Eastern Illinois (5-12, 2-8 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (5-10, 3-6 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, January 30, 2021
Tip-Off: 5 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: SEMO leads, 30-26
Last Meeting: EIU 72, SEMO 70 (Feb. 27, 2020 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (5-10 overall, 5-10 at SEMO; 3-6 OVC). Jay Spoonhour (221-183 overall; 115-151 at EIU).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Redhawks Welcome Eastern Illinois 
Southeast Missouri (5-10, 3-6) welcomes Eastern Illinois (5-12, 2-8) Saturday. Tip is set for 5 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Redhawks
Listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM with Erik Sean handling the play-by-play. Watch on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois meet for the 57th time this weekend. SEMO owns a 30-26 lead in the all-time series. The Redhawks dropped two games by two points against the Panthers last season. EIU won, 61-59, in Charleston on Jan. 25, 2020 and, 72-70, in Cape Girardeau on Feb. 27. SEMO defeated the Panthers in three of their previous four trips to the Show Me Center. 

Longest Homestand
The Redhawks continue their five-game homestand against Eastern Illinois Saturday. Southeast Missouri is at the Show Me Center for eight of 10 games through Feb. 22. The five-game stretch is Southeast Missouri's longest Ohio Valley Conference homestand in program history. It also matches the longest homestand in SEMO's NCAA Division I era. The other time the Redhawks played five home games in a row since moving to Division I was in 1997-98 (vs. Central Methodist, vs. Bradley, vs. Oakland City, vs. Tennessee State, vs. Austin Peay). 

Last Second Win
Eric Reed, Jr. made two free throws with five tenths of a second left to send Southeast Missouri to a 64-62 win over SIU Edwardsville Thursday. SEMO never led in the game until Reed, Jr. made his big free throws. The Redhawks erased a 13-point deficit en route to their fifth win of the season. SEMO's three wins in January are its most in a month this year.

Under 70
Southeast Missouri has scored under 70 points in six-straight games. SEMO's 66 points at UT Martin (Jan. 26) are the most it scored during that span. The Redhawks are
2-7 in games where they score under 70 points with both of their wins in such games coming this month.

Big Seven
DQ Nicholas had seven huge points in the second half in Southeast Missouri's latest win over SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 28). Nicholas made the game-tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to set things up for Eric Reed, Jr.'s last second free throws. Nicholas also led the Redhawks with seven rebounds, his fifth time getting seven or more rebounds this year. Nicholas is SEMO's fourth-leading scorer with 9.3 points a game.

Five NCAA Division I Wins 
Southeast Missouri picked up its fifth NCAA Division I win this season with its 64-62 victory over SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 28). SEMO matched its number of wins over NCAA Division I teams that it had a year ago. Interestingly enough, the Redhawks claimed their fifth NCAA Division I win over SIUE for the second-straight year.

Nice Defense 
For the second time this season, Southeast Missouri forced over 20 turnovers in a game when it smothered SIU Edwardsville into committing 21 on Jan. 28. SEMO forced 14 turnovers in the second half and turned those miscues into 15 points. At one time, the Redhawks forced five turnovers in a span of 3:41.

Redhawks to Play Eastern Kentucky Twice at Home in February
Southeast Missouri will now host Eastern Kentucky twice at the Show Me Center in late February. SEMO faces EKU on Saturday, Feb.  20 (5 p.m.) and Monday, Feb. 22 (6 p.m.) as part of the recent schedule change. The Redhawks initial home date against the Colonels scheduled for Feb. 18 will move to Saturday behind SEMO's women's game vs. Morehead State. SEMO's original road game at EKU on Jan. 23 that was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols in the Colonels program has been rescheduled for Feb. 22 in Cape Girardeau. 

COVID Protocols
The Redhawks have had six of of their initially scheduled dates (Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Jan. 11, Jan. 14, Jan. 16, Jan. 23) affected by COVID protocols this season. All of those games were rescheduled.

Road Review
Southeast Missouri is back home after a three-game road trip. SEMO went 1-2 during that lengthy stretch with a win at Tennessee State (63-59) on Jan. 19 and losses at Morehead State (76-65, Jan. 21) and UT Martin (69-66, Jan. 26). The Redhawks dropped to 1-7 in true road games this year.

Last Time vs. Eastern Illinois
Josiah Wallace scored 29 points and Eastern Illinois escaped with a 72-70 win over Southeast Missouri at the Show Me Center on Feb. 27, 2020. SEMO trailed, 36-26, at halftime, but battled back to take a one-point lead with 2:07 left to play. Wallace, however, scored the next four points before the Redhawks scored a layup to make it a 71-70 game with 4.3 seconds on the clock. Shareef Smith split two free throws and SEMO had one last chance, but missed a baseline jumper as time expired.

About Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois is on a seven-game losing streak, currently longest in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Panthers come to Cape Girardeau with an overall record of 5-12 and 2-8 in the league and rank 10th in the conference standings. EIU is third in the OVC in steals (106). Individually, Josiah Wallace leads the Panthers with 16 points a game. Marvin Johnson and Mack Smith follow with 14.5 and 9.2 points per game, respectively. Smith made a 3-pointer in an NCAA record 91-straight games before his streak ended at Morehead State vs. Jan. 14. 

