Southeast Missouri (11-10, 6-4 OVC) at Western Illinois (4-17, 0-10 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026
Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m., CT
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Facility: Western Hall (4,421)
Series: SEMO leads, 9-8
Last Meeting: SEMO 73, WIU 50 | 1/3/26 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Last Meeting in Macomb: SEMO 72, WIU 52 | 1/25/25

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Coaches
Southeast Missouri: Brad Korn (85-95 overall; 85-95 at SEMO; 52-51 OVC)
Western Illinois: Chad Boudreau (37-48 overall; 37-48 at WIU; 19-29 OVC)

Redhawks Head to Western Illinois
•    Southeast Missouri (11-10, 6-4) travels to Western Illinois (4-17, 0-10) Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m., CT at Western Hall.
•    SEMO is in Illinois for its final two games in January.
•    The Redhawks close out their two-game road trip at Eastern Illinois on Jan. 31.
•    SEMO is 2-2 on the road in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Series Notes
•    Thursday marks the 18th meeting between Southeast Missouri and Western Illinois.
•    Southeast Missouri holds a slight 9-8 lead in the all-time series.
•    SEMO has a three-game winning streak in the series and looks to sweep the Leathernecks for the second-straight season.
•    The Redhawks beat WIU by 20 or more points in all three of those victories.

Two Big Home Wins
•    The Redhawks wrapped up their season-long four-game home stand with wins over the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.
•    Southeast Missouri upended OVC leader UT Martin, 66-50, on Jan. 20 and second-place Little Rock, 70-65, on Jan. 22.
•    SEMO snapped UTM's seven-game winning streak and ended LR's four-game winning streak.
•    The Redhawks limited the Skyhawks to a season-low 50 points.

Halfway Through
•    Southeast Missouri wrapped up the first half of Ohio Valley Conference play with a 6-4 mark.
•    It is the second-straight season where SEMO finished with a winning record during the first half of league action.
•    The Redhawks posted a winning record through the opening half of OVC play for the third time in six years with Brad Korn as head coach.

Last Time vs. Western Illinois
•    Southeast Missouri cruised to a 73-50 win over Western Illinois (Jan. 3) in the first matchup between the teams this season.
•    BJ Ward scored a career-high 23 points to lead the way.
•    SEMO blew the game open in the second half when Braxton Stacker made a layup to push the Redhawks lead to 62-40 with eight minutes left.
•    The Redhawks man-handled the Leathernecks, 44-18, inside the paint.
•    The 23-point margin of victory is SEMO's largest in a conference game this year.

Korn vs. Western Illinois
•    Brad Korn is 3-2 all-time against Western Illinois as Southeast Missouri's head coach.
•    Korn has defeated the Leathernecks by 20 or more points each of the last three times he faced them.
•    He is 1-1 against WIU in Macomb, Illinois.

Almodovar Named OVC Co-Newcomer of the Week
•    Guard Luke Almodovar was tabbed Ohio Valley Conference Co-Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 26.
•    Almodovar became the first Southeast Missouri player to win one of the league's weekly honors this season.
•    He had 22 points in 24 minutes, hitting 6-of-10 three-pointers in leading SEMO to a victory over league-leading UT Martin (Jan. 20). 
•    The transfer from Saint Francis (Ind.) then had the first double-double of his career with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in a victory over Little Rock (Jan. 22). Almodovar 
also added three assists and a steal in that game.
•    For the week he averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists/game while hitting 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the field. 
•    Lindenwood's Anias Futrell (Player of the Week), Tennessee State's Dante Harris (Co-Newcomer) and UT Martin's Matas Deniusas (Freshman of the Week) rounded out the week's honorees.

Redhawks Down Little Rock
•    The Redhawks came away with a 70-65 victory over Little Rock (Jan. 22).
•    It was a two-possession game only three times in a close first half before Southeast Missouri opened up a 50-37 lead with 14:39 remaining.
•    SEMO later withstood an 11-2 run by the Trojans that made it a 67-63 game with less than a minute on the clock.
•    The Redhawks led for a total of 33:55 in the contest and limited LR to 32.4 percent from the field in the second half.

Almodovar Gets First Double-Double
•    Luke Almodovar registered his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Little Rock (Jan. 22).
•    Almodovar became the third different player to get a double-double for the Redhawks this season joining Brendan Terry and Marqueas Bell.
•    He scored a game-high 22 points and made a career-best six 3-pointers two days before against Ohio Valley Conference leader UT Martin (Jan. 20).
•    Almodovar shot 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range against the Skyhawks.
•    It was his team-high fifth 20-point game of the season.

Nine of 13
•    The Redhawks won nine of their last 13 games.
•    SEMO posted its largest win of the season against an NCAA Division I foe when it defeated Western Illinois, 73-50, on Jan. 3.

Last 30 OVC Games
•    Southeast Missouri has a record of 21-9 in its last 30 Ohio Valley Conference games dating back to the start of the 2024-25 season.
•    SEMO won 17 of its previous 23 matchups with OVC foes going back to its victory at Western Illinois on Jan. 25, 2025.

Nice Defense
•    Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in turnover margin 21 games into its 2025-26 season.
•    SEMO is forcing 14.6 turnovers per game and turning the ball over 12.1 times per contest for a +2.57 margin.
•    The Redhawks forced 308 turnovers, second-most in the OVC.
•    Opponents turned the ball over 19 or more times in five games against SEMO's defense this season.

About Western Illinois
•    Western Illinois is last in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an overall record of 4-17 and 0-10 in conference play.
•    WIU is on a 10-game losing streak as the only team without an OVC win.
•    The Leathernecks averaged a league-low 65.8 points per game and are last in scoring margin (-9.1).
•    Lucas Lorenzen is WIU's top scorer with 15.1 points a game. Lorenzen ranks eighth in the OVC in scoring.