Tennessee Tech (2-16, 2-9 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (6-11, 4-7 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Thursday, February 4, 2021
Tip-Off: 8 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: TTU leads, 36-17
Last Meeting: TTU 72, SEMO 63 (Dec. 30. 2020 | Cookeville, Tenn.)
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (6-11 overall, 6-11 at SEMO; 4-7 OVC). John Pelphrey (160-164 overall; 160-164 at TTU).

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 Host Tennessee Tech 
Southeast Missouri (6-11, 4-7) hosts Tennessee Tech (2-16, 2-9) in its fourth-straight home game Thursday. Tip is set for 8 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 Tennessee Tech meet for the 54th time Thursday. TTU leads the all-time series, 36-17, and beat SEMO, 72-63, in the Ohio Valley Conference opener back on Dec. 30. The Golden Eagles have won four of the last five matchups between the teams, including each of the previous three games of the series. SEMO beat TTU in three of its last five trips to Cape Girardeau.  

Longest Homestand
The Redhawks continue their five-game homestand against Tennessee Tech Thursday. 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). 

Looking to Regroup
Southeast Missouri's first winning streak of the season ended at two games when it fell to Murray State, 77-60, on Feb. 1. The Redhawks won two of their last three contests and own a 2-1 record in their current homestand.

Largest Victory
The Redhawks put together a dominating complete game 75-44 victory over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 30). Southeast Missouri won a game by double figures for the first time this season. The 31-point victory marked the first time SEMO won an Ohio Valley Conference home game by more than 30 points since 2016-17. SEMO beat Eastern Kentucky, 81-48, on Dec. 31 that year.

.500 January
Southeast Missouri finished January with a .500 record (4-4). SEMO ended the month on a two-game winning streak with victories in three of its last five January matchups. The Redhawks scored 75 or more points for the fourth time when it blew out Eastern Illinois, 75-44, on Jan. 30.  

About Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Tech is second to last in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an overall record of 2-16 and 2-9 in Ohio Valley Conference play. TTU's 16 losses are the most in the conference. Statistically, the Golden Eagles are last in the OVC in scoring offense (64.4 ppg) and scoring margin (-13.1), and 11th in scoring defense allowing 77.5 points a game.   TTU has lost seven of its last eight contests and beat Tennessee State, 74-71, for its other league win on Jan. 16.

Last Time vs. Tennessee Tech
Southeast Missouri had 19 turnovers in a 72-63 Ohio Valley Conference opening loss to Tennessee Tech on Dec. 30. SEMO, after trailing by double figures at halftime, got within two possessions six times in the final 4:39 of the game, but couldn't catch the Golden Eagles. Eric Reed, Jr. and Chris Harris paved the way with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Taylor Out
Forward Nolan Taylor will miss the rest of the week due to a knee injury he sustained during the SIU Edwardsville game on Jan. 28. Taylor missed the last two games and will not be available for this week's other matchups vs. Tennessee Tech (Feb. 4) and Jacksonville State (Feb. 6).

Patterson Steps In
Forward Manny Patterson replaced Nolan Taylor in the starting lineup the last two games. Patterson scored a season-high 11 points and had four rebounds in his first career Southeast Missouri start vs. Eastern Illinois (Jan. 30). 

Dominating the Glass
In its win over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 30), Southeast Missouri outrebounded the Panthers, 50-25. SEMO's +25 rebounding margin was its largest in an Ohio Valley Conference game since it outrebounded Austin Peay, 50-26 (+24) at home on Jan. 26, 2012.

More on the Win Over Eastern Illinois
The Redhawks 75-44 win was their second-largest in 57 games against Eastern Illinois. Southeast Missouri took control of the game early and never let up. SEMO man-handled the Panthers in points in the paint (32-2), points off turnovers (20-6), second chance points (17-3) and fast break points (12-0).

Last Time vs. Murray State
Southeast Missouri's best performance of the 2019-20 season came against Murray State in a 96-91 overtime loss at the Show Me Center (Jan. 18). SEMO and MSU exchanged leads nine times and there were 10 lead changes in the slugfest. At the end, the Racers pulled away by scoring the first five points in overtime and outscored the Redhawks, 18-13, in the final five minutes. DQ Nicholas led SEMO with 21 points and made 11-of-13 free throws.

Rebounding Binge
Point guard DQ Nicholas led Southeast Missouri in rebounds four-straight games. Nicholas averaged 8.3 rebounds per game in his last four starts. He is the Redhawks second-leading rebounder with an average of 5.1 per contest. Nicholas grabbed a total of 33 rebounds in that span.

Long Gets First Points
Sikeston native Parker Long scored the first points of his NCAA Division I career vs. Murray State (Feb. 1). Long's first points came on a 3-pointer with 14:55 remaining in the game.

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.

Six NCAA Division I Wins 
Southeast Missouri picked up its sixth NCAA Division I win this season with its 75-44 victory over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 30). SEMO surpassed its number of wins (5) over NCAA Division I teams a year ago. 

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. The Redhawks 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.

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 nine games alone, SEMO has shot a total of 221 free throws for an average of 25 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 six opponents by a combined 149-111 for a +38 margin at the free throw line. 

Nicholas Grabs Career-High in Rebounds
DQ Nicholas recently established a new career-high with nine rebounds at UT Martin (Jan. 26) and vs. Murray State (Feb. 1). Nicholas is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game.

First Road Win
Southeast Missouri picked up its first true road victory of the Brad Korn era when it defeated Tennessee State, 63-59, in the only Ohio Valley Conference game played Tuesday. The Redhawks ended a 23-game losing streak in true road games. SEMO's last true road win came at Eastern Illinois (88-79) on Feb. 23, 2019.

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. 

Leading at Halftime
The Redhawks have either led or been tied at halftime in 11 of its 17 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. Five of the the Redhawks six wins have come when they led at the half this year.

Homecourt Success
Four of Southeast Missouri's six 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, SIU Edwardsville, 64-62, on Jan. 28 and Eastern Illinois, 75-44, on Jan. 30. The Redhawks are 4-4 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 2.3 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 four times by double figures (77-66, at Belmont, Jan. 7; 64-50, vs. Morehead State, Jan. 16; 76-65 at Morehead State, Jan. 21; 77-60 vs. Murray State, Feb. 1) 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 nine of his last 13 games with at least two made threes. Reed, Jr. has made multiple 3-pointers in 11 of his 17 contests this year. He buried a season-high four 3-pointers vs. Murray State (Feb. 1). Reed, Jr. ranks tied for second on the team with 30 three-pointers in 2020-21.

3-Point Percentage
Southeast Missouri ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .341 3-point field goal percentage. The Redhawks have made 125-of-367 three-pointers through 17 contests. SEMO is averaging 7.4 three-pointers a game. 

Top Scorer
Chris Harris scored double figures for the 13th time in 16 starts this season when he finished with 10 points vs. Murray State (Feb. 1). Harris, who leads Southeast Missouri and ranks 13th in the Ohio Valley Conference with 13.5 points a game, has scored over 20 points twice this year. He also ranks third on the team with 26 three-pointers made. Harris finished as SEMO's leading scorer six times thus far. 

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.

OVC Top-Five
The Redhawks rank among the top five Ohio Valley Conference teams in several categories thus far. Southeast Missouri is fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.341), fifth in rebounding offense (35.8 rpg), fourth in rebounding defense (32.2 rpg), fourth in rebounding margin (+3.6), fifth in assists (13.5 apg), fourth in defensive rebounds (26.2 rpg), first in defensive rebound percentage (.798) and fifth in 3-pointers made (7.4 per game).