SEMO WILL PLAY LSU IN FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE; INDIANS HAPPY SUSPENSE IS FINALLY OVER

Now that the seeds have been planted, it's time for the Indians to do some uprooting.

Southeast Missouri State University was seeded 13th in the West bracket of the NCAA Tournament Sunday and will play No. 4 Louisiana State University at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday.

Times for the tournament's first-round games were to be released today.

And after finding out his team's tournament partner, head coach Gary Garner was ready to kick off the dancing shoes and strap on the work boots.

"Today was a great day," Garner said of the selection festivities. "But I'm glad to get it over so we can prepare for the game."

"Now we know where we play and who we play," said Roderick Johnson, the Indians' leading scorer and the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament MVP. "That's a tremendous feeling."

Getting the 13th seed was not a surprise as most prognosticators had Southeast in the 12-14 range.

"We landed right in the middle so I definitely think it was a good pick," said Southeast forward Mike Branson.

Garner figured his team would go somewhere between 11 and 13.

"I was really kind of hoping for a 12, but it's fine with us," said Garner.

About 450 people attended the party at Drury Lodge to celebrate Southeast's official invitation to the tournament.

With each region, fans in attendance gasped and groaned when Southeast didn't appear on one of the brackets on the big screen.

Southeast Missouri State finally appeared in the final region released the West.

"Every time a team came up, I got more nervous," said Branson. "My heart was racing."

The Indians hoped they would land in the South region where they could play in Nashville the site of the OVC Tournament.

Had Southeast played its first-round game in Nashville, many fans could've made the trip via an automobile vs. a plane.

"That just lost a lot of people a lot of money," muttered a fan sitting a few rows back.

"We wanted to stay a bit closer for our fans, but we're happy to go anywhere, really," said Branson.

Said Brian Bunche, the Southeast center, "I don't care where it is as long as we get the job done."

Garner and the players were delighted with the number of fans that attended Sunday's party.

"I couldn't believe," Branson said. "We've had great fans all year, but we weren't even playing tonight."

"Those are some true, hard-core fans," said Garner, "to spend their Sunday here when they could be doing something else."

The party featured a little bit of everything.

The school's pep band was there as were cheerleaders, vendors selling beverages and Southeast T-shirts.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling spoke for a few moments before the tournament selection, congratulating the team on behalf of the city.