Southeast Missouri at Missouri State

Game Information
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Tip-Off: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Springfield, Mo.
Facility: JQH Arena (11,000)
Series: MSU leads, 92-54
Last Meeting: MSU 71, SEMO 66 (Feb. 17, 2016 | Springfield, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (11-16 overall, 11-16 at SEMO; 9-11 OVC). Dana Ford (106-105 overall; 49-40 at MSU).

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

Redhawks Open Season at In-State Foe Missouri State 
Southeast Missouri opens its 2021-22 season at in-state foe Missouri State Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT at JQH Arena.

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

Against the MVC
Southeast Missouri plays its 307th game against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent at Missouri State Tuesday. The Redhawks are 109-197 all-time against the MVC. MSU is the first of three MVC opponents SEMO faces this season. Here is how the Redhawks fared against Valley foes.
vs. Southern Illinois    46-72
vs. Drake    0-2
vs. Evansville    5-11
vs. Bradley    2-9
vs. Illinois State    1-8
vs. Indiana State    1-3
vs. Missouri State    54-92

Season-Openers
The Redhawks are 11-19 in season-opening games during its NCAA Division I era. Southeast Missouri opens a season away from home for the 15th time in 16 years when it visits Missouri State. The Redhawks have never won a season-opener outside of Cape Girardeau in consecutive years as a Division I program.

Series History
Tuesday marks the 147th meeting between in-state schools Southeast Missouri and Missouri State. MSU leads the all-time series by a count of 92-54. SEMO lost four of the last five
meetings with the Bears. The Redhawks' last win in Springfield came in 2015 (78-74, Dec. 22). SEMO and MSU last met on Dec. 17, 2016. The Bears won that game, 71-66, in Springfield.

Missouri State Connection
Brad Korn, Keith Pickens and Sam McMahon all have connections to Missouri State. Korn was an assistant coach at MSU from 2013-16, Pickens played for the Bears from 2009-14 and was a graduate manager from 2014-16. Meanwhile, McMahon was previously at MSU as a video coordinator (2010-12) and director of operations (2012-14). Korn coaches against MSU for the first time in his head coaching career.

Season 115
The Redhawks begin their 115th season of basketball when they visit Missouri State this week. This year marks Southeast Missouri's 31st as an NCAA Division I program. The Redhawks are 354-521 since joining the Division I ranks in 1991-92. SEMO has a total of eight winning seasons as an NCAA Division I program with its last coming in 2013-14 (18-14). 

Mr. Experience
Guard Nygal Russell is Southeast Missouri's most experienced player on this year's roster. Russell has played in a total of 86 games and logged 23 starts in his career. He is in his fourth year with the Redhawks and averaged 5.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for his career.

Redhawks Tabbed Fourth in OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri, after being picked to finish no higher than ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll each of the last five seasons, was selected fourth in 2021-22. The Redhawks tallied 101 points in the overall voting by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Communication Directors. The Redhawks achieved their highest OVC preseason ranking in seven years. SEMO was selected third overall (second in the West) ahead of the 2014-15 campaign when the conference was split in divisions. Belmont is this year's preseason favorite after garnering 161 points and all but three of the first-place votes. Morehead State, which represented the OVC in the NCAA Tournament last season, collected 141 points and three first-place nods, while Murray State (136 pts.) took third. Tennessee State (84 pts.), Austin Peay (76 pts.), SIU Edwardsville (65 pts.), Tennessee Tech (62 pts.), Eastern Illinois (43 pts.) and UT Martin (34 pts.) complete the 10-team preseason poll.

Harris Garners OVC Preseason Honors
Guard Chris Harris earned Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference honors for the first time in his career. Harris returns as the team's top scorer. One of five returning starters, Harris averaged 12.3 points per game in 26 starts a year ago. He led the Redhawks in assists (88) and minutes played (30.2 per game), while ranking fourth in steals (25), third in 3-point field goals made (38) and second in free throw percentage (.735). Harris scored double figures in 18 of his starts. Belmont guard Grayson Murphy and Morehead State forward Johni Broome shared the OVC Preseason Player of the Year honor.

