Southeast Missouri (6-4) at Kansas State (8-2)

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2017
Tipoff: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
Arena: Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
Series History: KSU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: KSU 88, SEMO 68 (Nov. 16, 2008 / Manhattan, Kan.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (63-106 overall; 26-46 at SEMO; 11-21 OVC). Bruce Weber (421-225 overall; 108-70 at KSU).

Media Coverage
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Live Stats: K-StateSports.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Head to Kansas State 
Southeast Missouri (6-4) travels to Big 12 Conference member Kansas State (8-2) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at Bramlage Coliseum.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will call the action. Video can be accessed online at ESPN3/WatchESPN. Live stats are available at K-StateSports.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Winning Streak Hits Four Games
Southeast ran its winning streak to four games when it took down regional-rival Southern Illinois, 75-69, in Carbondale on Dec. 9. The four-game winning streak matches the Redhawks longest under head coach Rick Ray. Southeast last won four-straight from Jan. 19-28, 2017. It is the Redhawks longest non-conference winning streak since 2013-14 (5 games, Nov. 22-Dec. 7). 

Series History
The Redhawks meet Kansas State for the second time in 2017-18. KSU owns a 1-0 edge in the series. The Wildcats beat Southeast, 88-68, in Manhattan, Kansas on Nov. 16, 2008.

2017 NCAA Tournament Participant
Kansas State is the second NCAA Tournament participant from a year ago that the Redhawks face. KSU beat Wake Forest, 95-88, in the First Four and was eliminated in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament by Cincinnati, 75-61. North Carolina Central is the other. Southeast split a home-and-home series with the Eagles earlier this year.

On the Road
Southeast is 3-3 outside of Cape Girardeau this season. The Redhawks won each of their last two games on the road beating North Carolina Central, 86-77, on Dec. 2 and Southern Illinois, 75-69, on Dec. 9. It marked the first time Southeast posted back-to-back true road victories since 2012-13 (83-67, at New Orleans; 61-58, at Southeastern Louisiana).

On Target
Denzel Mahoney is approaching 700 points in his career. Mahoney enters Saturday's game with 683 points and a 15.9 points per game average in his two-year Southeast career. He has started 43-consecutive games as a Redhawk.

Strong December
The Redhawks opened the month of December with a 3-0 record after beating both North Carolina Central (Dec. 2) and Southern Illinois (Dec. 9) on the road, and UMKC (Dec. 6) at home. Southeast scored 86 or more points twice in that span. It is the first time the Redhawks started December with a 3-0 record since 1998-99.

Finals Week
Both Southeast and Kansas State were off this week for final exams. Saturday's game is one of three left for the Redhawks on their non-conference schedule. Southeast will return home to host Bradley on Dec. 20 before closing out non-league play at Saint Louis on Dec. 22.

Best Start
At 6-4, the Redhawks are off to their best start under third-year head coach Rick Ray. Prior to this season, Southeast went 0-10 (2015-16) and 4-6 (2016-17) through its first 10 games with Ray at the helm.

Against the Big 12
Southeast is 0-6 all-time against the current Big 12 Conference membership. The Redhawks have faced Iowa State (0-2), Kansas (0-1), Kansas State (0-1), Oklahoma (0-1) and Oklahoma State (0-1). Southeast's last meeting against a Big 12 opponent was at Kansas on Nov. 9, 2012 (L, 55-74).

Mahoney Leads OVC in Scoring
Sophomore guard/forward Denzel Mahoney leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 19 points a game. Mahoney is also 15th among league individuals in field goal percentage (.525), 10th in free throw percentage (.800), tied for sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.471), tied for 15th in 3-point field goals made (1.6 per game) and tied for 20th in minutes played (29.3 mpg). He has scored double figures a total of 36 times in his career.

Mahoney Ninth in Free Throw Percentage
Denzel Mahoney, the Redhawks top free throw shooter with a 80 percent clip this season, ranks ninth all-time in career free throw percentage at Southeast. Mahoney is 180-of-222 for 81.1 percent during his career. He made a perfect 11-of-11 free throws in the Redhawks season-opener vs. Missouri Baptist (Nov. 10).

Dalton Leads OVC in Assist/Turnover Ratio
Point guard Jonathan Dalton leads the Ohio Valley Conference in assist/turnover ratio. Dalton has a team-high 56 assists to 18 turnovers for a 3.1 ratio through 10 games. He dished out five or more assists eight times and went turnover free on four occasions this season. Dalton ranks third in the league with 5.6 assists per contest.

Redhawk Rewind
Denzel Mahoney scored a game-high 18 points to lead four Southeast starters in double figures as the Redhawks took down regional-rival Southern Illinois, 75-69, in Carbondale on Dec. 9. In the 115th meeting between the teams, Southeast led by as many as 22 (37-15) en route to nailind down its first win in Carbondale during its NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks lost eight in a row at SIU Arena prior to this year.

Vranes Steps Up
Southeast was without centers Justin Carpenter (concussion) and Mark Laros (mononucleosis) at Southern Illinois (Dec. 9). Forward Milos Vranes had a big game in their absence. Vranes shot 4-of-7 from the field, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and went 4-of-6 at the free throw line against the Salukis. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. It was the second time in three starts where Vranes scored double figures.

Bombs Away
The Redhawks made 10 or more 3-pointers in three-straight games. Southeast recently matched a season-high 12 threes when it hit 12-of-26 (.462) at Southern Illinois (Dec. 9). The Redhawks made six of their 3-pointers in the first half. Southeast shot 53.1 percent (34-of-64) from beyond the arc over its last three contests.

Weber vs. SEMO
Bruce Weber owns a 5-1 all-time record against Southeast. This year marks the first where Weber faces the Redhawks as Kansas State's head coach. Weber last beat the Redhawks when he was head coach at Illinois on Dec. 28, 2005. His other five meetings with Southeast came when he was head coach at Southern Illinois. Weber's only loss to Southeast was on Dec. 5, 2000 (87-84 in Cape Girardeau).

Former SEMO Assistant
Kansas State assistant coach Chris Lowery spent one year as an assistant coach at Southeast in 2000-01. Lowery also faced the Redhawks three times when he was head coach at Southern Illinois. He went a perfect 3-0 in those matchups.

Laros Out
Center Mark Laros is expected to miss at least three weeks due to mononucleosis. Laros averaged 5.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven games and five starts prior to his illness. 

Carpenter Day-to-Day
Freshman center Justin Carpenter missed his first game of the season at Southern Illinois (Dec. 9). Carpenter suffered a concussion during the team's practice on Friday, Dec. 8. His status for Saturday is undetermined at this time.

OVC Rankings
The Redhawks rank among the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense (4th, 78.7 ppg), scoring margin (5th, +4.0), free throw percentage (5th, .730), field goal percentage (5th, .472), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd, .387), 3-point field goal percentage defense (2nd, .396), assists (5th, 14.7 apg), assist/turnover ratio (2nd, 1.2) and defensive rebound percentage (5th, .731). Individually, Denzel Mahoney leads the league in scoring (19 ppg), Justin Carpenter is second in field goal percentage (.617), Jonathan Dalton is third in assists (5.6 apg), and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.1), and Mark Laros is fourth in offensive rebounds (2.6 rpg).

Active Streaks
Denzel Mahoney has started 43-consecutive games. Mahoney scored in 42 contests during his college career. He opened the season with 21 points against Missouri Baptist (Nov. 10) and 25 at Louisiana Tech (Nov. 13), and recently scored a career-high 27 vs. Hannibal-LaGrange (Nov. 28).