#5 Southeast Missouri (15-16) vs. #8 Lindenwood (11-20)
Game Information
Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023 (First Round)
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Evansville, Ind.
Facility: Ford Center (11,000)
Series: Tied, 1-1
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (40-50 overall; 40-50 at SEMO; 27-28 OVC). Kyle Gerdeman (45-62 overall; 45-62 at LU; 6-12 OVC).
Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: OVCSports.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
OVC Information
Tournament Program
Tournament Central: OVCSports.com
Bracket: Men's Bracket
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
Tournament Time
#5 Southeast Missouri (15-16) faces #8 Lindenwood (11-20) in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
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 OVCSports.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOMBB.
Series History
Southeast Missouri faces in-state foe Lindenwood for the third time Wednesday. The schools split their inaugural series this season with SEMO winning, 94-71, in Cape Girardeau (Jan. 12) and Lindenwood winning, 105-102, in double overtime at home on Feb. 23. LU officially became a member of the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2022. The Lions begin their reclassification process to the NCAA Division I level in 2022-23. They will be included in OVC regular season schedules and are eligible to compete in OVC Championships. LU will be eligible to earn automatic berths to NCAA Championships beginning in 2026-27, its first full season of full Division I membership.
OVC Tournament Field
The 2023 eight-team Ohio Valley Conference Tournament field consists of #1 Morehead State, #2 Tennessee Tech, #3 UT Martin, #4 Tennessee State, #5 Southeast Missouri, #6 SIU Edwardsville, #7 Southern Indiana and #8 Lindenwood. USI and Lindenwood are in the OVC Tournament in their first year as members of the conference.
Third-Straight OVC Tournament
Southeast Missouri is in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the third year in a row under Head Coach Brad Korn. Korn has taken the Redhawks to the league's postseason tournament all three of his seasons as head coach. In his first year at the SEMO helm, Korn led the Redhawks to their first OVC Tournament in five years during the 2020-21 campaign. The last time SEMO made three-straight OVC Tournament appearances was 2013-15.
18th OVC Tournament Berth
This year marks the Redhawks 18th trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in program history. Southeast Missouri made the league's postseason event in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023. SEMO is 12-16 all-time in the OVC Tournament. The Redhawks won their only OVC Tournament title and made their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. The Redhawks have been in the championship game twice (1999, 2000) and the semifinals on four occasions (1999, 2000, 2005, 2022).
#5 Seed
Southeast Missouri is the #5 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the fifth time in its program history. SEMO was also the #5 seed in the 1998, 2001, 2012 and 2017 tournaments. The Redhawks hold a 2-4 OVC Tournament record as the #5 seed.
Records vs. Seeds
Here is how Southeast Missouri has fared against all seeds in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
vs. #1 Seed................................................................. 1-3
vs. #2 Seed...............................................................0-4
vs. #3 Seed................................................................2-4
vs. #4 Seed...............................................................0-4
vs. #5 Seed.................................................................1-1
vs. #6 Seed............................................................... 2-0
vs. #7 Seed...............................................................4-0
vs. #8 Seed............................................................... 2-0
Against This Year's Field
Southeast Missouri is a combined 6-8 against the other seven teams headed to this year's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. SEMO split its season series with Morehead State, Southern Indiana, Lindenwood, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State going 1-1 in all those instances. The Redhawks lost both of their games against UT Martin.
OVC Tournament Experience
Three players, including Chris Harris, Dylan Branson and Nate Johnson get to experience the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, Phillip Russell makes his second-straight trip to the league's postseason tournament. Israel Barnes, Josh Earley, Aquan Smart, Evan Eursher, Tevin Goins, Josh Mitchell, Mason Hanback and Adam Larson are going to the OVC Tournament for the first time.
Looking to Start Strong
The Redhawks are looking to start the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a win for the second year in a row. In 2022, Southeast Missouri, then seeded #4, beat Tennessee State, 79-55, in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual tournament champion Murray State, 71-67, in the semifinals. SEMO last won their first OVC Tournament game in two-straight seasons during the 2013 and 2014 campaigns. The Redhawks won first-round games in each of those years.