Big Improvement
In Brad Korn's first season as head coach in 2020-21, Southeast Missouri made the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the first time in four years. The Redhawks finished with an overall record of 11-16 and seventh in the league with a 9-11 mark. SEMO saw a +4 improvement in total wins and a +6 jump in OVC victories from the 2019-20 campaign. The Redhawks' nine conference wins matched their most in a season in 20 years.

Season-Opening Starting Lineup
Phillip Russell, Eric Reed, Jr., Chris Harris, Nana Akenten and Sam Thompson are expected to start in Southeast Missouri's season-opener at Missouri State. Russell and Thompson make their debuts with the Redhawks this season, while Reed, Jr., Harris and Akenten are returning starters from last season. Tuesday will be Russell's first SEMO start at point guard.

Roster Talk
Southeast Missouri's 14-man roster consists of players from eight different states (Missouri, Florida, Geogia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin). SEMO has 10 returning players, including all five of its starters from 2020-21. Four freshmen (Phillip Russell, Adam Larson, Chase Thompson, Sam Thompson) complete this year's roster. 

Top Scorers
Southeast Missouri brings back its top five scorers from last season in Chris Harris (12.3 ppg), Eric Reed, Jr. (11 ppg), Nana Akenten (9.3 ppg), DQ Nicholas (8.8 ppg) and Nolan Taylor (8.8 ppg). Reed, Jr. is the Redhawks top 3-point shooter after draining a team-high 61 in 27 games and 22 starts. He led the Ohio Valley Conference with a .459 (61-of-133) three-point field goal percentage.

Welcome Back
St. Louis native Phillip Russell is back with Southeast Missouri this season. Russell initially signed with the Redhawks out of high school, but decommitted and went to Saint Louis University as a walk-on. He saw action in eight games off the bench and averaged 2.1 points per contest with the Billikens. Prior to that, he helped lead Vashon High School to a state title. Russell will make his first career start as SEMO's point guard at Missouri State Tuesday.

Backcourt
SEMO has a talented tandem at point guard in DQ Nicholas (Atlanta, Ga.) and Phillip Russell (St. Louis, Mo.). Nicholas was the only player who started all 27 games last season. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and second in both assists (86) and steals (30). Nicholas scored double figures on 12 occasions, as well. Russell, who initially signed with SEMO out of high school, instead decommitted and spent the 2020-21 campaign as a walk-on at Saint Louis. He played in eight games off the bench and averaged 2.1 points per contest with the Billikens before re-joining the Redhawks. Both Nicholas and Russell complement each other well and are a tough two-headed monster at the point.

Perimeter
The Redhawks bring back their top two scoring threats on the perimeter. SEMO's top 3-point shooter, Eric Reed, Jr. (Baton Rouge, La.),  was a pleasant surprise as a newcomer in 2020-21.  In his first year of NCAA Division I basketball, Reed, Jr. led the team and ranked first in the OVC in both 3-point field goals made (61) and 3-point field goal percentage (.459). He ranked second on the team with 11 points per game as one of two Redhawks averaging double figures in the scoring column. Reed, Jr.'s .459 three-point field goal percentage was good for fifth among the school's all-time single-season leaders Opposite Reed, Jr. at the three-guard position is Chris Harris (Antioch, Ill.). Harris earned Preseason All-OVC accolades after putting together a year that saw him lead SEMO in scoring (12.3 ppg), minutes (30.2 mpg), assists (88) and free throws made (97). He started 26 games and rated 10th among league leaders in assist/turnover ratio. All of Harris' success in 2020-21 came after he recovered from a knee injury that limited him to only two games the year before. Nana Akenten (Bolingbrook, Ill.), Nygal Russell (Houston, Texas), Dylan Branson (St. Louis, Mo.) and Parker Long (Sikeston, Mo.) are the rest of the returning perimeter players. Akenten started 24 of 27 games and led the Redhawks in rebounds per game (5.8) and steals (34), while ranking third on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per contest. His .744 free throw percentage was the best among SEMO starters last season Similar to Akenten is Russell, who stretches the perimeter depth. In his fourth year at SEMO, Russell is the most experienced player on the 2021-22 roster. He played in 27 games and made seven starts, averaging 3.9 points and four rebounds last season. Branson, who played strictly at the four spot as a true freshman last season, can play either of the one, two, three or four positions. He appeared in 25 games, while averaging three points and 2.4 rebounds per game a year ago. Long was ruled eligible to play by the NCAA in mid-January of 2020-21 and played in 15 games, all off the bench. Rounding out the perimeter is newcomer Adam Larson (Fennimore, Wis.). Larson joins the Redhawks from Fennimore High School, where he polished off his prep career averaging a double-double 24.2 points and 10.4 rebounds.

