Southeast Missouri (4-7) at DePaul (6-4)

Game Information
Date: Monday, December 19, 2016
Tip-Off: 8:15 p.m., CT
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Arena: Allstate Arena (18,500)
Series History: DePaul leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: DePaul 57, SEMO 50 (Dec. 31, 2004 / Chicago, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (46-91 overall; 9-31 at SEMO; 2-14 OVC). Dave Leitao (158-155 overall; 73-60 at DePaul).

Media Coverage
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
TV: FS1 (Jeff Levering, Stephen Bardo)
Live Stats: DePaulBlueDemons.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Head to Chicago
Southeast Missouri (4-7) continues Las Vegas Classic play when it travels to DePaul (6-4) Monday. Tip-off is set for 8:15 p.m., CT, at Allstate Arena.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Monday's game live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM with Erik Sean calling the action from Allstate Arena. The game will also be televised live on FS1 with Jeff Levering and Stephen Bardo on the call. Live stats are available at DePaulBlueDemons.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Series History
Southeast and Big East member DePaul meet for the second time in 2016-17. DePaul holds a slight 1-0 edge in the series after beating the Redhawks, 57-50, on Dec. 31, 2004. That game was in Chicago, Illinois.

Pre-Christmas Road Trip
Monday marks the second game in three days for Southeast. The Redhawks made a seven-and-a-half hour drive from Springfield, Missouri. After its matchup with the Blue Demons, Southeast will fly from Chicago to Las Vegas, Nevada to face Chicago State (Dec. 22) and Troy or Cornell (Dec. 23) at Orleans Arena.

Against the Big East
Southeast is 0-4 all-time against the Big East Conference. The Redhawks are 0-1 vs. Creighton, 0-1 vs. DePaul and 0-2 vs. Xavier. Southeast is the first Ohio Valley Conference team to face a Big East opponent this year.

Las Vegas Classic
Wyoming, USC, DePaul, Missouri State, Cornell, Troy, Chicago State and Southeast are the eight teams participating in this year's Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. The Redhawks play in the event for second time and make their first appearance since 2008-09. Southeast is 1-4 all-time in the Las Vegas Classic. The Redhawks beat Longwood (81-77) and lost to Kansas State (88-68), Iowa (75-41), Oakland City (81-63) and Missouri State (71-66).

Four-Game Skid
Southeast is looking to snap a season-long four-game losing streak when it visits Missouri State Saturday. The Redhawks dropped an 83-55 decision at #10 Indiana (Dec. 4) before losing home games against Missouri State (79-71, Dec. 7) and Northern Kentucky (80-66, Dec. 10) and a road matchup at Missouri State (71-66, Dec. 17). Southeast has lost five of its last six and is currently 1-4 in December.

Kellum Out
Forward Trey Kellum missed his first start of the season at Missouri State (Dec. 17). Kellum did not play due to a knee injury he sustained during practice three days earlier. He is currently Southeast's top rebounder (6.7 rpg) and second-leading scorer (12.5 ppg) this year. Kellum's status for Monday is unknown at this time.

100th Career Game
Monday's matchup at DePaul marks the 100th career game for Southeast guard Antonius Cleveland. A three-year starter, Cleveland has accumulated 99 games and logged 87 starts in his career. He ranks fifth all-time in career starts at Southeast. Cleveland has started 21-consecutive games dating back to last season.

21 and Counting
Guard Antonius Cleveland scored double figures in 21-straight games and 28 of his last 29 starts. Cleveland leads the Redhawks with 65 double-digit scoring games and eight double-doubles in his career. He began the 2016-17 campaign with 10 points and scored the Redhawks first eight points of the season at Illinois (Nov. 11). It is the longest double-digit scoring streak of his career.

First in the OVC
Southeast leads the Ohio Valley Conference in turnover margin (+6.0), turnovers per game (11.9), total steals (106) and steals per game (9.6). The Redhawks forced 20 or more turnovers in two-straight games. Southeast was eighth in the league in turnover margin a year ago.

Tchiengang Steps Up
Forward William Tchiengang made his first career start at Missouri State (Dec. 17), replacing Trey Kellum. Tchiengang matched a season-high four points and pulled down a season-best six rebounds in 19 minutes against the Bears. He also had two offensive rebounds.

Furious Rally Falls Short
Southeast, which trailed by 20 points in its latest loss to Missouri State (Dec. 17), made a ferocious run late. The Redhawks put together a 12-0 run in a span of 2:37 to cut the Bears lead to 65-63. Antonius Cleveland scored eight-straight points to key the surge that ended on Denzel Mahoney's two free throws at the 2:10 mark. Southeast had a chance to tie the game when Cleveland was called for an offensive foul. Daniel Simmons then missed a jumper when the Redhawks were down by three on the ensuing possession.

