SIUE (10-4, 1-0 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (5-9, 0-1 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, December 31, 2022
Tip-Off: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: SEMO leads, 25-12
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (30-43 overall; 30-43 at SEMO; 17-21 OVC). Brian Barone (38-65 overall; 38-65 at SIUE; 18-38 OVC).

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

New Year's Eve Matinee
Southeast Missouri (5-9, 0-1) hosts Ohio Valley Conference leader SIU Edwardsville (10-4, 1-0) in a New Year's Eve matinee Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 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
Southeast Missouri and SIU Edwardsville meet for the 38th time Saturday. SEMO holds a 25-12 lead in the all-time series. The Redhawks won each of the last five meetings between the teams and swept the Cougars the previous two seasons. SEMO beat SIUE in its last three trips to Cape Girardeau.

New Year's Eve
The Redhawks play on New Year's Eve for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Southeast Missouri won its last two games on New Year's Eve, both of which were at the Show Me Center. SEMO beat Tennessee State, 77-65, on Dec. 31, 2017 and Eastern Kentucky, 81-48, on Dec. 31, 2016 in those matchups.

OVC Home-Openers
Southeast Missouri is 14-15 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference home-openers. SEMO began OVC play with a 98-79 victory over Austin Peay a year ago.

Redhawks Drop OVC Opener
The Redhawks dropped their Ohio Valley Conference opener by a score of 86-81 to Southern Indiana on the road Thursday. Southeast Missouri fell behind by 23 points and outscored USI, 55-43, in the second half. The Redhawks comback bid, however,
came a bit too late as the Screaming Eagles hung on for their first OVC win in program history. SEMO fell to 10-22 all-time in league openers.

Winning the Second Half
For the sixth time this season, Southeast Missouri won the second half when it outscored Southern Indiana, 55-43, on Dec. 29. SEMO is 4-2 in games where it outscores its opponent in the final 20 minutes. The 55 points are the Redhawks most in a second half through 14 games this year.

Battling Through It
Southeast Missouri played with a full roster for the first time this season in its Ohio Valley Conference opener at Southern Indiana (Dec. 29). SEMO had all 13 of its players active against the Screaming Eagles and 12 of them saw action. The Redhawks were short-handed through their first 13 games, at times playing with three or more inactive players. SEMO also used seven different starting lineups in that span.

Barnes Returns
The Redhawks second-leading scorer, Israel Barnes, returned after missing three games at Southern Indiana (Dec. 29). Barnes, who was out due to illness, scored eight points and had three rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. He enters the weekend with 13.7 points per game this season.

Harris Continues to Produce
Veteran guard Chris Harris scored double figures in his fourth-straight game when he finished with 16 points at Southern Indiana (Dec. 29). Harris narrowly missed a double-double pulling down a career-high nine rebounds. He ranks third on the team with 12.7 points per game. Harris is also second in 3-pointers made and third in assists through 13 games and 11 starts. He has scored double figures nine times this season and 43 times in his career.

Eight-Game Skid
After starting the 2022-23 season at 5-1, the Redhawks dropped each of their last eight contests. Southeast Missouri's last win was a 63-52 victory over Boston University at the Milwaukee Cream City Classic on Nov. 26. The eight-game losing streak is SEMO's longest with Brad Korn as its head coach. SEMO is 0-6 in December.

Tough Test Ahead
Ohio Valley Conference leader SIU Edwardsville comes to Cape Girardeau with a 10-4 record. SIUE has the most wins in the conference thus far and has won each of its last three games. SIUE leads the Ohio Valley Conference in
free throw percentage (.731) and blocks (70). The Cougars are also second in the league in scoring defense giving up under 70 points (68.1) per game this year.

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 ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 9.1 boards per game. Clark also ranks 24th in the nation in total rebounds (127).

Block Party
Kobe Clark leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 20 blocks in 14 games. Clark is averaging 1.4 swats per game and posted two or more on five occasions. He had a season-high five blocks vs. Boston (Nov. 26).

Starting Streak
Second-year point guard Phillip Russell has started 25 consecutive games. Russell missed only two starts since joining the Redhawks due to COVID protocols during the 2021-22 campaign. He has 44 career starts and is one of two Redhawks that started all 14 games this year.

Make that 15 in a Row
Chris Harris has made a 3-pointer in each of the last 15 games he played dating back to last season. Harris and Phillip Russell made a 3-pointer in every game they played this year. Russell (31) and Harris (25) have combined for 56 of Southeast Missouri's 118 three-pointers made (47.4 percent).

OVC Top Two
The Redhawks are second in the Ohio Valley Conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.294). Individually, Phillip Russell is second in the OVC in assists (4.3 apg) and Kobe Clark ranks first in blocks (1.4 bpg).

Redhawks at Home
Southeast Missouri is 2-2 at the Show Me Center with wins over Lyon College (83-46, Nov. 12) and William Woods (87-49, Nov. 22), and loses to Purdue Fort Wayne (89-68, Dec. 7) and Southern Illinois (70-68, Dec. 21) this year. SEMO scored over 80 points in three of its four home contests.