SOUTHEAST FACES TALL TASK WITH LSU TIGERS

Though neither coach knew as much as they would like to have known late Monday morning, Southeast Missouri State coach Gary Garner and Louisiana State coach John Brady each knew enough to respect each other's team.

Garner said he stayed up until 3 a.m. watching what little film he had on the Tigers, who are the fourth seed in the West region and Southeast's first-ever opponent in the NCAA national tournament.

The two teams will play around 2:10 p.m. Thursday at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

"We taped a lot of games once we won the OVC Tournament," said Garner at a press conference. "We had two tapes on LSU and we started on them Sunday night. And they were two pretty good tapes.

"Their size is the worst thing. You look at their overall team and they might be the biggest basketball team in the country. They're not a great outside shooting team, but they're good enough to keep you honest. Defense is what we're going to have to rely on."

LSU, the SEC West champion, is ranked No. 9 in the USA Today/ESPN Coach's poll, while the Associated Press has the Tigers (26-5) ranked 10th.

All five members of the Tiger starting five are at least 6-foot-4 and three are 6-foot-8 or taller in forward Brian Beshara (6-8), guard Stromile Swift (6-9) and center Jabari Smith (6-11). Southeast (24-6), the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions, has just one starter, center Brian Bunche, as tall as 6-foot-8.

Considering LSU's wins, which includes a 26-point win over Arizona, a No. 4 seed could be considered a low one for the Tigers. Arizona is the top seed in the West and LSU also has a win over Oklahoma St., the third seed in the East.

"They're definitely a team that could win the national championship," said Garner. "They could have had a two or three but there were a lot of teams in that range. And they were playing extremely well at the end of the season and that's why I'm surprised (that they weren't seeded higher)."

But even with all of LSU's wins 13 of them coming in the brutal Southeastern Conference -- Brady knows better than to take a No. 13 seed for granted.

"As far as breaking down personnel, I don't know enough about them right now," said Brady during a telephone conference call on Monday. "We're getting some film as we speak. But the OVC is a great league. I know their point guard (Michael Stokes) is really good and I know of Gary Garner and I know he's a good coach.

"LSU will definitely have a size advantage, but we had a big size advantage over Arkansas (in the SEC Tournament). We have to come out ready to play. Southeast Missouri is intimidating to me. Everybody should fear everyone because you never know what might happen if you don't show up to play."

Although Brady's team may have been slighted somewhat by the NCAA selection committee, the coach was happy just to get to this point.

"Nobody thought we'd have a chance to make a tournament," said Brady, the SEC Coach of the Year. "And considering the way we started (with 13 straight wins) and the way we fought to get respect, you have to congratulate the players. But at this stage of our development, we're happy to be anywhere in the bracket."

Brady led the Tigers from worst (sixth in the SEC West last year) to first this season. Brady guided his squad to an eight-game turnaround this season -- the biggest one-year improvement in SEC history.

* The Southeast team will depart for Utah today. The team bus is expected to leave the Show Me Center around 1 p.m. and will travel to Lambert Field in St. Louis where it will board a charter flight.

* There will be a pre-game pep rally for Southeast Missouri State University alumni and friends preceding Thursday's game. It will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. Mountain Time on Thursday in the Solitude Room at the Holiday Inn at 999 S. Main Street in Salt Lake.

* A March Madness celebration for Southeast Missouri State University fans will be held at the Show Me Center Meeting Rooms on Thursday.

The doors will open at 1:30. Southeast fans will have the opportunity to watch the nationally televised game on a big screen. Free refreshments will be available and Southeast Bookstore will have Road to the Final Four T-shirts on sale. The celebration is free and open to the public.