Rough road leads Redhawks to ISU

~ After opening loss at Xavier, Southeast men 's basketball team travels to Illinois State.

Southeast Missouri State's second opponent doesn't have the talent level of the Redhawks' season-opening foe.

But Southeast coach Scott Edgar figures Illinois State won't lag far behind Xavier.

The Redhawks will find out tonight when they face the Redbirds in Normal, Ill.

Like Saturday's game at Xavier, which the Redhawks lost 90-59, tonight's contest is part of the Chicago Invitational Challenge that will also feature two games for Southeast in Chicago on Nov. 23 and 24.

"I think position by position, Xavier is the best team we'll play," said Edgar of the Musketeers, who are ranked in the top 25 by some publications. "They [Illinois State] might not top to bottom have the depth Xavier did.

"But their guys were recruited to play in one of the top eight or nine conferences in the country. They'll have very good players."

Illinois State struggled in the Missouri Valley Conference the past several seasons -- last year's 6-12 record tied the Redbirds for seventh among 10 teams -- which led to the dismissal of coach Porter Moser.

But the Redbirds, who went 15-16 overall a year ago, are regarded as potential MVC contenders in their first season under Tim Jankovich, a former North Texas head coach who spent the past five years as a Kansas assistant.

Bolstered by the return of five players who started at least 13 games last year -- including their top four scorers -- the Redbirds were picked fifth in the MVC's official preseason poll. Some publications have them rated as high as fourth.

"If you're picked fourth or fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, those are usually bubble spots for the NCAA tournament," Edgar said.

Among the Redbirds' key players is senior guard Dom Johnson, a three-time all-stater at Bell City High School who led the Cubs to a pair of Class 1 state championships.

Johnson, who transferred to Illinois State last year from Three Rivers Community College, started 26 games for the Redbirds and averaged 8.3 points.

Johnson had 11 points in this year's opener, a 70-37 rout of Division II Missouri-St. Louis.

Southeast's own Bell City product, 6-foot-10 freshman center Will Bogan -- who did not play with Johnson in high school -- had a solid debut with seven points, 10 rebounds and five blocks at Xavier.

"I liked the fact Will was able to get 10 rebounds against an upper-level team," Edgar said.

Bogan figures to keep receiving plenty of playing time as senior center Mike Rembert continues to rehabilitate from knee surgery, although Rembert appears to be getting closer to returning.

Tonight will mark the first of three games against MVC opponents for the Redhawks, who host Evansville on Nov. 20 and play at Bradley on Dec. 1.

"This is a great opportunity for us," said Edgar, whose squad opens its home schedule Friday night against NAIA Culver-Stockton.

Noteworthy

• Junior college transfer forward Jaycen Herring, who led Southeast in scoring during both exhibition games, suffered a thumb injury in practice the day before the Xavier contest.

With the thumb on his shooting hand heavily taped, Herring scored just four points in 18 minutes against Xavier. He is expected to play tonight.

• Junior college transfer guard Kenard Moore injured a knee against Xavier and is questionable for tonight.
• Illinois State assistant Anthony Beane spent three years as a Southeast assistant, including the NCAA tournament season of 1999-2000.