Getting to the Free Throw Line
In its game at Morehead State (Jan. 21), Southeast Missouri shot 18-of-27 free throws, marking the sixth time this season it had 27 or more free throw attempts. In the last seven games alone, SEMO has shot a total of 188 free throws for an average of 27 per contest. In two games against Tennessee State, the Redhawks shot 86 free throws and matched a single-game program record with 40 makes in 51 attempts vs. the Tigers on Jan. 2. SEMO outscored its last five opponents by a combined 124-99 for a +25 margin at the free throw line. 

Season Sweep
With its 63-59 win on Jan. 19, Southeast Missouri completed a two-game sweep of Tennessee State this season. The Redhawks won both games by four points. SEMO defeated TSU, 83-79, in double overtime on Jan. 2 (Cape Girardeau) before winning in Nashville this week. It was the first time SEMO beat the Tigers twice in a season since 1998-99. 

Nicholas For Three
DQ Nicholas made only three 3-pointers through his first 11 games this season, but has matched that number in three of his last four starts. Nicholas shot 54.5 percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc going 3-of-6 at Tennessee State (Jan. 19), 3-of-5 at Morehead State (Jan. 21) and 1-of-3 vs. SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 28).

Akenten Playing Well
Nana Akenten led Southeast Missouri with a double-double 20 points and 11 rebounds at Belmont (Jan. 7). Akenten then topped the Redhawks with 14 points vs. Morehead State (Jan. 16). He made four 3-pointers against the Eagles, marking the third time he drained four in a game this year. Most recently, Akenten led SEMO with 18 points at UT Martin (Jan. 26) and 10 points vs. SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 28). He stands third on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg) and leads SEMO with 6.1 rebounds per contest.

Leading at Halftime
The Redhawks have either led or been tied at halftime in 10 of its 15 games this season. Southeast Missouri held a 35-33 edge at the intermission at Ohio Valley Conference leader Belmont (Jan. 7). It was the first time SEMO led at the half in 10 meetings with the Bruins. All four of the Redhawks wins have come when they led at the half this year.

Homecourt Success
Three of Southeast Missouri's five wins have come at the Show Me Center this season. The Redhawks beat Lipscomb, 82-77, on Dec. 7, Tennessee State, 83-79, in double overtime on Jan. 2 and SIU Edwardsville, 64-62, on Jan. 28. The Redhawks are 3-3 overall at home this year. SEMO had six wins at the Show Me Center last season.

Close Games
Southeast Missouri, which has been outscored by a tight 3.5 margin, dropped three contests in overtime and one on a last second shot since its 2020-21 campaign began on Nov. 28. SEMO has lost three times by double figures (77-66, at Belmont, Jan. 7; 64-50, vs. Morehead State, Jan. 16; 76-65 at Morehead State, Jan. 21) and won five games by no more than five points. SEMO also dropped three games by three points or less. Additionally, the Redhawks been involved in six games decided by no more than four points.

Multiple Threes
Eric Reed, Jr. has gone eight of his last 11 games with at least two made threes. Reed, Jr. has made multiple 3-pointers in 10 of his 15 contests this year. He buried a season-high three 3-pointers vs. Southern Illinois (Dec. 2), Lipscomb (Dec. 7) and at Evansville (Dec. 15). Reed, Jr. ranks tied for second on the team with 25 three-pointers in 2020-21.

3-Point Percentage
Southeast Missouri ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .340 3-point field goal percentage. The Redhawks have made 111-of-326 three-pointers through 15 contests. SEMO is averaging 7.4 three-pointers a game. 

Working Overtime
The Redhawks went to overtime four times in 10 games this year. Southeast Missouri lost at home to Southern Illinois (87-79) on Dec. 2 and at Lipscomb (80-74) on Dec. 9. The Redhawks also fell to Evansville (66-63) on the road on Dec. 15 and beat Tennessee State (83-79) at home on Jan. 2. SEMO was involved in only one overtime game in 31 contests last season. SEMO's three overtimes against non-conference foes were the most in program history. The Redhawks four overtimes overall are their most in a season since they played five overtime games in 1997-98.

Board Certified
The Redhawks outrebounded their opponent nine times this season. Southeast Missouri ranks fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a +2.9 rebounding margin and is outrebounding its opponents, 533-490. The Redhawks are also averaging 9.4 offensive rebounds per contest.

Give it to the Big Man
Redhawks big man Nolan Taylor ranks second on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.7 rpg). Taylor has scored double figures in seven of his 15 starts and just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards at Evansville (Dec. 15). Taylor established season-bests in points (16), assists (5) and minutes (28) against Lipscomb (Dec. 7). He previously scored 10 points vs. Kansas City (Nov. 28) and 14 vs. Southern Illinois (Dec. 2). Taylor is also the Redhawks fifth-best free throw shooter with a 62.9 percent clip (39-of-62). SEMO is the third Division I school Taylor has played basketball at. Prior to joining the Redhawks, he spent two seasons at Pepperdine and two at Cal Poly. Taylor's 2019-20 campaign was limited to 14 games due to injury.