Western Illinois (4-10, 0-3 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (7-7, 2-1 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026
Tip-Off: 3:45 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: Tied, 8-8
Last Meeting: SEMO 87, WIU 66 | 2/20/25 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.

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Coaches
Western Illinois: Chad Boudreau (37-41 overall; 37-41 at WIU; 19-22 OVC)
Southeast Missouri: Brad Korn (81-92 overall; 81-92 at SEMO; 48-48 OVC)

Redhawks Host Western Illinois
•    Southeast Missouri (7-7, 2-1) closes out its first Ohio Valley Conference home swing when it hosts Western Illinois (4-10, 0-3) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:45 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.
•    WIU is one of two teams in the OVC without a conference win. 
•    The Leathernecks enter the weekend at 10th in the OVC standings.

Series Notes
•    Southeast Missouri and Western Illinois meet forthe 17th time Saturday. 
•    The all-time series between the teams stands tied at 8-8.
•    SEMO swept WIU in the two-game set a year ago beating the Leathernecks, 72-52, in Macomb and, 87-66, in Cape Girardeau.
•    Each of the last three games between the teams were won by 20 or more points.

New Year's Win
•    The Redhawks started the New Year with a 69-58 come-from-behind victory over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 1).
•    Southeast Missouri started the New Year with a win for the fifth time under Head Coach Brad Korn.
•    SEMO is now 4-2 in its first game of the New Year with Korn at the helm.
•    SEMO beat Tennessee State (67-65, Jan. 2, 2025; 83-79, Jan. 2, 2021) and Austin Peay (98-79, Jan. 1, 2022) for those other victories.

OVC Home-Opening Victory
•    Southeast Missouri moved to 21-13 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference home-openers following its 68-59 win over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 1).
•    SEMO is now 5-1 in such games with Brad Korn as its head coach.
•    The Redhawks won their fifth-straight OVC home-opener.

Home OVC Record
•    Brad Korn is 30-18 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference home games.
•    Southeast Missouri posted its best home OVC record at 8-2 with Korn at the helm during its 2024-25 campaign.
•    The Redhawks are on a six-game winning streak in conference games at the Show Me Center. 
•    SEMO held its opponent under 70 points in its last four OVC home contests.

Korn Second Among SEMO's Division I Head Coaches in Wins
•    With Southeast Missouri's 68-59 win over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 1), Brad Korn moved to second all-time among the school's head coaches in the program's Division I era.
•    Korn has won 81 games and surpassed Dickey Nutt (80, 2009-15) on that list.
•    Gary Garner (126, 1997-2006) has the most wins of any head coach in SEMO's Division I history.

OVC Log Jam
•    Southeast Missouri is currently in a six-way tie for second in the Ohio Valley Conference standings early on in league action.
•    Lindenwood is atop the OVC with a 3-0 record, while UT Martin, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee State, SEMO, Morehead State and Little Rock follow at 2-1.
•    Western Illinois (0-3) and Southern Indiana (0-3) are the only teams winless in OVC play thus far.

Comeback Kids
•    The Redhawks wiped out a 15-point deficit to pick up a 68-59 win over Eastern Illinois (Jan. 1).
•    Southeast Missouri trailed, 34-19, with 3:14 remaining in the first half and was down seven (37-30) at halftime before turning it on in the second half.
•    The Redhawks outscored the Panthers, 38-22, and limited EIU to just 25 percent (7-of-28) from the field in the final 20 minutes of play.
•    It was the first time SEMO overcame a 15-point deficit to win a game since Jan. 26, 2023 (vs. Tennessee State). The Redhawks trailed by 16 before earning the victory in that contest.

Redhawks Heating Up
•    Southeast Missouri has won five of its last six games and carries a two-game winning streak into Saturday's matchup with Western Illinois.
•    SEMO averaged 80.5 points per game and held its opponents under 70 (69.7) during that stretch.

Stacker Leads the OVC in Free Throw Percentage
•    Braxton Stacker leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 44th in the nation in free throw percentage.
•    Stacker has missed just five free throws through 14 starts.
•    He is 43-of-48 for 89.6 percent.
•    Stacker did not miss a free throw with a minimum of four attempts in five games this year.

Strong at Home
•    Brad Korn posted a winning record at home each of his first five seasons as head coach.
•    Southeast Missouri's 12-3 record at the Show Me Center in 2024-25 is his best home record to date.
•    Korn is 48-26 all-time in Cape Girardeau.
•    The Redhawks won nine of their last 11 home games dating back to last season.
•    SEMO led the Ohio Valley Conference in home attendance during OVC play a year ago.
•    The Redhawks are 4-2 at home this season.

Stacker Strong
•    Braxton Stacker scored double figures in 13 of his first 14 starts of the 2025-26 campaign.
•    Stacker scored 10 or more points in his last 10 outings.
•    He opened the year with 12 points at Saint Louis (Nov. 3) and followed that up with a career-high 26 points four days later at Missouri (Nov. 7). He then finished with 10 points vs. Webster (Nov. 12), 11 at Iowa (Nov. 18), 18 vs. Cal Poly (Nov. 25), 15 at Northern Arizona (Nov. 26), 24 vs. Lipscomb (Nov. 29), 10 vs. St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 2), 12 at Chattanooga (Dec. 6), 12 vs. Saint Xavier (Dec. 14), 12 at Tennessee Tech (Dec. 18), 11 at Tennessee State (Dec. 20) and 15 vs. Eastern Illinois (Jan. 1).
•    He has scored double figures a team-high 31 times in his career.
•    Stacker ranks second on the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and leads the Redhawks in steals (20), free throw percentage (43-of-48, .896) and is second in 3-point field goals made (26).
•    Stacker rates 14th in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring and leads the league in free throw percentage. He is also 12th in steals.
•    He is one of two Redhawks who started every game this year.

About Western Illinois
•    Western Illinois is on a three-game losing streak and is one of two Ohio Valley Conference teams without a league win.
•    WIU is 4-10 overall and 0-3 in the OVC. Southern Indiana (3-10) is the other 10-loss, 0-3 team in the conference.
•    The Leathernecks are 10th in the league in scoring with 67.6 points a game.
•    WIU is last in the OVC in blocks (32), assists (120), steals (77) and assist/turnover ratio (0.70).
•    Lucas Lorenzen is ninth in the OVC in scoring with 15.1 points per contest.
•    The Leathernecks are 1-7 on the road this year.