Southeast Missouri at Illinois

Game Information
Date: Friday, November 11, 2016
Tip-Off: 8 p.m., CT
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Arena: State Farm Center (15,544)
Series History: Illinois leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 89, SEMO 64 (Dec. 28, 2005 / Champaign, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (42-84 overall; 5-24 at SEMO; 2-14 OVC). John Groce (162-117 overall; 77-61 at Illinois).

Media Coverage
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM Erik Sean (play-by-play)
TV: Big Ten Network (Jeff Levering, Stephen Bardo)
Live Stats: FightingIllini.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Open Season Friday
Southeast Missouri tips off its 2016-17 season at Big Ten Conference member Illinois Friday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., CT, at the State Farm Center.

Opener will Air on Big Ten Network
Friday's matchup between Southeast and Illinois will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Jeff Levering and Stephen Bardo will be on the call. The Redhawks are scheduled to play on television five times this season.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Friday's game live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM with Erik Sean calling the action from the State Farm Center. Live stats are available at FightingIllini.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Season-Openers
The Redhawks are 9-16 in season-opening games since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1991-92. Southeast begins its season on the road for the 11th-straight year and 15th time in its NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks lost 10 consecutive season-openers and last started a season with a win in 2005-06 (59-56, vs. Truman State).

Series History
This year marks the third meeting between Southeast and Illinois. The Redhawks and Fighting Illini last faced each other on Dec. 28, 2005 with Illinois winning by a score of 89-64 in Champaign. Illinois is 2-0 all-time against Southeast with its other win coming on Dec. 8, 1995 (89-70) in Champaign.

Roster Overhaul
Southeast enters its second year under head coach Rick Ray with 11 newcomers, including nine new scholarship players. The Redhawks return only four players from last season, including guards Antonius Cleveland and Jamaal Calvin, and forwards Joel Angus III and Trey Kellum. Southeast has a total of 10 transfers, eight of which will play NCAA Division I basketball for the first time in 2016-17. Ray has a full 15-man roster for the first time as the Redhawks head coach. The Redhawks roster dipped to four players during Ray's debut as the Redhawks head coach in 2015-16.

Another Basketball Season is Here
The 2016-17 season marks the 110th in Southeast basketball history. This year is also the Redhawks 26th season at the NCAA Division I level. In all, Southeast's basketball program has 1,227 wins, seven All-Americans, 34 All-Ohio Valley Conference selections, one OVC regular-season (1999-2000) and tournament title (1999-2000), one NCAA Division I Tournament appearance (1999-2000), 12 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association titles, three NCAA Division II National Finalist teams (1961, 1986, 1989) and one NAIA National Championship (1943).

Against the Big Ten
Illinois is the first of two Big Ten Conference opponents Southeast has on its non-conference schedule this season. The Redhawks also visit Indiana on Dec. 4. Southeast is 0-7 all-time against Big Ten foes having faced Illinois (0-2), Iowa (0-1), Nebraska (0-1), Purdue (0-2) and Wisconsin (0-1). The Big Ten Conference has led the nation in attendance for 40-straight years.

OVC vs. Big Ten
Southeast is looking to snap the Ohio Valley Conference's 29-game losing streak against Big Ten Conference opponents. Ironically, the OVC's last win over a Big Ten team came at Illinois when Tennessee State edged the Fighting Illini by a score of 60-58 on Dec. 30, 2006. The OVC is 0-27 against the Big Ten over the last eight years.

Nice to Meet You
Rick Ray faces a Big Ten opponent for the first time in his head coaching career when Southeast squares off against Illinois Friday. This year marks Ray's fifth as an NCAA Division I head coach. He spent three seasons at the Mississippi State helm before joining the Redhawks.

Let's Do This
The Redhawks are looking to end an eight-game losing streak which began vs. Austin Peay on Jan. 30, 2016. During that stretch, Southeast dropped half of those games by six or less points. The Redhawks last win was a 58-51 victory at SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 28, 2016.

Double-Digit Streak
Guard Antonius Cleveland scored double figures in 10-straight games and 17 of his last 18 starts. Cleveland leads the Redhawks with 54 double-digit scoring games and seven double-doubles in his career.

Countdown to 100
Friday marks Antonius Cleveland's 89th game in a Southeast uniform. Cleveland will be in the starting lineup for the 77th time in his career.

Redhawks Rally to Down Missouri S&T in Exhibition Play
Daniel Simmons scored 22 points and freshman Denzel Mahoney added 20 to lead Southeast to an 84-77 come-from-behind exhibition win over Missouri S&T (Nov. 7). Down, 50-38, with 16:31 left to play, the Redhawks erased a 12-point deficit when they put together a 19-7 run to get back in the game. Simmons accounted for seven points, while Mahoney contributed five to key the jaunt that ended with Jamaal Calvin's jumper tying things up at 57-57 with 10:46 on the clock. Two possessions later, Mahoney drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to give SEMO a 60-59 edge, its first lead since the 17:40 mark of the first half. Rokas Paulauskas' layup made it a one-possession game at 75-72 with 4:04 left before the Redhawks scored nine of the final 14 points to polish off their seven-point victory. The Miners shot 60 percent from 3-point range, burying 6-of-10 attempts in the first half alone. Missouri S&T outrebounded SEMO, 20-12, and scored 12 second chance points in the game's opening period, as well. SEMO tightened up its 3-point defense in the second half after Missouri S&T's hot start. At one point, the Miners were 9-of-15 from long range, but the Redhawks limited them to just 2-of-13 the rest of the way. Simmons shot 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point land and a near-perfect 5-of-6 at the free throw line to lead SEMO. He finished with a game-high three steals, as well. Meanwhile, Mahoney went 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 at the free throw line in 31 minutes.

