Southeast Missouri (10-10, 5-4 OVC) at Western Illinois (8-12, 2-7 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, January 25, 2025
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m., CT
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Facility: Western Hall (4,421)
Series: WIU leads, 8-6
Last Meeting: WIU 76, SEMO 55 | 2/3/24 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Last Meeting in Macomb: WIU 68, SEMO 61 | 1/4/24

Head Coaches
Southeast Missouri: Brad Korn (63-83 overall; 63-83 at SEMO; 36-46 OVC) 
Western Illinois: Chad Boudreau (29-24 overall; 29-24 at WIU; 15-12 OVC)
   
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Video: ESPN+  
Live Stats: GoLeathernecks.com
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
X: @SEMOMBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) 

Redhawks Close Road Stretch
•    Southeast Missouri closes out its three-game road stretch at Western Illinois Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m., CT at Western Hall.
•    SEMO is on the road in Ohio Valley Conference play for fifth time.
•    Each of the Redhawks first four road OVC contests were decided by a combined 16 points.
•    SEMO edged Tennessee State, 67-65, on Jan. 2, dropped a close 66-63 decision at UT Martin on Jan. 4, beat Tennessee Tech, 77-70, on Jan. 16 and fell to Lindenwood, 72-62, on Jan. 23.
•    SEMO is 3-6 in true road matchups this season.

Series Notes
•    Southeast Missouri and Western Illinois meet for the 15th time Saturday.
•    WIU holds an 8-6 lead in the all-time series.
•    SEMO is 2-5 against the Leathernecks in Macomb and has dropped its last three matchups of the series.
•    WIU swept the two-game series last season winning, 68-61, in Macomb on Jan. 4, 2024 and, 76-55, in Cape Girardeau on Feb. 3, 2024.

OVC Update 
•    The Redhawks (5-4) are tied for fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with UT Martin (5-4)
•    Morehead State (8-1) tops the standings followed by second-place Little Rock (6-2).
•    Southeast Missouri picked up its 10th win of the season with a 77-70 road victory over Tennessee Tech (Jan. 16).
•    SEMO (10-10) became the fourth OVC team to 10 wins joining Morehead State (13-7), Little Rock (12-7) and SIU Edwardsville (13-7).
•    The Redhawks surpassed their number of overall (9) and OVC (4) wins from 2024-25.
•    SEMO began the 2024-25 season with a 3-0 record in OVC play marking the first time it won three-straight games to start a conference season since 2011-12.
•    The Redhawks beat Eastern Illinois (79-72, Dec. 19), SIU Edwardsville (80-64, Dec. 21) and Southern Indiana (77-66, Jan. 9) at home, and Tennessee State (67-65, Jan. 2) and Tennessee Tech (77-70, Jan. 16) on the road for their OVC wins this year.
•    SEMO won six of its last 10 OVC games dating back to last year's season-ending 70-66 victory at Southern Indiana.

Redhawks Fall to Lindenwood
•    Lindenwood used a 13-0 run in the opening 6:10 of the game and Southeast Missouri couldn't recover in a 72-68 loss Thursday night in St. Charles.
•    SEMO missed its first nine shots during its scoreless six-minute span.
•    The Redhawks never led in the game and was within one possession on several occasions.
•    LU made six of its final nine free throws of the game to hang on for the win.
•    Brendan Terry scored 14 points to lead four SEMO starters in double figures.

Nice Defense
•    Southeast Missouri has held its opponent under 70 points in six of its last nine games.
•    SEMO (68.1 ppg allowed) is third in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense behind SIU Edwardsville (67.1 ppg allowed) and Little Rock (67.6 ppg allowed).
•    SIUE's 64 points are the fewest scored by a Division I opponent against SEMO this season.

200 Assists in Sight
•    Point guard Rob Martin (189) is 11 assists away from reaching 200 in his career.
•    Martin leads Southeast Missouri and ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 81 assists through 20 games this season.
•    He averages four assists per game and has dished out five or more a total of five times.
•    Martin finished with a career-high nine assists in SEMO's OVC opener against Eastern Illinois (Dec. 19).
•    Jonathan Dalton was the last Redhawk to get 200 or more assists in a career (315, 2016-19).

Major Improvement
•    After finishing 10th in the Ohio Valley Conference in free throw shooting a year ago, Southeast Missouri ranks second in that category.
•    Through 20 games, SEMO is shooting 71.1 percent (241-of-339) behind Southern Indiana's 73.2 percent (270-of-369) clip.
•    In conference games alone, the Redhawks are the top free throw shooting team in the OVC.
•    SEMO is shooting 73.9 percent (133-of-180) at the charity stripe against league opponents.

About Western Illinois
•    Western Illinois is 10th in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an overall record of 8-12 and 2-7 in OVC play.
•    WIU has lost five in a row and is presently on the second-longest losing streak among league teams behind Eastern Illinois (6 in a row).
•    The Leathernecks are last in the OVC in scoring offense (68.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.441), assists (10 apg) and defensive rebounds per game (23.8).
•    Marko Maletic is WIU's top scoring threat averaging 16.8 points per game. Maletic ranks third among the OVC's scoring leaders.
•    Maletic is also the top 3-point shooter in the conference. He has made 60-of-131 threes for 45.8 percent.
•    Tay Knox is second in the OVC with 28 blocks.
•    WIU is in its second year as a member of the OVC.

Close Games
•    Southeast Missouri has been involved in five game decided by four or less points in 2024-25.
•    Four of those matchups came in Ohio Valley Conference play -- won, 67-65, at Tennessee State (Jan. 2); lost, 66-63, at UT Martin (Jan. 4); lost, 73-71, vs. Little Rock (Jan. 14); lost, 72-68, at Lindenwood (Jan. 23).
•    SEMO is 2-3 in games decided by four or less points. 

OVC Leader in Turnover Margin
•    The Redhawks are first in the Ohio Valley Conference with a +2.95 turnover margin.
•    Southeast Missouri is committing a league low 10.9 turnovers per game while forcing 13.8.
•    SEMO turned the ball over less than 10 times a total of seven games this season.