Much on the line for Otahks, EKU

Ever since Southeast Missouri State University began Ohio Valley Conference play by losing four of its first seven games, each contest has been crucial for the Otahkians.

But today's 5 p.m. tipoff against Eastern Kentucky at the Show Me Center holds a bit more importance. The squads are part of a three-way tie for third place and battling for a home game in the first round of the conference tournament. The top four finishers earn that reward.

"All of our games are big, but this is one of the teams we're fighting with in the standings, so this one is really big," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said.

The Otahkians, who have won five straight games, are 13-10 overall and 8-4 in OVC play. The Colonels are 12-11 and 8-4. Also 8-4 is Jacksonville State, while Tennessee Tech (9-3) is in second place. First-place Austin Peay (11-1) appears headed for a second consecutive regular-season title.

Because of the OVC's unbalanced schedule, this is the only meeting between Southeast and EKU this season. The winner will hold the tie-breaker in case the squads wind up deadlocked in the final standings. Jacksonville State already has the tie-breaker with Southeast.

"We definitely want to be at home for the first game of the tournament," senior forward Yashika Sidbury said.

Smith said today's game should be entertaining because the Otahkians and Colonels employ similar, up-tempo styles.

"I think both teams want controlled chaos," Smith said. "I guess the key is which team can do it the best."

The Colonels feature just one double-figure scorer in senior guard Katie Kelly (17.1 ppg), but five other players average between 7.1 and 8.3 points.

"They've got good athleticism and good depth," Smith said.

Southeast's top scorers are senior guard Kenja White (11.1 ppg) and junior guard Sami Jo Cotton (11.0 ppg), who has won the OVC's newcomer of the week award three straight times and five times overall this season. With 55 3-pointers, Cotton has moved up to fifth on Southeast's all-time single-season list. The record is 68.