Southeast Missouri (16-13, 7-8 OVC) vs. Murray State (18-9, 13-2 OVC)

Date: Saturday, Mar. 1, 2014 Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Site: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: Murray State leads, 48-19
Head Coaches: Dickey Nutt (254-277 overall; 65-90 at Southeast; 33-50 OVC). Steve Prohm (70-21 overall; 70-21 at Murray; 38-9 OVC).


Media Coverage
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM; Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean, Play-by-Play; Tom Ackerman, Analyst
Video: OVC Digital Network | ESPN3
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter Updates: @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri

Back Home
Southeast Missouri (16-13, 7-8) hosts Ohio Valley Conference West Division champion and rival Murray State (18-9, 13-2) in its regular-season finale Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 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 Tom Ackerman will call the action. Video is available online at the OVC Digital Network and ESPN3. Live stats can be accessed at GoSoutheast.com.

Next Stop, Nashville
Southeast became the seventh team to punch its ticket to the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament when it beat Austin Peay, 83-80, Thursday. This year marked the second-straight where the Redhawks secured their postseason berth during the final week of the season. The OVC Tournament is slated for Mar. 5-8 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

Redhawks Position for Seeding
There is a chance that Southeast could finish as high as fifth. If the Redhawks, Tennessee Tech and SIU Edwardsville are tied at 8-8, Southeast would be the No. 5 seed based on its 2-1 record in the composite tiebreaker. If Southeast and TTU are tied at 8-8, the Redhawks will go as the No. 5 seed. If Southeast and SIUE are tied at 8-8, the Redhawks will go as the No. 7. If Eastern Illinois, Southeast and SIUE are tied at 7-9, the Redhawks will be the No. 7 seed.

Heating Up
Southeast enters Saturday's matchup on a three-game winning streak. It is the Redhawks longest winning streak in Ohio Valley Conference play this season and longest since stringing together five in a row from Nov. 22-Dec. 7. Southeast has won four of its last five contests and wrapped up February with a 4-3 record.  

Another Winning Season
Not only did the Redhawks secure their fourth-straight Ohio Valley Conference Tournament berth against Austin Peay (Feb. 27), but Southeast locked up a winning season for the second-consecutive year. The last time the Redhawks posted back-to-back winning seasons was 1998-99 (20-9) and 1999-2000 (24-7).  

Senior Night
Southeast will honor seniors Lucas Nutt and Tyler Stone prior to Saturday's game against Murray State. Stone has scored 1,485 points and pulled down 737 rebounds since first putting on a Redhawk uniform in 2011-12. Nutt broke Southeast's all-time career records in assists (589) and games started (103) this season. He joined the Redhawks in 2009-10 when his father took over as head coach.

Let's Do it Again
The Redhawks look to beat Austin Peay and Murray State in their final two games of the season for the second-straight year. Southeast did just that in 2012-13 when it upended the Governors (108-81) and Racers (84-68) on the road to wrap up the regular-season. The last time the Redhawks beat APSU and Murray State at the Show Me Center in the same season was 1991-92, their first year of the NCAA Division I era.  

Tournament Snapshot
Southeast will open postseason play on in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday, Mar. 5. If the Redhawks are No. 5, they will face the No. 8 seed at 6 p.m., CT. The No. 6 and No. 7 seeds then play at 8 p.m., CT.

Top of the West
Murray State and Southeast are currently the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division standings. The Racers are this year's OVC West Division champs and will likely be the No. 2 seed in next week's tournament. Meanwhile, the Redhawks have climbed into a tie for second with SIU Edwardsville. Murray State and Southeast were the OVC Preseason West Division favorites.

Series History
Murray State leads the all-time series against Southeast by a count of 48-19. The Racers are 26-8 in Cape Girardeau and 9-1 in their last 10 meetings with the Redhawks at the Show Me Center.

Big Win
Southeast shot 60 percent (33-of-55) from the field and never trailed in the second half en route to its 83-80 victory over Austin Peay Thursday. The Redhawks were able to hang on after the Governors tied the game at 59-59 with under 10 minutes remaining. APSU also pulled to within two with 16 seconds left and got a steal on the ensuing possession. Damarius Smith was then forced to take an off-balance shot that missed with three seconds on the clock before Jarekious Bradley scored the game's final point on a free throw.

Senior Star
Tyler Stone has turned in a double-double in three of his last four starts and scored 20 or more points on three occasions. Stone most recently led the Redhawks with 20 points and 11 rebounds against Austin Peay (Feb. 27). He also had a block and dished out a career-high five assists in that game. Stone has averaged 20.3 points and 11.8 rebounds per game over that stretch which helped land Southeast in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Johnson Does His Part
Nino Johnson has scored double figures in three-straight games since rejoining the starting lineup on Feb. 20. Johnson had a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds against Jacksonville State (Feb. 20), his first start since Jan. 25. He then followed that up by scoring 13 points at UT Martin (Feb. 22) and 14 vs. Austin Peay (Feb. 27).  

Redhawk Sweep
The Redhawks became the first in the Ohio Valley Conference to sweep all three of the league's weekly awards this season. Tyler Stone was named Player of the Week, Jarekious Bradley was tabbed Newcomer of the Week and Antonius Cleveland was Co-Freshman of the Week on Feb. 24. The last time a team won all three awards in the same week was on Jan. 10, 2011. Southeast accomplished the feat then as well when Leon Powell won both Player and Newcomer of the Week honors, and Lucas Nutt was Freshman of the Week. Redhawk athletes accounted for seven OVC honors this week between men's basketball (3), women's basketball (1), baseball (1) and track and field (2).