Southern Illinois (6-3) vs. Southeast Missouri (5-4)

Date: Saturday, December 8, 2018
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series History: SIU leads, 69-46
Last Meeting: SEMO 75, SIU 69 (Dec. 9, 2017 / Carbondale, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (76-123 overall; 39-63 at SEMO; 19-31 OVC). Barry Hinson (310-239 overall; 105-99 at SIU).

Media Coverage
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM and ESPN 1220 AM (Erik Sean, Jess Bolen)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes
 

Rivalry Game
Southeast Missouri (5-4) hosts longstanding rival Southern Illinois (6-3) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM and ESPN 1220 AM. Erik Sean will call the action. Watch live on ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois meet for the 116th time on the hardwood Saturday. SIU holds a 69-46 lead in the all-time series which goes all the way back to 1914. The Redhawks won two of the last three meetings between the teams, including a 55-54 victory on a buzzer-beater in Cape Girardeau (Dec. 10, 2014) and a 75-69 win in Carbondale (Dec. 9, 2017). SIU, however, owns a 13-3 record in the previous 16 matchups between these teams. 

Against the Missouri Valley
Southern Illinois is the second Missouri Valley Conference team Southeast Missouri faces this season. The Redhawks dropped a 68-57 decision at Bradley (Nov. 10) during the opening week of the 2018-19 campaign. SEMO holds an all-time record of 110-191 against the MVC. That record includes a 46-69 mark against SIU, 0-1 record vs. Drake, 5-10 record vs. Evansville, 2-9 mark vs. Bradley, 1-8 record vs. Illinois State, 0-2 record vs. Indiana State and 55-92 mark vs. Missouri State.

Home Record
Southeast Missouri is 2-1 at home this season. Both of those wins came against non-Division I opponents. SEMO beat Quincy, 102-66, on Nov. 12 and Missouri S&T, 72-69, on Nov. 27. The Redhawks lost to Western Illinois, 70-63, on Dec. 1. 

Final Exams
After Saturday's matchup with Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri will take a week off for final exams. The Redhawks will return to action with a two-game road trip to The Citadel (Dec. 15) and Florida State (Dec. 17). SEMO will then wrap up non-conference play with a home game against Abilene Christian (Dec. 21) four days before Christmas.

It's Been Awhile
If Southeast Missouri beats Southern Illinois Saturday, it will mark the first time since 1963 where SEMO recorded consecutive wins in its series against the Salukis. That year, the Redhawks won, 72-68, in Carbondale (Jan. 16) and, 67-60, in Cape Girardeau (Feb. 13).

Familiar with the MVC
Rick Ray's first NCAA Division I coaching job was at Indiana State. Ray was an assistant coach there from 1997-2004, helping ISU to consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. In 1999-2000, the Sycamores compiled a 14-4 record in the Missouri Valley Conference and won the regular-season title. ISU then won the MVC Tournament the following season. The Sycamores upset No. 4 seed Oklahoma in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. In addition, Ray was part of the ISU staff that defeated perennial power Indiana in back-to-back seasons. Ray was also on Purdue's coaching staff with former Southern Illinois coaches Matt Painter and Paul Lusk. He is 2-8 against MVC schools as a head coach (0-3 vs. Bradley; 0-2 vs. Evansville; 1-2 vs. Missouri State; 1-1 vs. Southern Illinois).

First True Road Win
Southeast Missouri picked up its first true road win with a 77-57 victory over Southwestern Athletic Conference member Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 4). The Redhawks beat the Delta Devils for the first time in four meetings. It was the first matchup between the teams in 17 years.

Hogan to the Top
Guard Skyler Hogan took over as Southeast Missouri's top scorer after a career-high 25-point effort at Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 4). Hogan shot 10-of-16 (62.5 pct.) from the field and knocked down five 3-pointers against the Delta Devils. He boosted his average to 12.7 points a game this season and has scored double figures in six of his last seven starts. The 25 points are the most scored in a game by any Redhawk this year.

Gable and McGlothan Take a Bow
Sophomore Isaiah Gable and freshman Gabe McGlothan each reached double-digits in the scoring column for the first time in their careers. Gable scored 11 points with nine coming from 3-point range, while McGlothan finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in a narrow miss of a double-double at Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 4). 

On Guard
The Redhawks put together a nice defensive performance in their 77-57 win over Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 4). Southeast Missouri held the Delta Devils to just 31 percent (18-of-58) from the field and 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from 3-point range. The .133 three-point field goal percentage was the lowest by any opponent SEMO has faced through nine games this season.

