Hot Redhawks eager to play

It's understandable why the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team is so excited entering the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The Redhawks are without a doubt playing their best basketball of the season as the eight-team event tips off today at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.

"It's all coming together finally. We're a dangerous team right now," senior guard Corey Wilford said. "We can't wait for the tournament."

Sixth-seeded Southeast faces seventh-seeded Eastern Illinois at 8 p.m. in the second of today's two opening-round games.

"We really love the way we're playing," senior guard Nick Niemczyk said. "We're ready to keep this rolling."

Southeast has won five of its last seven games, with the two losses coming on baskets in the final 10 seconds that broke ties.

The Redhawks ended the regular season Saturday with a resounding 84-68 victory at Murray State, which had its string of three straight OVC regular-season championships snapped this year by Belmont but still won the West Division title and is the tournament's No. 2 seed. That came on the heels of Thursday's 108-81 romp at Austin Peay as Southeast set school and OVC records with 20 3-pointers.

"We're playing our best basketball right now," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "I've been really proud of the guys. I feel good going into the tournament. We think we can win it."

But, as Nutt emphasized, you can throw everything that has happened previously out the window because the tournament basically begins a new season.

"Throw out the records. Everybody starts over once you get to tournament play," Nutt said.

Southeast went 16-15 overall and 8-8 in OVC play to tie for fifth in the 12-team league. The Redhawks wound up second in the OVC West Division, behind Murray State -- just as was predicted in the preseason poll.

The Redhawks, whose 16 wins are the program's most since the 2000-01 squad posted 18 victories, are in the OVC tournament for the third straight season, marking the second-longest stretch in program history. A win today will give Southeast OVC tournament victories in three straight years for the first time.

To pull that off, Southeast will have to get past EIU (11-20, 6-10), which also enters the tournament on a roll with a three-game winning streak. The Panthers have won eight of their last 12 after beginning the campaign 3-16.

The squads split their two regular-season meetings, the Redhawks romping 77-64 in Cape Girardeau on Feb. 9 -- they led by 25 points at halftime -- after the Panthers prevailed 78-72 in overtime on Jan. 26 in Charleston, Ill.

"They're very capable. They're much improved since we played them last," Nutt said.

Southeast has performed well in most areas during its current stretch, led by incredibly hot outside shooting.

The Redhawks have made at least 10 3-pointers in six straight games and have shot at least 50 percent from beyond the arc in five of those contests.

After hitting the record 20 3-pointers -- in 33 attempts -- at Austin Peay Thursday, Southeast made 12 of 19 treys Saturday at Murray State.

The Redhawks have moved up to fifth nationally in 3-point shooting at 40.7 percent. Junior guard A.J. Jones (44.8), Wilford (44.4) and senior guard Marland Smith (43.7) are all above 43 percent from beyond the arc.

"We're really sharing the ball and making the extra pass. Everybody is playing with a lot of confidence," Niemczyk said.

If Southeast wins today, the Redhawks will play third-seeded Eastern Kentucky (23-8, 12-4) at 8 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

The Colonels won at Southeast 81-72 on Feb. 2 in this year's lone meeting but the Redhawks have ended EKU's season in the opening round of the OVC tournament the past two years.

EKU was arguably the OVC's biggest surprise team this year as the Colonels set a school record for wins. They actually finished second in the conference standings but garnered the third seed because Murray State automatically received the No. 2 seed as the West Division champion.

And if the Redhawks can knock off EKU, they'll get a third meeting with Murray State in Friday's semifinals -- but Nutt knows Southeast has plenty of work ahead of it to make that happen.

"None of that matters if we don't win [today]," Nutt said.