SEMO INDIANS GIVE US A GOOD REASON TO CHEER

Southeast Missouri State University's 67-56 win last week over Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament final in Nashville provided the university with considerable national exposure that will follow the school through the team's participation in the NCAA's top-64-team tournament.

Making it to the NCAA finals is a first for the university's basketball team since the move to Division I. It is quite an accomplishment for a school that has been playing only nine years at the Division I level after having performed exceptionally well for years in Division II competition.

Southeast basketball fans could sense this winning season coming after an excellent showing by the team last season. Last year the Indians fell victim to a near-miraculous shot at the buzzer against Murray State in the OVC tournament and missed going to the Big Dance by just one point.

This season was a different story. After a shaky start in the OVC tournament championship game, the Indians got hot as halftime neared and went on to soundly thump Murray State, which has been in Final 64 tournament competition 17 times. Under the leadership of coach Gary Garner, who is in his third year at Southeast, the Indians have amassed an impressive 24-6 record.

The season isn't over. It was announced Sunday that Southeast will take on No. 4 seed Louisiana State University in the first round of Final 64 play at Salt Lake City March 16. The Indians demonstrated all season that they are capable of playing well against any team, and a win over Louisiana State certainly isn't out of the question. Plenty of seats are assured for Southeast fans at the game, and hopefully they will make a good showing at the game.

Many will remember the controversy that surrounded the university's move to NCAA Division I athletic competition in 1991. Former university president Dr. Bill Stacy put the wheels into action, suggesting the university join the OVC. The plan stirred controversy on campus, though few fans were opposed.

Southeast, after all, had the new Show Me Center -- an outstanding basketball facility -- to play in, and geographically the school was better suited to play in the OVC with Cape Girardeau's proximity to the Kentucky and Tennessee universities that make up the conference. Southeast had belonged to the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference, which is made up of schools in central and northern Missouri and eastern Kansas, and the university had to travel considerable distances to compete in the conference.

Few would argue that the move has not been a good one.

The university probably could find no better way to put its name before the nation than to participate in the NCAA tournament play. That helps attract students and will go a long way in helping Garner and his coaching staff recruit the kind of athletes they hope to recruit in their efforts to continue to build winning teams.

Today's Southeast Missourian includes a special section about the Indians' great season. It is our way of extending our congratulations to the team, and we urge readers to do the same.

We wish the team well in its first-ever Final 64 appearance.