Southeast Missouri (12-10, 7-4 OVC) at Eastern Illinois (9-13, 5-6 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m., CT
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Facility: Groniger Arena (5,400)
Series: SEMO leads, 39-32
Last Meeting: SEMO 68, EIU 59 | 1/1/26 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Last Meeting in Charleston: EIU 73, SEMO 58 | 3/1/25

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Southeast Missouri Notes | 2025-26 SEMO Basketball Media Guide

Coaches
Southeast Missouri: Brad Korn (86-95 overall; 86-95 at SEMO; 53-51 OVC)
Eastern Illinois: Marty Simmons (330-346 overall; 49-98 at EIU; 30-56 OVC)

Redhawks Face Eastern Illinois
•    Southeast Missouri (12-10, 7-4) is at Eastern Illinois (9-13, 5-6) on the back end of its Illinois road swing Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m., CT at Groniger    Arena.
•    SEMO is looking to earn its second-straight road victory after edging Western Illinois, 78-74, in Macomb Thursday.
•    SEMO is 3-2 on the road in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Series Notes
•    Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois meet for the 72nd time Saturday.
•    SEMO holds a 39-32 advantage in the all-time series.
•    The Redhawks won eight of the last 10 matchups with the Panthers.
•    SEMO goes for a sweep of EIU after beating the Panthers, 68-59, in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 1.
•    The Redhawks are looking to snap a two-game losing skid at Groniger Arena. 
•    EIU ended SEMO's NCAA Division I era record 10-game winning streak with a 73-58 victory in Charleston during the final game of the 2024-25 regular-season.
•    The Redhawks are 16-20 all-time at Groniger Arena. 

Three in a Row
•    Southeast Missouri brings a three-game winning streak to Eastern Illinois.
•    The Redhawks wrapped up their season-long four-game home stand with wins over the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.
•    SEMO upended OVC leader UT Martin, 66-50, on Jan. 20 and second-place Little Rock, 70-65, on Jan. 22.
•    The Redhawks snapped UTM's seven-game winning streak and ended LR's four-game winning streak.
•    SEMO followed that up by handing Western Illinois its 11th-straight loss by a score of 78-74 on Jan. 29.
•    A win against the Panthers will give the Redhawks their second four-game winning streak of the season. 

Second Half of OVC Play Underway
•    Southeast Missouri began the second half of Ohio Valley Conference play with a 78-74 road win at Western Illinois (Jan. 29).
•    It marked the third time SEMO started the second half of league action with a victory under Head Coach Brad Korn.
•    The Redhawks went 6-4 through the their first 10 games of the OVC slate.
•    It was 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.

Korn vs. Eastern Illinois
•    Brad Korn is 8-2 all-time against Eastern Illinois as Southeast Missouri's head coach.
•    Korn's only two losses vs. the Panthers to date came in Charleston, Illinois.
•    EIU beat SEMO, 75-57, on Feb. 15, 2024 and, 73-58, on Mar. 1, 2025 in those games.
•    The Redhawks swept their season series against the Panthers three times with Korn at the helm (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23). 

Last Time vs. Eastern Illinois
•    Braxton Stacker scored 15 points and Southeast Missouri wiped out a 15-point deficit in a 68-59 come-from-behind win over Eastern Illinois on Jan. 1.
•    SEMO 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 stanza.
•    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.

Terry Lifts Redhawks to Close Win at Western Illinois
•    Brendan Terry scored 16 points, including six in the final 52 seconds to nail down Southeast Missouri's 78-74 road win at Western Illinois (Jan. 29).
•    Terry scored a layup and made four free throws in that decisive stretch.
•    SEMO did not trail the Leathernecks for the last 13:36 of the contest and did not lead by more than four points in the final 3:05.

First Sweep
•    Southeast Missouri completed its first two-game sweep of an Ohio Valley Conference opponent this season with its 78-74 win at Western Illinois (Jan. 29).
•    SEMO also beat the Leathernecks 73-50 in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 3.

Where They Stand
•    Southeast Missouri (7-4) enters the weekend tied for third in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with Lindenwood.
•    Eastern Illinois (5-6) sits three spots behind SEMO and LU.
•    UT Martin (8-2) remains atop the leaderboard, while Tennessee State (8-3) and Morehead State (8-3) share the second-place position.
•    MSU is on a four-game winning streak.

January Ends
•    The Redhawks close out January on the road at Eastern Illinois Saturday.
•    A win against the Panthers will give Brad Korn his most victories in January since he took over as the Redhawks head coach in 2020-21.
•    SEMO is currently 6-3 in January.
•    Korn's best January record was 6-2 in 2022-23.
•    The Redhawks are in position to start and end January with wins over EIU this season.

12 or More Wins
•    Southeast Missouri is one of six teams in the Ohio Valley Conference with 12 or more wins this season.
•    SEMO is 12-10 overall entering this weekend's action.
•    UT Martin (16-5) leads the league in overall wins, while Tennessee State (14-7), SIU Edwardsville (13-9), Lindenwood (13-9), SEMO and Morehead State (12-10) follow.

Last 31 OVC Games
•    Southeast Missouri has a record of 22-9 in its last 31 Ohio Valley Conference games dating back to the start of the 2024-25 season.
•    SEMO won 18 of its previous 24 matchups with OVC foes going back to its victory at Western Illinois on Jan. 25, 2025.

On the Road
•    The Redhawks are 4-6 in true road games and 3-2 on the road in Ohio Valley Conference play this year.
•    SEMO's three road OVC victories were at Tennessee State (91-82) on Dec. 20, Southern Indiana (84-76) on Jan. 8 and Western Illinois (78-74) on Jan. 29.

About Eastern Illinois
•    Eastern Illinois is on a two-game losing streak after falling to Morehead State (73-68) on the road and Ohio Valley Conference leader UT Martin (76-68) at home.
•    EIU leads the OVC in free throw percentage with a 74.9 percent (287-of-383) clip. The Panthers are also second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense limiting opponents to 29 percent.
•    The Panthers are second-to-last in the OVC in 3-point field goals made (117) and scoring offense (67.2 ppg).
•    Zion Fruster is EIU's top scoring threat with an average of 15.3 points per game. Fruster ranks seventh among the league's scoring leaders.
•    EIU is 8-3 at home this year.