Southeast Missouri (4-10, 0-1 OVC) at Murray State (8-5, 1-0 OVC)
Date: Saturday, January 4, 2020
Tip-Off: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Murray, Ky.
Arena: CFSB Center (8,600)
Series History: MSU leads, 58-21
Last Meeting: MSU 103, SEMO 67 (Feb. 23, 2019 | Murray, Ky.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (84-150 overall; 47-90 at SEMO; 24-45 OVC). Matt McMahon (95-47 overall; 95-47 at MSU; 51-18 OVC).
Media Coverage
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes (PDF)
Redhawks Head to Murray State
Southeast Missouri (4-10, 0-1) heads to rival and defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion Murray State (8-5, 1-0) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at the CFSB Center.
Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will call the action. Video is available at ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed at GoRacers.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.
Series History
Rivals Southeast Missouri and Murray State meet for the 80th time Saturday. MSU holds a 58-21 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1930-31. The Racers have the most wins against SEMO of any Ohio Valley Conference opponent. MSU has won each of the last four meetings of the series and eight of the previous 10 matchups. Six of SEMO's wins against the Racers have come at the CFSB Center, the most of any opponent at that facility.
OVC Member
Southeast Missouri is in its 29th season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. SEMO first joined the league when it moved to NCAA Division I in 1991-92. The Redhawks are 188-283 all-time in OVC play. SEMO last had a winning OVC record in 2016-17 (9-7).
See You Again Soon
The Redhawks will complete its home-and-home series with both Austin Peay and Murray State during the first three weeks of Ohio Valley Conference play. APSU (Jan. 16) and MSU (Jan. 18) visit Cape Girardeau in week three of the conference season, two weeks after squaring off to open the league slate.
Redhawks End Non-Conference Play
Southeast Missouri ended non-conference play with a 74-59 home victory over Missouri Baptist (Dec. 29). The Redhawks finished with a 4-9 record against non-league foes with eight of those losses outside of Cape Girardeau.
30 or Less
The Redhawks scored 30 or less points in the first half during eight of their last nine games. Southeast Missouri has scored no more than 30 in the game's first 20 minutes in each of its last five contests. The Redhawks also went a stretch of at least eight minutes without a field goal in two of their previous three games -- 11:21 in first half at Southern Illinois (12/21); 8:04 in first half at Austin Peay (1/2).
OVC Openers
With its 78-53 loss at Austin Peay (Jan. 2), Southeast Missouri dropped to 10-19 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers. The Redhawks are 1-4 in conference openers under head coach Rick Ray.
Looking for First Road Win
Southeast Missouri is 0-8 in true road games this season and has dropped 10-straight road contests dating back to last year. The Redhawks last road win was an 88-79 victory at Eastern Illinois on Feb. 16, 2019.
Russell Logs First Start
Nygal Russell made his first start of the season in Southeast Missouri's Ohio Valley Conference opener at Austin Peay (Jan. 2). Russell scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in 19 minutes. It was his first start since he posted a near-double-double with nine points and eight rebounds in SEMO's 2018-19 season finale vs. Belmont (Mar. 2).
Harris Out for Season
Chris Harris, who opened his Southeast Missouri career with back-to-back double-digit scoring games and drained a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Redhawks their first victory of the season (vs. Purdue Fort Wayne), is out for the season with a knee injury. Harris initially sustained his injury during practice prior to SEMO's matchup with The Citadel (Nov. 19). He averaged 15.5 points per game and was SEMO's leading scorer in each of the first two games of the 2019-20 campaign. Harris is scheduled to undergo surgery next week.
Agnew Out with Knee Injury
Forward Darrious Agnew, who started five-straight games (Dec. 7-29), is out for Southeast Missouri's games this week due to a knee injury. Agnew played only three minutes before sustaining his injury against Missouri Baptist (Dec. 29).
Three in Double Figures
Southeast Missouri had three players finish with double figures in the scoring column for the ninth time this season at Austin Peay (Jan. 2). Alex Caldwell paved the way with 12 points, while Skyler Hogan and DQ Nicholas followed close behind with 11 each. Nicholas came off the bench for just the second time this year.
OVC Play Begins
Southeast Missouri opens its 18-game Ohio Valley Conference slate at Austin Peay (Jan. 2) and Murray State (Jan. 4). Both APSU (6-0) and MSU (7-0) are undefeated at home. Tennessee State, MSU, APSU, Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky and SIU Edwardsville all recorded wins on the opening night of league play, Jan. 2.
3-Point Difference
Southeast Missouri has made 76 three-pointers through 14 games, fewest in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks are averaging 5.4 three-pointers per contest and made 31 percent (76-of-245). SEMO has shot under 30 percent from beyond the arc a total of seven times this year. The Redhawks shot under 20 percent twice. Opponents have made 112 threes and hold a 336-228 (+108) advantage in points behind the 3-point line.
About Murray State
Defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion Murray State is presently 8-5 overall and recently picked up an 89-76 conference opening win over UT Martin (Jan. 2). MSU is one of three OVC teams with eight or more victories in 2019-20. The Racers lead the league in scoring defense (62.5 ppg allowed), scoring margin (+13.3), field goal percentage defense (.390), rebounding offense (39.6 rpg), rebounding defense (29 rpg) and rebounding margin (+10.6). Sophomore Tevin Brown ranks fourth in the OVC in scoring with 17.2 points a game and freshman Demond Robinson tops the conference in field goal percentage (.674).