Introducing the Seniors
The Redhawks have a total of five seniors on this year's team, their largest senior class since they had six in 2014-15. Antonius Cleveland, JamaalCalvin, Joel Angus III, Trey Kellum and walk-on Eli Sample form that group. Cleveland and Calvin are the only four-year seniors on the squad. Cleveland, Calvin, Angus and Kellum have combined for 219 games, 151 starts, 1,952 points, 720 rebounds, 100 double-digit games, 10 double-doubles and eleven 20-point performances.

Touring Abroad
Southeast forward Joel Angus III and Illinois guard Aaron Jordan were teammates in Europe last summer. Angus and Jordan spent two weeks traveling with the Global Sports Academy, a not-for-profit organization participating in domestic and international competition since 1991. GSA's mission is to arrange athletic competition between equally matched teams at all levels and to "Promote International Goodwill" and a better
understanding between nations through sports. Angus and Jordan's team toured in Holland, Germany and Belgium, playing five games in nine days. Chris Moore, an assistant coach with the Redhawks, coached the team.

Five Sidelined for Exhibition Matchup
Joel Angus III, Ray Kowalski, Donnie Lewis, William Tchiengang and Dondre Duffus did not dress for Southeast's exhibition game against Missouri S&T (Nov. 7). Angus is day-to-day with a hip injury. Kowalski had knee surgery and is more than likely a candidate for a medical redshirt. Duffus will likely play in the Redhawks season-opener Friday. Lewis is a 4-4 transfer and has to sit out the season. And, Tchiengang is awaiting amateurism clearance from the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Cleveland Recognized by College Court Report
Senior Antonius Cleveland, who was also named Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference, was mentioned as one of the top non-power five guards by College Court Report. With over 5,200 players slated to play collegiate basketball in Division I this season, there are talented players from coast to coast. Some of them are household names, while there are plenty of players who people haven't heard of, but are demanding of the attention. College Court Report is compiling a three-part series of senior guards who will become household names in 2016-17. Each part consists of 10 seniors and Cleveland is at the top of the list in part one. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Cleveland scored double figures in each of his last 10 games of the 2015-16 season, and put up 20 or more points in four of those contests. Over the course of the year, Cleveland led the Redhawks in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He also recorded five double-doubles. Cleveland finished the season shooting 43.6 percent from the field, attempting an average of 13.2 field goals per game.

Redhawks Picked Sixth in OVC West Division
Southeast was picked to finish sixth in the West Division and 11th overall in this year's OVC Preseason Poll. The Redhawks, who went 5-24 overall and 2-14 in the OVC last season, accumulated 42 points in the voting by conference head coaches and sports information directors. Belmont was selected the preseason favorite for the second year in a row. The Bruins, who won three of the past four OVC regular-season championships, picked up 16 of 24 first-place votes. Belmont was also picked to win the East Division, while Murray State was selected to win the West. Other teams with first-place votes included Tennessee State (6), Eastern Kentucky (1) and Morehead State (1). All the teams who received an overall first-place vote came from the East Division. The Bruins finished first in the East in each of the first four years of divisional play. Belmont received 126 total points to top the East and were followed by Tennessee State (106 pts.), Morehead State (98 pts.), Tennessee Tech (62 pts.), Eastern Kentucky (60 pts.) and Jacksonville State (40). Murray State notched 21 of 24 first-place votes and 131 points to top the West Division. The Racers have finished at the top of the West each of the first four years of divisional play. Eastern Illinois was picked second (95 pts.) followed by defending tournament champion Austin Peay (88 pts.), UT Martin (82 pts.), SIU Edwardsville (54 pts.) and Southeast (42 pts.).

International Flavor
Head Coach Rick Ray added a pair of international players to his 2016-17 roster.Forwards Milos Vranes (6-7, 200, Belgrade, Serbia) and William Tchiengang (6-8, 227, Yaounde, Cameroon) enter their first season with the Redhawks. Vranes spent the last two years at North Dakota State College of Science, where he led his team with 5.9 rebounds per contest in 35 games. Vranes was also third on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg) and 3-pointers made (69). Tchiengang comes to Southeast after playing two seasons at Midland College in Texas. Midland College has one of the most successful junior college programs in the country with 11 of its players moving on to Division I schools over the last two years alone. He averaged 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 28 games for the Chaparrals, who went 21-9 overall. The last time Southeast had a player with international roots on its roster was 2005-06 (Waylon Francis, C, Freeport, Bahamas).
 
Postseason Success
Prior to becoming a head coach, Rick Ray was an assistant at three different institutions that enjoyed success at the highest level. Ray spent two seasons at Clemson, where he was associate head coach to Brad Brownell. Ray also spent four successful years on the staff of Matt Painter at Purdue. He began his Division I coaching career at Indiana State, serving seven seasons. All three programs participated in the NCAA Tournament.

Eleven in Action
Eleven of the 12 Ohio Valley Conference schools will make their 2016-17 season debuts Friday. Belmont is the only OVC team not in action. The Bruins are set to open their season at Vanderbilt on Nov. 15.

Up Next
Southeast will play its second game in three days when it returns to Cape Girardeau to host NAIA affiliate Hannibal-LaGrange in its home-opener on Nov. 13. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.