Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team launches season tonight again Billikens

~ The Southeast men's basketball team will have its season opener televised

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team certainly hasn't eased into the season during coach Dickey Nutt's tenure at the school.

That will be the case again today when Nutt's fifth Southeast squad opens the 2013-14 campaign at highly regarded Saint Louis University in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Midwest.

"It's going to be a big challenge, but it's one we look forward to," Nutt said. "On our level we have to play guarantee games [that bring in money for the school's athletic department], and we understand that."

Nutt's first four Southeast teams also tipped off the campaign on the road against major-conference competition in return for a nice paycheck for the university.

All resulted in losses of at least 15 points, including 74-55 last season at Kansas.

Southeast fell 83-68 at Missouri in 2011-12, 78-56 at Alabama-Birmingham in 2010-11 and 59-41 at Saint Louis in 2009-10.

"Those are always very difficult games, but in the long run I believe they help make your team better," Nutt said.

Tonight's matchup figures to be just as challenging, if not more so, as those other four.

Not only is SLU a strong opponent, but the Redhawks will be without two of their key players.

Senior forward Tyler Stone, the Ohio Valley Conference preseason player of the year, and junior forward Nino Johnson -- like Stone an all-OVC preseason selection -- will miss the first two games of the season due to a violation of unspecified team rules.

The Billikens return four starters from last year's team that won Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles, posted a school-record 28 victories and earned its second straight NCAA tournament berth.

SLU went 28-7, advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament and finished the year ranked 13th nationally under veteran coach Jim Crews, who took over the program in August, 2012, after it was announced that Rick Majerus would not coach that year due to medical issues. Majerus later died in December.

"It's going to be an eye-opener for our team, but our team is looking forward to it," Nutt said.

The Billikens' are led by 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior forward Dwayne Evans, who led last year's squad in scoring and rebounding with averages of 14 points and 7.7 boards per game. The all-Atlantic 10 Conference first-team selection shot 54.7 percent from the field.

Other top players back are 6-foot senior guard Mike McCall Jr., who averaged 9.3 points and shot 40.2 percent from 3-point range; 6-1 senior Jordair Jett, who averaged 9.0 points and led the Bills with 112 assists; and 6-11, 245-pound senior forward Rob Loe, who averaged 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds.

"They had a great year last year, and I know they're supposed to be very good again," Nutt said.

SLU is not an explosive offensive team, but the Bills excel defensively. Last year they averaged 68.2 points per game and allowed 58.2 points a contest. They shot 44.6 percent and limited the opposition to 41.1 percent.

"They're good. They're very good defensively," Nutt said.

Southeast, like SLU, enters the year with high hopes. The Redhawks are the OVC West Division preseason co-favorites.

The Redhawks have improved the program's record during each of Nutt's four seasons. Last year they went 17-16 for their first winning mark since the 2004-05 team went 15-14.

Southeast recorded the program's most victories since the 2000-01 squad won 18 games and claimed a win in the OVC tournament for the third consecutive year -- a first for the program.

"I think we've got a lot of the pieces to the puzzle," Nutt said. "We're very excited about the season and we're ready to get started."

Regardless of today's outcome, Nutt believes the game is a strong opportunity for the Redhawks to make a recruiting impact in the St. Louis area.

"It's on TV, which is great publicity for us," Nutt said. "Any time you can play in the metro area ... it's great for us. Hopefully we can go in and have a good showing."

After tonight's game, the Redhawks return to action Monday when they open their home schedule at 8 p.m. against Central Baptist.