Swat Team
Southeast Missouri registered a season-high nine blocks at Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 4), the Redhawks most in any game with Rick Ray as their head coach. SEMO had no more than three blocks in its first 101 games under Ray. The nine blocks were the Redhawks most since they had nine at UT Martin on Feb. 16, 2013. 

Starting Streak
Ledarrius Brewer has started 35-consecutive games dating back to last season. Brewer has scored in 29-straight starts. He also pitched in double figures in 25 of his last 30 contests. Meanwhile, Jonathan Dalton started 36-consecutive games at point guard.

About the Salukis
Southern Illinois, winners in six of its last seven games, carries a four-game winning streak to Cape Girardeau this weekend. The Salukis are coming off a 61-56 home win over Preseason Atlantic 10 favorite Saint Louis (Dec. 5). Armon Fletcher leads five players averaging double figures in the scoring column with 13.5 points per game. Aaron Cook (11.2), Sean Lloyd (10.6), Kavion Pippen (10.6) and Eric McGill (10.0) follow. Fletcher, Lloyd, Pippen and Cook were SIU's top four scorers a year ago.

Return to the Show Me Center
Former Southeast Missouri guard and currently Southern Illinois' top reserve, guard Eric McGill returns to the Show Me Center Saturday. McGill averages 10 points a game as one of five Salukis averaging double figure sin the scoring column. He also leads SIU with nine steals and is second on the team with 24 assists. McGill was initially part of Rick Ray's first recruiting class at SEMO in 2015-16. He averaged seven points and 2.4 rebounds in 27 games and 13 starts that year.

Tolbert Strong Underneath
Freshman Sage Tolbert leads Southeast Missouri with just under seven (6.9) rebounds per game. Tolbert grabbed 10 or more rebounds in back-to-back games and three of his last five starts. His 11 rebounds at Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 4) marked a season-high. Tolbert ranks 11th in the Ohio Valley Conference in that category.

Another Strong Week for Hogan
Skyler Hogan averaged 16 points per game in two starts last week. A native of Melbourne, Florida, Hogan began the week by scoring 14 points in 26 minutes in the Redhawks win over Missouri S&T (Nov. 27). Four days later, he dropped in a season-high 18 points in 28 minutes against Western Illinois (Dec. 1). For the week, Hogan shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field and 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from 3-point range, while dishing out four assists and collecting one steal. He ranks second on the team in scoring with 11.1 points per game and has scored double figures in five of his last six starts. 

Defending the Three
Southeast Missouri enters the weekend ranked 13th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting 26.3 percent against the Redhawks from behind the arc. The Redhawks rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference behind Murray State (21.2 percent) in that category.

Where They Rank
Ledarrius Brewer ranks among Ohio Valley Conference leaders in scoring (23rd, 11.6 ppg), rebounding (13th, 6.3 ppg), defensive rebounds (8th, 5.8 rpg) and minutes played (30th, 27.6 mpg). Sage Tolbert is 11th in the conference in rebounding (6.9 rpg), 13th in defensive rebounds (4.2 rpg) and tied for eighth in offensive rebounds (2.7 rpg). Alex Caldwell ranks eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.400) and Jonathan Dalton is eighth in assists (3.4 apg) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). Skyler Hogan ranks tied for 15th in scoring (12.7 ppg), 15th in field goal percentage (.478), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.459) and 11th in 3-point field goals made (1.9 per game). 

Same Starting Five
The Redhawks have gone with the same five starters through their first nine games of the 2018-19 season. Guards Jonathan Dalton, Ledarrius Brewer and Skyler Hogan, and forwards Isaiah Gable and Sage Tolbert have started every contest. It is the first time Southeast Missouri went with the same five starters each of its first nine games of a season under head coach Rick Ray.

Give it Up for the Freshmen
Freshmen Alex Caldwell (87), Khalil Cuffee (19), Sage Tolbert (66), Nygal Russell (41) and Gabe McGlothan (52) combined for 246 of Southeast Missouri's 634 points through nine games. SEMO's freshmen have accounted for 39 percent of the scoring in that stretch. 

Non-Conference Play
The Redhawks have 20 non-conference wins with Rick Ray as their head coach. Southeast Missouri's most non-conference victories in a season under Ray stand at six during both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns. SEMO ended a four-game losing streak against non-conference opponents with a 102-66 victory over Quincy (Nov. 12).