Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team debuts tonight with exhibition

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team has been practicing for nearly a month.

Today the Redhawks get a break from that grind as they test themselves against outside competition for the first time.

Hannibal-LaGrange, an NAIA program from Hannibal, Mo., visits the Show Me Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

It's the first of two exhibitions for Southeast, which hosts Division II Ouachita Baptist -- coached by Southeast coach Dickey Nutt's brother Dennis -- Saturday at 8 p.m.

After that it's on to the regular season, which begins Nov. 8 at highly regarded Saint Louis University.

"I think our guys are anxious. They're eager to play somebody. I'm sure they're tired of practice," Dickey Nutt said. "We're anxious to see how they react. ... It gives us a chance to get something on tape, to learn from it."

Nutt emphasized that the Redhawks are fully expected to win exhibitions.

"It's a must-win game for us," Nutt said. "The first thing I tell our guys, when we step on the court, we're expected to win. We're going to do everything we can to win the game."

Southeast faced Hannibal-LaGrange in the last three regular seasons, romping twice and posting a comeback victory.

The Redhawks routed the Trojans 96-55 a year ago after struggling with them before rallying from a one-point halftime deficit for an 82-72 victory during the 2011-12 campaign. The 2010-11 meeting resulted in a 101-52 blowout.

Hannibal-LaGrange figures to be hard-pressed to challenge Southeast. The Trojans are coming off a rough 2012-13 campaign that saw them go 6-24, including a last-place 2-14 in the American Midwest Conference. They have not won more than 12 games in a season since 2008-09.

"I don't know anything about them," Nutt said. "We're concerned about ourself."

Southeast figures to receive a much stiffer test Saturday in its exhibition finale.

Ouachita Baptist, located in Arkadelphia, Ark., gave Southeast a good exhibition game last year before the Redhawks pulled away in the second half to post a 71-60 victory.

The Tigers return plenty of experience from a squad that went 17-12 overall and tied for sixth in the 11-team Great American Conference before winning the GAC tournament. It was the program's first conference title since 1977-78.

"They're good. They'll present a big challenge for us," Nutt said.

Dennis Nutt is in his third season as the Tigers' coach. The former NBA player, who was with the Dallas Mavericks from 1986 through 1988, also has been a Division I head coach at Texas State from 2000 through 2006.

Dennis Nutt is the youngest of four brothers who have found success in the collegiate coaching ranks. He was an assistant under his older brother at Arkansas State during Dickey Nutt's early seasons with the Red Wolves.