Road Woes
The Redhawks are 1-5 on the road and have dropped four-straight away games. No team in the Ohio Valley Conference has a winning record in true road games this season. Southeast's five road losses are second to Tennessee Tech (1-6), Morehead State (0-6) and Murray State (0-6). The Redhawks last road win was at Western Illinois (74-71, Nov. 16).

Halftime Disadvantage
Southeast trailed at halftime in six-straight games and nine of 11 contests this season. The Redhawks scored under 30 points in the first half four times with a season-low 23 at Missouri State (Dec. 17). Southeast's largest halftime deficit stands at 15 points (38-23 at Missouri State). The Redhawks are 2-7 in games they trail at the half.

Mahoney On a Roll
True freshman guard Denzel Mahoney scored double figures in six-straight starts. A native of Oviedo, Florida, Mahoney averaged 15.3 points per game during that stretch. He dropped in a season-high 20 points on 8-of-14 field goals (57.1 pct.) at UMKC (Nov. 28). Mahoney followed that up with 12 points vs. Central Arkansas (Dec. 1) and pitched in a team-high 16 points at #10 Indiana (Dec. 4). He had 12 of his points in the second half against the Hoosiers. Most recently, Mahoney scored 14 points vs. Missouri State (Dec. 7), 12 against Northern Kentucky (Dec. 10) and 18 at Missouri State (Dec. 17). His eight double-digit scoring games this season are second-most by a freshman in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Simmons Produces
Daniel Simmons scored double figures off the bench in back-to-back games. Simmons pitched in 13 points in 24 minutes Northern Kentucky (Dec. 10) and 10 in 22 minutes at Missouri State (Dec. 17). Simmons has three double-digit scoring games this season, second-most among Redhawk reserves.

Major Improvement
Southeast has seen significant improvement in several areas over the course of its first 10 games this season. Here are the jumps the Redhawks have made in the NCAA national statistics since the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
                                         2015-16           2016-17
Turnover Margin                191st (-0.2)    8th (+6.0)
Turnovers Forced            100th (13.6)    12th (17.9)
Turnovers Per Game        286th (13.9)    61st (11.9)
Assist/Turnover Ratio        282nd (0.9)    85th (1.2)
 - 351 ranked

Pulling Rank
The Redhawks enter the week ranked among the top 20 NCAA Division I programs in turnover margin (8th, +6.0), total steals (10th, 106), turnovers forced (12th, 17.9) and steals per game (11th, 9.6). Individually, Jamaal Calvin is 20th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (35/10, 3.5) and 26th in total steals (24). Calvin leads the Ohio Valley Conference in assist/turnover ratio, as well.

OVC Status
As a team, Southeast is among the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference in turnover margin (1st), fewest turnovers (11.9 tpg), steals per game (1st, 9.6), total steals (1st, 106), turnovers forced (2nd, 17.9), assist/turnover ratio (3rd, 1.2), free throw percentage (5th, .705) and defensive rebounding percentage (.726). Individually, Jamaal Calvin (1st in assist/turnover ratio, 3.5; 3rd in steals, 2.2 spg; 15th in assists, 3.2 apg), Antonius Cleveland (7th in field goal percentage, .543; t5th in blocks, 1.0 bpg; 6th in scoring, 16.7 ppg; 12th in minutes played, 32.1 mpg; t13th in steals, 1.3 spg; 14th in defensive rebounds, 4.3), Trey Kellum (t1st in offensive rebounds, 3.3 rpg; 12th in rebounding, 6.7 rpg; 19th in scoring, 12.5 ppg; 12th in field goal percentage, .511; 13th in free throw percentage, .775), Denzel Mahoney (11th in free throw percentage, .792; 22nd in scoring, 12.2 ppg) and Milos Vranes (t14th in 3-point field goal percentage, .387) rank among league leaders.

Freshman Charge
Denzel Mahoney currently ranks second among Ohio Valley Conference freshmen in scoring with 12.2 points per game this season. Mahoney ranks behind Eastern Kentucky's Asante Gist (14.4 ppg) and presently ranks 22nd in the OVC in scoring.

Scoring Rise
Southeast is averaging 73 points a game through 11 contests this season, a +6.0 improvement from where it finished last season (67 ppg). The Redhawks scored 83 or more points in three of their four wins this year. Southeast put up 80 or more points just four times in 2015-16.

Climbing the Ranks
Antonius Cleveland ranks among Southeast's all-time career leaders in scoring (14th, 1,191), free throws attempted (6th, 424), steals (5th, 126) and games started (5th, 87). Cleveland needs 46 more points to crack the Redhawks top-10 all-time scoring list.

Stealing the Show
The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference and rank 10th in the nation with 106 steals this season. Southeast is averaging 9.6 per game which is good for 11th nationally. Jamaal Calvin (24), Antonius Cleveland (14), Milos Vranes (12) and Trey Kellum (11) have accounted for 58 percent of the team's steals.