COURT SESSION: INDIANS HOPE TO LEARN FROM LOSS, PREPARE FOR SW MISSOURI

Needless to say, I was very disappointed that we were unable to beat Tennessee Tech at the Show Me Center in our Ohio Valley Conference opener Saturday night.

Tennessee Tech is a very good basketball team that will contend for the OVC title, but it is very disappointing to lose to Tech on our home floor. We did not play well, particularly inside, and Tech made the plays down the stretch and won the game.

We can't dwell on the loss. We still have 15 OVC games remaining and we just have to make sure we don't lose again at home while picking up a game we shouldn't win on the road.

There is no substitute for winning, but we can learn a lot from the Tennessee Tech loss. If our players respond to improve the area's that need to be improved, we will continue to get better and that is what we want to do during our final games in December.

It is no big secret that we are having trouble rebounding and scoring inside. Our perimeter players have been scoring the bulk of our points. We have to be able to get better balance and we have to rebound better.

It is important in our offense that we get the ball inside. That doesn't mean the post player has to score when he gets the ball. The passes inside can set up the outside shooters and if the defense stays outside, we have one-on-one opportunities inside. We have to take advantage of what the opponent gives us.

This is finals week and that always presents a lot of challenges. We gave the players Sunday and Monday off so they can be fully prepared for finals. We had short but intense workouts planned for Tuesday and today and we will begin preparations for Southwest Missouri State Thursday evening after everyone has completed finals.

The players' focus this week has to be on finals, but we think the short but intense workouts will help them keep in shape and also take them briefly away from the stress of finals.

One thing about it, Southwest Missouri is also going through finals this week.

Southwest Missouri is another regional rivalry that we would like to see develop just like the Southern Illinois series has. You saw the intensity and level of play in the SIU game. That is what regional rivalries can be like.

Our current contract with Southwest Missouri is just for two years and it runs out after this game, but hopefully we can convince them to continue the series.

I said when I came here that I would like to develop the rivalries with Southern Illinois, Southwest Missouri and Arkansas State into yearly games. Currently, Arkansas State won't play us, but we are continuing to try and get that rivalry going again and we hope to keep the Southwest series going.

Once we had the success we had last year, it is very difficult in scheduling. No one wants to come to the Show Me Center. We can play virtually anybody on the road, but we want quality home games also.

Teams like Mississippi Valley State (they will play next season at the Show Me Center) and Morris Brown are on our schedule because they will return games to the Show Me Center.

Saturday night's game against Southwest Missouri will be televised locally on KFVS-TV and will also be televised in Springfield. A regional rivalry with television coverage throughout our area and the Springfield area is important to our basketball program. The win over SIU was televised regionally and was a big plus for our program.

The students will be leaving to return home for the holidays after finals. It is important that all our fans in this area turn out for the games over the break. We're striving to get better to make it a great experience for you.

I'll see you at the Show Me Center Saturday night.

Gary Garner is the head basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University