Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team plays today in OVC tournament

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt doesn't seem overly concerned that the Redhawks are entering the Ohio Valley Conference tournament on a season-long four-game losing streak.

Nutt believes the Redhawks regained some of their mojo Saturday during their final regular-season contest, a 68-59 defeat at Austin Peay.

"Even though we lost, I thought we got back to playing with that passion, that fire, that energy," Nutt. "I still feel very good about the team. I think we started to get our swagger back."

Nutt will find out just how much of that swagger has returned when the fifth-seeded Redhawks face eighth-seeded Eastern Kentucky at 6 p.m. today in the opening round of the eight-team OVC tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

Southeast went 14-15 overall and 9-7 in OVC play to tie for fourth in the 11-team league. It's the program's highest OVC finish since the 1999-2000 NCAA tournament squad gained a share of the regular-season title.

"We felt we could have finished higher with a break here or there, but it's a good step for our program," said Nutt, Southeast's third-year coach who last season led the Redhawks into the OVC tournament for the first time since 2006-07 and guided them to their first conference tournament win since 2004-05. "We're making progress. We're not there yet."

EKU (16-15, 7-9), which finished eighth in the OVC, won this year's only meeting between the teams, 63-59 on Jan. 7 in Richmond, Ky. The Colonels scored the game's final four points in the last 23 seconds.

Southeast hurt itself that day by making just 4 of 13 free throws (30.8 percent), an area that has plagued the Redhawks all season. They rank last in the OVC at 63.4 percent.

"Free throws have really hurt us this year," Nutt said. "They've cost us in a lot of games."

Southeast also played EKU in the opening round of last year's conference tournament after the Redhawks lost both regular-season meetings to the Colonels.

The Redhawks turned the tables as a No. 7 seed by rolling past the sixth-seeded Colonels 65-49, snapping a seven-game losing streak against EKU. Southeast's season then ended with a quarterfinal loss to Austin Peay.

"Once you get into tournament play, you can throw the records out," Nutt said.

EKU, which features an offense that utilizes Princeton-style principles, has made a league-high 224 3-pointers although the Colonels are just eighth in 3-point percentage at 33.8.

"They're a difficult opponent to play against because of their style," Nutt said. "Everybody they put out there can shoot."

Jaron Jones, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, is EKU's top scorer with a 16.7 average that ranks fifth in the OVC. He is shooting 53.6 percent from the field.

Senior guard Joshua Jones averages 10.7 points and leads EKU in 3-pointers made (53) and 3-point percentage (37.6).

Each Jones, who are not related, scored 20 points in the early matchup with Southeast.

Southeast is second in the OVC in field-goal percentage at 47.5, but the Redhawks have not shot better than 40.4 percent during their four-game losing streak.

The Redhawks have scored 59 points in their past two games, matching the season low they put up during the meeting with EKU. They are the OVC's third-highest scoring squad with a 70.5 average.

"I think teams are more familiar with what we're doing now," said Nutt, whose squad has lost six of its last eight contests. "We hope to get back playing offensively like we were earlier."

If Southeast wins today, the Redhawks will play third-seeded Tennessee Tech (18-12, 9-7) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

The Eagles, who tied Southeast for fourth place in the OVC, won this year's lone meeting between the squads, 77-62 on Jan. 21 in Cookeville, Tenn.

"We're not even thinking about that right now," Nutt said. "We're just thinking about Eastern Kentucky. We know we've got a very tough opening game."

Nutt said the Redhawks are excited to be in postseason play for the second consecutive year and they're looking to make some noise even though winning the title will require four wins in four days.

"I know [top-seeded, nationally ranked] Murray State has separated themselves, but I feel we're just as good as anybody in the tournament," Nutt said. "This is March Madness, the most fun time of the year. It's an exciting time."