Losing streak increases speculation about Garner's status

Murray State's 76-69 nationally televised victory over host Southeast Missouri State Saturday afternoon was fairly predictable.

After all, the Racers annually are one of the Ohio Valley Conference's top teams, and they're tied for first place now.

The Redhawks almost certainly are headed toward their fourth losing record in the last five years, although to their credit they put up quite a battle against the powerful Racers.

But Thursday's 60-55 loss to Morehead State was the one that had Southeast supporters grumbling as they left the Show Me Center.

Not that the Redhawks are guaranteed to beat anybody simply by stepping on the court -- far from it, especially because of their current injury problems and overall lack of depth and talent.

Still, falling at home to the OVC's last-place team -- one that had not beaten a Division I opponent this season -- was fairly stunning.

And, coupled with Saturday's loss, it means that the Redhawks might have to win five or six of their final seven league games -- maybe even all seven -- simply to have a realistic shot at making the eight-team OVC tournament.

This has certainly not been the kind of campaign coach Gary Garner was looking for in the last year of his contract.

I don't think anybody -- Garner included -- expected a big season from the rebuilding Redhawks, who lost most of their top players from 2004-05.

But Garner did have hopes that the Redhawks could come close to approaching last year's fairly modest success, when they went 15-14 overall, 9-7 in the OVC and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Now, sitting at 6-13 overall and 3-10 in conference play -- and saddled with a six-game losing streak -- it would take something of a minor miracle for Southeast to even get close to finishing near the .500 mark.

Which brings us to the hot topic among Southeast fans these days -- Garner's job status.

People who have read this column over the years know that I'm a Garner supporter and I think he's a heck of a coach.

Garner has proven his coaching ability at various stops along his lengthy career, including early during his tenure at Southeast, when he had a three-year stretch of 62-28, including the program's first OVC title and first NCAA Division I tournament berth.

I don't think Garner has all of a sudden turned from smart to dumb. It wasn't all that long ago when Southeast supporters thought he was the best thing to hit Cape Girardeau in a long time.

That being said, you can't overlook what has gone on over the past five years. After consistently finishing toward the top of the OVC standings early in Garner's time at Southeast, lately the Redhawks have consistently languished toward the bottom.

Let me remind people that it's been documented in this newspaper that Garner's budget was slashed considerably following his successful seasons, which severely hampered recruiting.

Almost embarrassingly, Garner had less money to work with for several years than every other OVC program, and only in the past year has Garner's budget been elevated to the middle of the conference pack.

Those elevated recruiting resources haven't paid off on the court this season, but it did lead to Southeast landing two of its highest-profile recruits in a long time -- transfers Brandon Foust and Mike Rembert -- for next year, along with several other touted players.

The pro-Garner crowd -- myself included -- wants him to at least have a chance to coach next year's team, which he and his staff assembled, and which many people expect to challenge for the OVC championship.

The anti-Garner crowd -- and that group is certainly growing by the day, especially after what happened Thursday night -- says he's had more than enough time at Southeast, and the lack of success in recent years means it's time for a change.

Which group will get its wish? That remains to be seen, and probably won't be determined until after the season, when Southeast administrators gather to decide Garner's fate.

Until then, the subject will likely remain a hot topic among Southeast followers.

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As Southeast's men continue to spiral downward, the women continue to surge upward, Saturday's 71-52 win over Murray State marking their sixth consecutive victory.

The red-hot Redhawks (12-7, 9-3) pulled into a first-place tie in the OVC, thanks to Samford's upset loss to Austin Peay, with eight league contests remaining.

And, speaking of job status, Southeast coach B.J. Smith -- despite all the success he's had since taking over the program four seasons ago -- is also in the last year of his contract, which has plenty of his supporters, including me, perplexed.

So there will be plenty to follow regarding Southeast hoops -- men and women -- even after the season is over.

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Watching the Jan. 21 women's basketball game between Southeast and Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn., I couldn't help but be impressed by how many people were already on hand for the tipoff.

There were probably already more than 2,000 fans in the stands, even though the men's contest was not going to start for more than two hours.

Contrast that to what takes place at the Show Me Center when Southeast's women play before the men. There generally aren't more than a couple hundred fans in the stands for the tip.

Considering that the Redhawks had the OVC's best record over the last three years entering this season -- even better than perennial conference power Tennessee Tech -- it's a shame their fans don't give them the proper support, although it was nice to see a good crowd stick around Saturday after the men got finished playing.

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The national letter of intent period for college football begins Wednesday, and it will be interesting to see what kind of players new Southeast coach Tony Samuel begins bringing into the program, not only this week but in the months that follow.

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Congratulations to the three former Notre Dame High sports stars -- Paul Lynch, Bruce Robert and Scott Siebert -- who were recently inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame.

Particular kudos to Paul, who I have known well -- and consider a friend -- ever since I covered the Notre Dame basketball teams that he was a part of in 1986 and 1987. Those teams captured consecutive state titles.

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I know there are some Southeast basketball fans who probably don't like me pumping up what has been going on across the river -- mainly because of jealousy -- but the accomplishment Southern Illinois University achieved recently is certainly worth mentioning here.

By routing visiting Creighton 62-48 Tuesday night, the Salukis set a Missouri Valley Conference record with 42 straight home wins in league play.

And the Salukis didn't just break the mark of some also-ran midmajor program. The MVC has been around for nearly a century and used to feature some of the nation's premier programs.

SIU's 42nd consecutive MVC home victory broke a tie with the legendary Henry Iba's Oklahoma A&M teams (1936 to 1942), and Cincinnati squads that featured Oscar Robertson (1957 to 1964).

The win over Creighton was also SIU's 33rd consecutive home victory overall, which is the nation's longest streak, although Illinois and Gonzaga both matched it with victories on Saturday.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.