Southern Illinois (8-4) vs. Southeast Missouri (5-7)

Game Information
Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: SIU leads, 73-46
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (30-41 overall; 30-41 at SEMO; 17-20 OVC). Bryan Mullins (52-49 overall; 52-49 at SIU; 25-31 MVC).

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

Mississippi River Rivalry
Longtime rivals Southeast Missouri (5-7) and Southern Illinois (8-4) meet in their final game before the Christmas holiday Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will be on the call. Video can be accessed at ESPN+. Live stats are available at SEMORedhawks.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOMBB.

Series History
This year marks the 120th meeting between Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois on the hardwood. SIU leads the all-time series by a count of 73-46. SIU won the last four games of the series and 17 of the previous 20 contests. SEMO's last win over SIU came on Dec. 9, 2017 (75-69) in Carbondale. The Redhawks last beat the Salukis at the Show Me Center on Dec. 10, 2014. Jarekious Bradley made a game-winning baseline jumper with 0.8 seconds left.

Football Signing Day Special
Southeast Missouri Head Coach Tom Matukewicz will address his 2023 Signing Class before the Redhawks basketball game vs. Southern Illinois. The special event will be at 6 p.m., CT in the Show Me Center front meeting rooms and is open to the public.

Against the Missouri Valley
The Redhawks are 133-276 all-time against the Missouri Valley Conference. Southeast Missouri has played Missouri State (147 games) and Southern Illinois (119 games) the most out of the Valley.
vs. Southern Illinois                        6-73
vs. Drake                                        0-2
vs. Evansville                                 7-11
vs. Bradley                                       2-10
vs. Illinois State                            1-8
vs. Indiana State                            1-3
vs. Missouri State                        55-92
vs. Murray State                            21-65
vs. Belmont                                    0-12

We Meet Again
Brad Korn (1999-2004) and Bryan Mullins (2006-09) each played at Southern Illinois before reaching their longterm goals of becoming head coaches. Korn was part of three Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Mullins set school records for assists and steals and was point guard for SIU's NCAA Tournament teams in 2006 and 2007, and NIT team in 2008. He is a member of the Saluki Hall of Fame. This year is the second where Mullins will oppose Korn on the sidelines. Mullins did not coach against the Redhawks in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.

Korn vs. the MVC
Brad Korn is 3-5 vs. the Missouri Valley Conference as a head coach. Korn's wins came against Missouri State and Evansville (2 wins). He is no stranger to the MVC having played at Southern Illinois (1999- 2004) and coached at both SIU (2004-12) and Missouri State (2013-16).

Fun Fact
Brad Korn was 4-1 against Southeast Missouri as a player at Southern Illinois. The only time SEMO beat the Salukis with Korn on their roster was Dec. 5, 2000 (87-84, Cape Girardeau). Korn scored six points and had his first career dunk in a 92-80 win over the Redhawks on Dec. 22, 2001.

Last Time Out
Southeast Missouri fell to its sixth-straight loss when it dropped a 106-75 decision at Big Ten Conference member Iowa (Dec. 17). SEMO never led in the game during its first meeting with a Big Ten foe in three years. Iowa shot a blistering 57.6 percent (38-of-66) from the field. Chris Harris paced the Redhawks with 19 points, including 14 in the first half. SEMO finished its non-conference road slate at 2-5.

Harris Nets Season-High
Chris Harris scored a season-high 19 points in his latest outing at Iowa (Dec. 17). Harris came off the bench to shoot 8-of-13 from the field and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. He also dished out three assists and had one steal in 22 minutes. It was the seventh time this season and 41st in his career where Harris scored double figures.

Battling Through It
Southeast Missouri has not played with a full roster all season. The short-handed Redhawks have battled various injuries and illnesses, at times playing games with three or more inactive players. Most recently, SEMO was without its second-leading scorer Israel Barnes (illness) at both Arkansas State (Dec. 14) and Iowa (Dec. 17). The Redhawks used six different starting lineup combinations through their first 12 games.

Six-Game Skid
After starting the 2022-23 season at 5-1, the Redhawks dropped each of their last six contests. Southeast Missouri's last win was a 63-52 victory over Boston University at the Milwaukee Cream City Classic on Nov. 26. The six-game losing streak is SEMO's longest with Brad Korn as its head coach.

Significant Difference
Southeast Missouri was outscored in the paint by a count of 88-38 in its last two games. SEMO was also outscored 27-2 in fast break points during that span. Additionally, the Redhawks were outscored, 119-76 (-43), at the free throw line in their previous six contests.

