COURT SESSION: SEMO GETS READY FOR TOUGH TRIP

Like it or not, the Ohio Valley Conference season gets started this week and we are on the road for games at Austin Peay Thursday and Tennessee State Saturday.

I really don't like playing conference games in December, but it is necessary to get in all the league games and everybody is in the same situation. I'm sure every OVC coach would like to have a few more games under the belt before starting league play.

Our opening OVC road trip is certainly a challenge for us. Tennessee State was picked to finish second in the preseason poll while Austin Peay was picked third.

Austin Peay has one of the top players in our league in newcomer Trenton Hassell, who is averaging 22.5 points per game. He was one of the top 50 high school players in the nation two years ago and sat out last season while meeting NCAA requirements. He is a 6-4 guard who can score inside our outside. Just slowing him down will be a big challenge.

Tennessee State is a big, strong team with the top scorer in the OVC in guard Jamie Roberts, who averages 24 points per game.

As league play opens, Murray State again appears to be the team to beat. The Racers are 4-0 and just beat Oklahoma on the Sooners' home court. After Murray State, it appears that six or seven teams have the potential to challenge the Racers. It all boils down to a great conference race and hopefully we can be right in the thick of it.

This opening OVC road trip can be helpful in molding our basketball team. We will leave at noon Thursday and stay in Clarksville after the game Thursday night. Friday, we will go on to Nashville, where we will practice at Tennessee State that evening and then play the Tigers Saturday night.

Being together for three days can help a team come together. The team, coaches and support staff will be in the bus together, eat all meals together and be in hotels together. This should allow the team to come together because you have to really develop into a family in order to win on the road.

When you play at home, the fans are a security blanket. The fans keep you going, but on the road the fans are for the other team and you have to pull together as a family in order to increase chances for success.

We still have a long way to go, but our team is really working hard in practice and we will get better. Kahn Cotton returned to practice last Saturday and is working to get back in shape. We really need Kahn in the lineup.

Following the two OVC games this week, we continue on the road next Tuesday with a game at Arkansas State, which is picked to repeat as Sun Belt Conference champion. They'll return the game at the Show Me Center next season.

Going on the road really affirms what great fans we have at Southeast. Austin Peay had only 2,644 fans at their first home game while Tennessee State has averaged just 782 fans so far.

Your support is appreciated. Remember, we will be back at the Show Me Center Thursday, Dec. 10, against Eastern Kentucky. I hope you will be there and that you'll bring along a few friends. We need to continue to expand our fan base.

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