Poll has Redhawks in OVC basement

~ The Southeast men's basketball team went 0-18 last season in conference play

Dickey Nutt was not one bit surprised by where his first Southeast Missouri State basketball squad ranked in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll announced Thursday.

The Redhawks were picked dead last in the 10-team OVC, as voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

That was pretty much expected after the 2008-09 Redhawks went 3-27 overall and 0-18 in the OVC while finishing the year with a 19-game losing streak that ranks as the nation's longest entering this season.

"No surprises there. I fully expected that," said Nutt, whose squad previously had been picked last in the majority of national publications. "We know where we are. We knew that coming in."

Like most coaches, whether they're predicted to finish toward the top or bottom of a particular conference, they emphasize that preseason predictions mean little.

"Those preseason polls are just for the fans' sake, for the coffee shops," said Nutt, hired at Southeast in March after spending 13 seasons as coach at Arkansas State. "I've probably been [picked] in every position. I can assure you it doesn't make a difference. We can use it for motivation."

Southeast returned just four players from last season, with no double-figure scorers among the group. Nutt has restocked the roster with 11 newcomers, although top recruit Leon Powell will miss the season after suffering a torn ACL in May.

Nutt is trying to develop the Redhawks into a strong defensive team to compensate for an offense that figures to be limited. Through about two weeks of practice, he said he has few complaints.

"The only way we're going to win is to play defense," Nutt said. "There are some nights the ball's not going to go in.

"Every day my guys are doing what we ask them to do. Top to bottom, from a character standpoint, this is one of the best groups I've ever had."

Southeast received 19 points in the poll, 25 less than ninth-place Tennessee State.

Murray State and Morehead State are the preseason OVC co-favorites as each received 10 of the 20 first-place votes and 154 total points.

It marks the 13th time in the last 21 years that Murray State has been rated the preseason favorite. Morehead State was tabbed first for the first time since the 1983-84 season.

Murray State went 19-12 overall and 13-5 in the OVC last year to tie for second place.

Morehead State went 20-16 and a fourth-place 12-6 in OVC play before winning the conference tournament to earn the league's automatic NCAA berth. The Eagles are led by 6-foot-8 center Kenneth Faried, the OVC preseason player of the year after ranking third nationally in rebounding.

Austin Peay (19-14, 13-5) was picked to finish third, with Eastern Illinois (12-18, 8-10) and Eastern Kentucky (18-13, 10-8) rounding out the top five.

Jacksonville State (11-17, 5-13) was tabbed sixth, followed by Tennessee Tech (12-18, 6-12), defending regular-season champion Tennessee-Martin (22-10, 14-4), Tennessee State (12-18, 9-9) and Southeast.

"Morehead State is coming on and Murray State and Austin Peay have always been around," Nutt said of the OVC's projected powers. "Fortunately for me, being in this area, I've had some familiarity playing OVC schools [while at Arkansas State]."

Southeast plays the first of two home exhibition games Nov. 5 against Harris-Stowe. The first regular-season contest is Nov. 14 at Saint Louis University.