Southeast men face SIU-Edwardsville tonight

~ Last week's game was postponed due to bad weather

Southeast Missouri State and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville men's basketball teams will meet tonight after last week's game was postponed due to severe winter weather.

Southeast and SIUE, which joins the Ohio Valley Conference next season, will square off at 7 p.m. in Edwardsville, Ill.

"We look forward to playing them," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "I think they'll be a good member of the conference."

The Redhawks (6-17, 5-8) will be looking for a two-game winning streak after they snapped a six-game losing skid with Saturday's 70-64 victory at Eastern Illinois.

Southeast moved up to seventh place in the 10-team OVC with five conference games left. The top eight finishers make the OVC tournament.

"It was a fantastic win for us," Nutt said.

SIUE (6-18) has struggled making the transition from Division II to Division I, but the Cougars have had their moments.

Despite being 0-6 against current OVC members, the Cougars recently took defending champion Murray State to the wire before losing 67-61 at home.

That came after SIU was routed at Murray State 71-46 in December.

The Cougars also lost to Eastern Kentucky twice. Their other defeats against OVC squads were to Morehead State and Tennessee Tech.

"I know they gave Murray State a really good game," Nutt said. "You can look at any team you play, they can beat you. They're very capable. We'll have to play well."

SIUE snapped a five-game losing streak Jan. 29 with a 78-57 win over Division III Greenville. The Cougars have had two contests postponed since then, including the Southeast matchup Tuesday.

Southeast continues a stretch of four consecutive road dates with a pair of OVC contests after today's game. The Redhawks visit Eastern Kentucky on Thursday and Morehead State on Saturday.