SEMO SHOOTS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT: INDIANS HOST OVC FOE EASTERN KENTUCKY TONIGHT

Eastern Kentucky at SEMO

7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Probable Starters

SEMO (5-2, 2-0 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Mike Branson F Jr. 6-6 11.MDBOMDNM0

Roderick Johnson F Jr. 6-6 11.6

Bud Eley C Sr. 6-10 14.4

Cory Johnson G Sr. 6-0 11.7

Jeramy Biles G So. 5-11 4.6

EKU (1-4, 0-2 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Warren Stukes F Sr. 6-6 5.4

Darick Mattox F Jr. 6-8 13.0

Ronnie Griffin C So. 6-9 10.2

Darrius Acuff G So. 6-2 16.2

Whitney Robinson G Fr. 5-11 16.2

Series: EKU leads 9-5

Last meeting: SEMO won 97-78 in 1997-98

Radio: K103-FM

When Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians opened Ohio Valley Conference play on the road last week, they rated as underdogs to both Austin Peay and Tennessee State.

But the Indians came away with victories over the teams picked to finish second (Tennessee State) and third (Austin Peay) in the league.

Tonight, Southeast coach Gary Garner will be anxious to see how his team approaches an OVC game from the other side.

The Indians (5-2 overall, 2-0 OVC) figure to rank as a solid favorite when Eastern Kentucky (1-4, 0-2) comes to the Show Me Center for a 7:30 tipoff.

"We're probably in a little different type of situation (for tonight's game)," said Garner, whose squad has won three straight. "But we know we can't afford to take any team lightly. We have to be ready to play every night."

And anyway, Garner believes things will be far from easy tonight. While EKU's Colonels might be struggling at the bottom of the OVC standings so far, they are certainly not void of talent.

"They're evidently not playing very well right now, but they've got some very good players," said Garner. "I know they've got a lot of new players and sometimes it's hard, especially early, to blend everything together.

"But this is the kind of team we sure can't take lightly. We've got a great opportunity. It's so important that you protect your home court if you want to have a chance in any conference race."

Southeast certainly shouldn't be lacking for incentive tonight. Even though it's still extremely early, a win will give the Indians sole possession of first place in the OVC. The Indians and Murray State are both 2-0, but the Racers don't play tonight.

"It's still really early, but getting the two wins we did on the road against those opponents is really a big boost for us," Garner said. "It's a lot better being 2-0 right now instead of 0-2, that's for sure."

EKU has a roster dotted with newcomers -- many of them transfers -- but the Colonels' most highly-touted first-year player has not yet seen any action.

Charles Thomas, the sixth man on Minnesota's Final Four team of two years ago, has been sidelined with an injury and it is not known when he will return.

Four other first-year Colonels are averaging in double figures: 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Darrius Acuff (16.2 ppg), 5-11 freshman guard Whitney Robinson (16.2 ppg), 6-8 junior forward Darick Mattox (13.0 ppg) and 6-9 sophomore center Ronnie Griffin (10.2 ppg).

Acuff leads the OVC in 3-point shooting percentage, having connected on 12 of 21 for 57 percent.

The Colonels, who lost to Murray State 108-66 in their most recent game, are being outscored by an average of 91-69. They are also being outrebounded by an average of nearly 12 per game, which doesn't figure to bode well against a Southeast squad that is leading the OVC in rebounding margin with plus 10 per contest.

But, as Garner is quick to point out, games are never won on paper. It's what happens on the court that counts.

"Just watching them on tape, they've got some really good players," he said. "Their guards are solid and they've got some talented inside players."

The Indians should definitely be flying high tonight after Tuesday's thrilling 76-75 non-conference victory at Arkansas State. Kahn Cotton's driving layup -- he switched hands in mid-air to score with the left -- was the game-winning basket.

Tuesday's triumph marked Southeast's third straight road win -- all against highly-regarded opponents.

"Winning these last three like we have is just so great for our confidence," said Garner. "They were all three just really big wins. And that kind of concerns me with this game because we'll have had four really big games in such a short period of time (a week).

"I'm concerned about how we're going to bounce back mentally. But this group has really been focused and they've been able to get ready for every challenge we've had."