INDIANS HEAD STRAIGHT FOR OFC's FLAMES

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians will certainly not have the luxury of easing into their Ohio Valley Conference schedule.

The Indians open OVC play this week with two games -- both on the road and both against teams picked to be among the league's top three finishers.

First up is a Thursday night contest with Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. Then comes a Saturday night date with Tennessee State in Nashville.

Austin Peay was picked to finish third in the OVC while Tennessee State was tabbed for second in the 10-team league.

Southeast, 2-2 after four non-conference games, will certainly have its work cut out right off the bat. The Indians were picked fifth in the OVC preseason poll.

"This is really a big weekend for us and it comes so early in the season," said Southeast coach Gary Garner during his weekly media conference Monday morning. "If we could somehow win both of them, we'd be in unbelievably good shape.

"If we split, we'd be in good shape. And even if we lost both, we wouldn't be in bad shape because I don't know of many teams in the conference that will have success on this road trip, except maybe somebody like a Murray State."

Not only will the Indians be facing two of the OVC's top teams on the road this week, they'll also be going up against the league's top two scorers.

Austin Peay's Trenton Hassell, a 6-foot-5 sophomore playing his first season of college basketball, is averaging 22.5 points per game while shooting 57 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range.

Tennessee State's Jamie Roberts, a 6-3 sophomore, is averaging 24.2 points a contest.

"Both teams are really good," Garner said. "They are very talented and both will be huge challenges for us."

Hassell just might be the most talented player in the OVC. The Clarksville native was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school and was courted by most of the top Southeastern Conference programs.

However, he did not qualify academically and wound up staying home at Austin Peay. He sat out last season but has burst on the scene in a big way, scoring 29 points against Vanderbilt, 24 against Mississippi and 17 against Missouri. The Govs lost all three games but were extremely competitive against Vandy and Mizzou.

"He may be the best player in the conference," said Garner.

Austin Peay is 1-3 against a brutal schedule while Tennessee State is 2-2, including a loss at Tennessee.

* Garner had good news to report concerning the status of senior guard Kahn Cotton, who has not played in any games yet and has barely practiced because of recurring knee problems.

Cotton returned to practice over the weekend and his knees apparently held up well, meaning he's likely to see some action Thursday night.

"Kahn really hadn't played since August so his conditioning is certainly not there yet," said Garner. "He practiced Saturday, then he told me the next day that his knee felt good, but he said he felt like he played four overtime games in a row. He's out of shape, but he'll get that back.

"He'll play Thursday. It won't be full time because we have to be careful. But it will be good to have him back because we really need his quickness, defense and scoring ability."

* The OVC picked up a huge non-conference victory over the weekend when Murray State stunned Oklahoma 68-64 in the championship game of Oklahoma's tournament.

Murray State, which has won or shared 10 of the past 11 OVC titles, appears to have picked up right where it left off after going 29-4 last year. The Racers are heavily favored to capture another OVC crown this season.

"That was a really big win for our conference," Garner said. "To go and win on the road against a team picked to finish very high in the Big 12 Conference is really something.

"And it's not like it was just a regular game, where the other team might take you lightly. This was for a tournament championship so I'm sure Oklahoma was really ready to play. Murray might be just as good as they were last year."