Another MVC Foe
Southern Illinois marks the third Missouri Valley Conference opponent Southeast Missouri faces this season. SEMO is 1-1 against the MVC this year with a road win at Evansville (67-61, Nov. 16) and road loss at Bradley (73-60, Nov. 19).

Larson Delivers
In only his second career start, Adam Larson pitched in a career-high 19 points to lead the Redhawks at Arkansas State (Dec. 14). All five of Larson's field goals made were 3-pointers. He also went a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line en route to his third double-digit scoring game this season. Larson is tied for first on the team with 17 three-pointers made.

Rebounding Machine
Kobe Clark collected double-digit rebounds for the fifth time when he matched a season-high 16 at Arkansas State (Dec. 14). Clark had 14 defensive rebounds in that game alone. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 9.4 boards per game. Clark also ranks 19th in the nation in total rebounds (113), 25th in rebounds per game and 30th in defensive rebounds per game (6.7).

OVC Heavy
Southeast Missouri is the fourth Ohio Valley Conference school on Southern Illinois' non-conference schedule. SIU is currently 2-1 vs. OVC schools this season. The Salukis' loss came at Southern Indiana (71-53) on Nov. 13. SIU's wins over OVC teams came against Tennessee State (57-44, Nov. 17) and Little Rock (94-63, Nov. 7).

113 or More Rebounds
Kobe Clark is one of 19 players in the nation with 113 or more rebounds at this point in the season. Clark was the first Ohio Valley Conference player to reach the century mark in rebounds this year. Here is the complete list of players with 113 or more rebounds:
Zach Edey, Purdue................................................153
Joel Soriano, St. John's ...................................... 151
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse ................................ 136
Micah Handlogten, Marshall .......................... 129
Armando Bacot, North Carolina....................128
Jake Stephens, Chattanooga ........................ 126
Aziz Bandaogo, Utah Valley ............................125
Brandon Podziemski, Santa Clara............... 120
Christian Shumate, McNeese........................120
Norchad Omier, Miami (FL) ............................. 119
Clarence Daniels, New Hampshire .............. 119
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton........................117
Franki Policelli, Stony Brook.............................117
Francis Okoro, Saint Louis ............................... 116
Moussa Cisse, Oklahoma State.....................116
Drew Pember, UNC Asheville ......................... 114
Chris Brandon, Northern Kentucky............. 114
Eric Williams Jr., San Diego ............................. 114
Kobe Clark, Southeast Missouri.................... 113

Non-Conference Finale
Southeast Missouri hosts Southern Illinois in its final non-conference matchup of the season. SEMO looks to end non-league play with a win for the first time with Brad Korn as its head coach. After Wednesday's contest, the Redhawks will break for eight days before opening Ohio Valley Conference play at Southern Indiana on Dec. 29.

Starting Streak
Second-year point guard Phillip Russell has started 23 consecutive games. Russell missed only two starts since joining the Redhawks due to COVID protocols during the 2021-22 campaign. He has 412career starts and is one of three Redhawks that started all 12 games this year.

Make that 11 in a Row
Chris Harris has made a 3-pointer in each of the last 12 games he played dating back to last season. Harris and Phillip Russell made a 3-pointer in every game they played this season. Russell (27) and Harris (17) have combined for 44 of Southeast Missouri's 98 three-pointers made (44.8 percent).

OVC Top Two
The Redhawks are second in the Ohio Valley Conference in defensive rebounding percentage (.746). Individually, Phillip Russell is second in the OVC in second in assists (4.5 apg) and first in free throw percentage (.875), and Kobe Clark ranks first in rebounding (9.4rpg), second in blocks (1.3 bpg) and first in defensive rebounds (6.7 rpg).

Redhawks at Home
Southeast Missouri is 2-1 at the Show Me Center with wins over Lyon College (83-46, Nov. 12) and William Woods (87-49, Nov. 22), and a loss to Purdue Fort Wayne (89-68, Dec. 7) this year. SEMO is averaging 79.3 points per game and scored over 80 points in all three of its home contests.

How May I Assist You?
Phillip Russell matched a career-high eight assists vs. William Woods (Nov. 22). Russell has a total of 149 assists in his career and ranks second inthe Ohio Valley Conference with 4.5 per game this season. He has a total of 54 assists through 12 games. Russell finished with six or more assists in four of his starts.