SOUTHEAST, LOUISVILLE CLASH TONIGHT; CARDINALS COMING OFF UPSET OF NO. 4 KENTUCKY

Louisville doesn't have the best record of any basketball team Southeast Missouri State University's Indians have faced this season.

In fact, the Cardinals actually have one of the worst records of any squad Southeast has gone against so far.

But there is no doubt the Cardinals are one of the most talented -- if not the most talented -- teams the Indians will play during the 1997-98 campaign.

Southeast (5-4) and Louisville (4-6) will square off at Freedom Hall in Louisville tonight (6:30 tipoff) in the Indians' final non-conference game of the season. It will be the first-ever meeting between the teams.

"You can't really go by the record with a team like Louisville because they have lost to some very good basketball teams," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "Without a doubt, they'll be the most talented team we've played so far.

"And they'll probably be the most athletic team we'll play all season. Now, I haven't seen Murray State yet, but Louisville is an extremely talented basketball team."

Denny Crum, in his 27th season as Louisville's coach, has a glittering 617-239 record and he has led the Cardinals to six Final Four appearances, including national championships in 1980 and 1986.

"I have great respect for coach Crum and the outstanding success he has enjoyed at Louisville," said Garner. "Playing in Freedom Hall (which seats 18,865 and is generally filled) will be quite a challenge for us. It's one of the places throughout the country that reeks with tradition. But our players look forward to it."

Louisville had another banner season last year, going 26-9 and advancing to the final eight in the NCAA Tournament before losing to North Carolina in the East Regional championship game.

The Cardinals returned three starters off last year's squad and had another players who started the year before in addition to a transfer who had two years of starting experience at another school.

For whatever reason -- probably mainly because of a brutal schedule -- the Cardinals have struggled overall so far, although they are coming off a huge 79-76 win at arch-rival Kentucky on Saturday.

Louisville won its first two games, against Hofstra (75-66) and Illinois (58-57).

Then came four straight losses: to Georgia Tech (73-69), North Carolina (81-72), Purdue (87-69) and Arkansas (100-83).

The Cardinals ended the slide by beating up on Southeast's fellow Ohio Valley Conference member Morehead State (84-54), but then lost to Georgia Tech (94-86) and Mississippi (74-70) before stunning fourth-ranked Kentucky.

The Cardinals, who start just one senior, have no real big scorers, but six players average at least eight points per game.

Leading the way are 6-foot-6 junior center Alex Sanders (11.7 ppg) and 6-foot junior point guard Cameron Murray (11.5 ppg), a tremendously talented floor leader who started two season at Southern California before transferring.

Rounding out the starting lineup are 6-3 freshman guard Marques Maybin (9.2 ppg), 6-6 sophomore forward Nate Johnson (8.3 ppg) and 6-6 senior forward Damion Dantzler (6.5 ppg).

Sanders is the team's top rebounder at about six per game while Johnson and Dantzler both average more than five boards a contest.

Contributing offense off the bench have been 6-3 junior Eric Johnson (10.2 ppg) and 6-7 sophomore Tony Williams (8.5 ppg).

"They're big and strong, but not that tall," Garner said. "The part about not being that tall, I like. The part I don't like is they're so athletic."

Crum, whose squad had lost six out of seven before surprising Kentucky, hopes his squad won't be bitten by the overconfidence bug tonight.

"One of the things that I've always believed in was not getting too high and then too low -- peaks and valleys," he said. "Then you turn around and get beat by somebody who shouldn't beat you. That's the kiss of death.

"You've got to beat all the teams you're supposed to beat and upset some you're not supposed to beat. Now, we'll see how we handle that because it will be a new experience for them."

Southeast will be playing its third straight game without center Bud Eley, the Indians' leading scorer who remains sidelined with a broken foot. He is expected to miss at least another few weeks of action.

The Indians have played well in Eley's absence and Garner hopes that continues tonight as Southeast shoots for an upset.

"Our players are playing with a lot of confidence. We're going down there to win the game, not just show up," he said. "We just hope we play the best we can and then see what happens."

Following tonight's game, the Indians will jump back into OVC action with two road games, against Morehead State on Saturday and Eastern Kentucky on Monday.

SEMO at Louisville

6:30 p.m., Louisville, Ky.

Probable Starters

SEMO (5-4)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Calvert White F Sr. 6-4 10.2

Demetrius Watson F Jr. 6-4 6.3

David Montgomery C Jr. 6-8 10.3

Cory Johnson G Jr. 6-0 13.2

Kahn Cotton G Jr. 5-10 12.0

Louisville (4-6)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Nate Johnson F So. 6-6 8.3

Damion Dantzler F Sr. 6-6 6.5

Alex Sanders C Jr. 6-7 11.7

Marques Maybin G Fr. 6-3 9.2

Cameron Murray G Jr. 6-0 11.5

Series: First meeting

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