OVC Tournament Titles
Of the teams in this year's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, Morehead State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri have won the league's postseason championship. MSU leads the conference with five OVC Tournament titles and TSU is second with two. TTU and SEMO have each won the event one time.
Let's Get Going
Southeast Missouri looks to end a two-game losing streak when it faces #8 Lindenwood Wednesday. SEMO heads to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament after dropping five of its last eight games. The Redhawks, who were once in position to get one of the top two tournament seeds, went 3-5 in their final month of the regular season.
10 OVC Wins
With its 85-80 victory over Southern Indiana (Feb. 18), Southeast Missouri picked up its 10th Ohio Valley Conference win of the season. It is the first time in 23 years where SEMO recorded 10 or more conference wins in a season. The Redhawks last went 14-4 during the 1999-2000 campaign. Overall, it is just the fourth time SEMO won 10 or more OVC games in a season in program history. The Redhawks also went 10-8 in 1997-98, 15-3 in 1998-99 and 14-4 in 1999-00. SEMO finished conference play with a 10-8 mark.
Here We Go Again
Southeast Missouri faces Lindenwood for the second time in less than a week. SEMO dropped a 105-102 double overtime thriller to the Lions in St. Charles on Feb. 23. The Redhawks were without their top scorer Phillip Russell in that game. Russell served a one-game suspension after the Ohio Valley Conference determined he committed repeated violations of the league's Sportsmanship policy. He returned to score 13 points in the Redhawks season finale at SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 25).
Welcome to the Club
Chris Harris, Southeast Missouri's second-leading scorer with 14.7 points a game, recently went over 1,000 career points when he scored 20 vs. Southern Indiana (Feb. 18). Harris now has 1,065 points and is the 25th member of SEMO's 1,000-point club.
Another Countdown to 1,000
Phillip Russell, who leads the Redhawks with 528 points and an 18.2 points per game average this season, has 929 points in his career. Russell needs 71 more to join Southeast Missouri's 1,000-point club.
Harris Goes for 20 or More
Chris Harris scored 20 or more points in each of his last three starts. Harris scored 20 points vs. Southern Indiana (Feb. 18) and at SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 25), and dropped in a career-high 36 at Lindenwood (Feb. 23). He increased his scoring average from 13.8 to 14.7 points per game during that stretch.
OVC Second-Leading Scorer
Southeast Missouri has second-leading scorer in the Ohio Valley Conference. Phillip Russell is averaging 18.2 points per game through 29 starts. He went over 500 points (528) this season. He scored double figures in 28 of his 29 starts. Along the way, Russell had 20 or more points 10 times and 30 or more points on three occasions in 2022-23.
High Scoring Redhawks
The Redhawks scored 80 or more points in 11 of their 17 Ohio Valley Conference games. Southeast Missouri surpassed 90 points five times with a 92-75 win over Tennessee State (Jan. 26), 94-71 win vs. Lindenwood (Jan. 12), 91-86 victory at Morehead State (Jan. 14), a 99-98 win over Little Rock (Feb. 2) and 105-102 loss at Lindenwood (Feb. 23). SEMO leads the OVC with 81.6 points per game in league play.
Top of the OVC
Southeast Missouri led the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring (81.4 ppg) and turnover margin (+2.1) in league games. SEMO scored 80 or more points in 11 of its OVC contests. The Redhawks are also forcing a league-high 14.8 turnovers a game in OVC action.
About Lindenwood
Lindenwood made its way to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with back-to-back overtime wins. LU edged Southeast Missouri, 105-102, in double overtime on Feb. 23 and made a buzzer beater to take down Little Rock, 97-96, on Feb. 25 to claim the final spot in this year's tournament. Keenon Cole leads the Lions with 13.4 points per game as one of four players averaging double figures in the scoring column. Chris Childs (13.0), Kevin Caldwell Jr. (12.6) and Cam Burrell (10.5) round out that group. LU is ninth in the OVC in scoring with just 69.7 points per contest.
Russell 19th Nationally in Free Throws
Phillip Russell ranks 19th in the nation in free throws made. Russell is 144-of-175 at the free throw line this season. His .823 free throw percentage is fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference.
