SEMO hoops set to battle in OVC Tournament

The Southeast Missouri State men’s and women’s basketball teams have reached the end of their respective regular seasons and earned their way into the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Evansville, Indiana, which begins on Wednesday, March 1.

The women’s basketball team (15-14, 10-8) received a first-round bye after finishing in fourth place. The Redhawks are riding a six-game winning streak after finishing the regular season with an 88-71 drubbing of SIU Edwardsville this past Saturday. SEMO will square off against the winner between No. 5 UT-Martin and No. 8 Morehead State.

The Redhawks finished 3-1 against their first-round counterparts, with the sole loss coming in Martin, Tennessee on Jan. 5 while outdueling the Skyhawks by two at the Show Me Center two weeks later. Southeast Missouri State defeated Morehead State by a combined 24 points across two matchups this season.

The winner of said game moves into a 1 p.m. matchup on Thursday against the Redhawks, to be streamed on ESPN+. The winner of the game moves into a semifinal matchup with first-seeded Little Rock, which received the top seed by taking the regular season conference title its first year in the OVC. The Trojans swept the season series against the Redhawks.

The men’s basketball team (15-16, 10-8) received no such bye, moving into first-round action against in-state rival and conference rookie Lindenwood at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Lions earned the last spot in the OVC Tournament on a buzzer beater by Kevin Caldwell Jr. in a 97-96 overtime win over Little Rock this past Saturday.

The Redhawks have appeared the stronger team across their two matchups with Lindenwood, though the Lions took a double-overtime victory this past Thursday at home with Phillip Russell missing the game for the Redhawks while facing a suspension.

With a win, the Redhawks could move into a quarterfinal matchup against Tennessee State, which finished 10-8 in conference play. The Redhawks split a pair against the Tigers, with both teams taking their respective home games.

Both teams have their work cut out for them. Even when receiving a bye, the women still need three wins to finish atop the tournament, while the SEMO men need four.

The pair of Southeast Missouri State basketball squads look to make a splash in the conference tournament.