Redhawks face another big-time challenge today

~ Southeast bringsa five-game losing streak to Purdue.

For the second consecutive Saturday, Southeast Missouri State will be a heavy underdog on the road against a team from a major conference.

While coach Scott Edgar realizes it will be tough for the Redhawks (3-10) to beat Purdue (10-3) in tonight's 6 p.m. tipoff in West Lafayette, Ind., he hopes they can at least build on their second-half performance from last Saturday's 87-71 loss at Iowa State.

The Redhawks outscored Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference by eight points in the second half, after they trailed by 24 points at halftime.

"We're getting better. It's just a work in progress," Edgar said. "I wouldn't be surprised if fans are as tired of hearing it as I am saying it, but it's true.

"We just have to keep working and improving, but I think three of our last four halves have been very good."

That includes both halves of Southeast's most recent Ohio Valley Conference contest, a 65-64 loss to visiting Samford on Dec. 19 as the Bulldogs hit a game-winning shot with 2 seconds remaining.

Edgar believes Purdue, which has not yet opened Big Ten Conference play, will be the best team Southeast faces all season. That should make it very difficult for the Redhawks to snap their five-game losing streak.

"Purdue is the best team we're going to play," he said. "They are really good."

The Boilermakers struggled last year in their first season under former Southern Illinois coach Matt Painter, going 9-19 overall and 3-13 in the Big Ten.

But that was not totally unexpected, considering Purdue played virtually the entire campaign without arguably its top two players.

Carl Landry, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward, missed all but a few games last year because of an injury, after he averaged 18.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game the season before to rank second in the Big 10 in scoring and seventh in rebounding.

Landry, now healthy in his senior season, has picked up where he left off two years ago. He leads the Big Ten in scoring at 20.1 points per game, ranks fourth in rebounding with 7.2 per contest and is second in field-goal shooting at 64 percent.

David Teague, a 6-5 guard, did not play in a single game last year because of an injury, after he was the Big Ten's 13th-leading scorer two years ago.

Teague, also now healthy for his senior season, is averaging 10.5 points per game.

"Landry is a great player, and Teague is also very good," Edgar said. "Landry has been one of the best players in the Big Ten Conference when he's healthy."

Purdue also features one of the league's premier 3-point shooters in sophomore guard Chris Lutz, who is tied for third at 50 percent (25 of 50).

Teague is also strong from long range, having hit nearly 37 percent of his 3-point attempts.

"They've got a lot of weapons," Edgar said.

Purdue, which is receiving votes in the national poll, handed Missouri its first loss of the season, 79-62 at home on Dec. 9.

The Boilermakers are coming off a surprisingly lopsided 89-70 loss at Indiana State on Thursday.

Purdue's other defeats have been by three points against 15th-ranked Butler and by 18 points against Georgia Tech, which was ranked earlier in the season.

Tonight will mark only the second meeting ever between the programs. Purdue beat Southeast -- which then competed in Division II -- 70-54 during the 1984-85 season.

After tonight's game, the Redhawks will remain on the road and travel to Richmond, Ky., on Sunday in preparation for Tuesday night's OVC game at Eastern Kentucky.

The Redhawks are tied for last place in the 11-team conference with a 1-4 record.

"As important a game as Eastern Kentucky is, we can't put all our focus on them because of how good Purdue is," Edgar said.

Noteworthy

Southeast junior point guard Paul Paradoski, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury suffered during practice, returned to practice this week on a limited basis, but Edgar said Paradoski is still not ready to resume game action.

Freshman Roderick Pearson has been impressive starting in Paradoski's place, averaging nearly 11 points while recording nine assists against just three turnovers in the three games.