 free throws en route to scoring 20 or more points for the fourth-straight game (and eighth time this season). He dropped in 20 of his 28 points in the second half of the contest and currently ranks second in the OVC in scoring with 19.5 points per game.

Nutt Moves to Second in Career Assists
Lucas Nutt moved to second all-time in career assists at Southeast. He 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 6.3 per game and has a total of 63 through 10 starts. He ranks 28th in the nation in assists per game and 20th in total assists. In addition, Nutt is atop the OVC with a 3.3 assist/turnover ratio (63 assists/19 turnovers). He has a total of 482 in his career.