Frontcourt
SEMO's frontcourt will be centered around Manny Patterson (Chicago, Ill.), Nate Johnson (Broward County, Fla.) and Sam Thompson (St. Charles, Mo.). Patterson started 12 of the 22 games he played during his first year in a Redhawk uniform last season. He shot 50.6 percent (44-of-87) from the field and led the team with 19 blocks. Patterson ended the year with an average of 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds a game. Johnson is presently out with a knee injury and is expected to return when the Redhawks head to the Incarnate Word Tournament during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 26-28). He contributed 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in nine minutes per game last season. Expected to make an immediate impact underneath  is Thompson. Thompson led Francis Howell High School with 18.4 points and 8.4 rebounds as a senior. He gathered a team-high 49 blocks for an average of 2.6 per game. Nolan Taylor (Keller, Texas) and Chase Thompson (Omaha, Neb.) complete the squad. Taylor, who has dealt with a lingering knee injury during his time at SEMO, played in 18 games and made 15 starts in 2020-21. He tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 8.8 points per game and rated third on the team with 4.1 boards per contest. Thompson enters his first year of NCAA Division I basketball after transferring from Western Nebraska Community College. There, he was WNCC's top scorer with 19.4 points per game in 2019-20. Thompson shot 48 percent from the field and 34 percent from 3-point range that season.

2021-22 Schedule
A 31-game schedule with 14 matchups at the Show Me Center is in store for the Southeast Missouri men's basketball team this 2021-22 season. SEMO tips off its season against in-state foe Missouri State on Nov. 3. This year marks the 147th meeting between the schools The Redhawks non-conference home slate features games against Youngstown State (Nov. 13), Arkansas State (Nov. 19), Missouri Baptist (Nov. 23), Webster University (Dec. 4) and Evansville (Dec. 8). SEMO will travel to San Antonio, Texas for a tournament at Incarnate Word University over Thanksgiving weekend. The Redhawks face Portland (Nov. 26), host Incarnate Word (Nov. 27) and Montana State (Nov. 28) as part of the four-team event. The Redhawks close out non-league action on a four-game road stretch with trips to Purdue Fort Wayne (Dec. 11), Southern Illinois (Sept. 15), Pepperdine (Dec. 18) and California Baptist (Dec. 21). Longtime rivals SEMO and SIU hook up for the 118th time on the hardwood. SEMO remains on the road for the start of Ohio Valley Conference play which begins with a visit to rival Murray State (Dec. 30). Two days later, Austin Peay (Jan. 1) comes to Cape Girardeau for the Redhawks OVC home-opener on New Year's Day. The Redhawks also host Tennessee Tech (Jan. 13), Tennessee State (Jan. 20), Morehead State (Jan. 27), SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 29), Eastern Illinois (Feb. 5), Belmont (Feb. 12), UT Martin (Feb. 24) and Murray State (Feb. 26) in home OVC play. Trips to Belmont (Jan. 6), Tennessee State (Jan. 8), SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 15), Eastern Illinois (Jan. 22), UT Martin (Feb. 3), Austin Peay (Feb. 10), Tennessee Tech (Feb. 17) and Morehead State (Feb. 19) complete SEMO's 18-game conference schedule. The 2022 OVC Tournament will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana on Mar. 2-5. This is the fifth-straight year the tournament will be played in that venue.

Home Game vs. Morehead State will Air on ESPNU
Southeast Missouri's home game against Morehead State will air on ESPNU as part of the 2021-22 ESPN Basketball Television Package. That matchup is set for Thursday, January 27. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center. This year's slate of Conference basketball games across ESPN networks includes nine total men's basketball games (six regular season contests and three OVC Tournament games) that will appear on one of the linear networks during the season. Four of the regular season matchups and the OVC Tournament semifinals will air on ESPNU, two games will be televised on ESPNews and the OVC Tournament championship game will air on ESPN2.