Belmont (10-5, 1-1 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (4-11, 0-2 OVC)

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2020
Tip-Off: 7:15 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series History: Belmont leads, 8-0
Last Meeting: BEL 84, SEMO 66 (Mar. 2, 2019 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (84-151 overall; 47-91 at SEMO; 24-46 OVC). Casey Alexander (147-125 overall; 10-5 at BEL; 1-1 OVC).

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

Redhawks Host Belmont
Southeast Missouri (4-11, 0-2) hosts preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Belmont (10-5, 1-1) Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Thursday's game live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean and Jess Bolen will call the action. Video is available at ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Series History
Belmont is 8-0 in its all-time series against Southeast Missouri. That mark includes a 4-0 record at the Show Me Center. Last year was the first time these teams squared off twice in a season. Belmont won both matchups by scores of 97-71 (Nashville, Tenn.) and 84-66 (Cape Girardeau, Mo.).

Back Home
Southeast Missouri begins a four-game home stand when it plays host to Belmont Thursday. The home stand is SEMO's longest of the season. Tennessee State (Jan. 11), Austin Peay (Jan. 16) and Murray State (Jan. 18) also visit Cape Girardeau during that stretch.

Tough Week Ahead
The Redhawks have another tough week ahead when they host Belmont (Jan. 9) and Tennessee State (Jan. 11). Belmont leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring with 80.9 points per game and TSU is the league-leader with a .486 field goal percentage. The Tigers are currently first in the conference standings. Both Belmont and TSU are first in the OVC with 10 wins.

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 188-284 all-time in OVC play. SEMO last had a winning OVC record in 2016-17 (9-7).

One From 100
Sage Tolbert, Southeast Missouri's leading rebounder with 6.6 per game, is one away from reaching 100 this season. Tolbert grabbed eight or more rebounds a total of five times with a season-best 11 vs. Missouri Baptist (Dec. 29). He stands with 255 rebounds in his career.

Agnew Out with Knee Injury
Forward Darrious Agnew, who started five-straight games (Dec. 7-29), is out with a knee injury. Agnew played only three minutes before sustaining his injury against Missouri Baptist (Dec. 29). He recently had surgery and is expected to return in 2-3 weeks.

Russell Misses Murray State Game
After making his first start of the season at Austin Peay (Jan. 2), Nygal Russell was out with back spasms two days later at Murray State (Jan. 4). Russell scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in 19 minutes against the Governors. It was his first start since he posted a near-double-double nine points and eight rebounds in SEMO's 2018-19 season finale vs. Belmont (Mar. 2).

Caldwell Ties Career-High
Alex Caldwell tied a season and career-high 18 points to lead Southeast Missouri against Murray State (Jan. 4). Caldwell shot 8-of-15 from the field, knocked down two 3-pointers, dished out three assists and had two steals. He led the Redhawks in scoring three-straight games and a total of six times this season.

30 or Less
The Redhawks scored 30 or less points in the first half during eight of their last 10 games. Southeast Missouri has scored no more than 30 in the game's first 20 minutes in five of its last six contests. The Redhawks also went a stretch of at least eight minutes without a field goal in two of their previous four games -- 11:21 in first half at Southern Illinois (12/21); 8:04 in first half at Austin Peay (1/2). SEMO has scored 30 or less points in 15 of its 30 halves (8 first half; 7 second half) of basketball this year.

Last Time Out
Southeast Missouri started strong at Murray State (Jan. 4) scoring on its first three possessions of the game. The Redhawks later led, 18-12, with 11:41 remaining in the first half before the Racers made six-straight field goals to take the lead. MSU led, 42-33, at halftime and then pulled away for good with the help of a 12-3 run to start the second half.

Three in Double Figures
The Redhawks had three players finish with double figures in the scoring column for the 10th time this season at Murray State (Jan. 4). Alex Caldwell paved the way with 18 points, while Isaiah Gable added 11 points and Quatarrius Wilson chipped in 10. Gable's 11 points marked a season-high.

Redhawks at Home
The Redhawks are 3-1 at the Show Me Center with wins over Purdue Fort Wayne (79-78, Nov. 10), Missouri S&T (72-71, Nov. 22) and Missouri Baptist (74-59, Dec. 29). Southeast Missouri carries a two-game home winning streak into Thursday's matchup with Belmont.

3-Point Difference
Southeast Missouri has made 8 0three-pointers through 15 games, fewest in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks are averaging 5.3 three-pointers per contest and made 31 percent (80-of-262). SEMO has shot under 30 percent from beyond the arc a total of eight times this year. The Redhawks shot under 20 percent twice. Opponents have made 116 threes and hold a 348-240 (+108) advantage in points behind the 3-point line.

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 underwent surgery on Jan. 6.

About Belmont
Preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Belmont enters the week with an overall record of 10-5 and 1-1 in league play. The Bruins lead the conference in several categories, including scoring offense (80.5 ppg), rebounding offense (40.5 rpg), assists (18.1 apg), assist/turnover ratio (1.4), defensive rebounds (31.3 rpg) and 3-point field goals made (10.5 per game). Sophomore Adam Kunkel ranks fourth in the OVC in scoring with 17.3 points per game and Grayson Murphy tops the conference in assists with 5.6 per contest. Belmont currently has a OVC-best four road wins this season under first-year head coach Casey Alexander.