SOUTHEAST ON THE BIG-TIME GUEST LIST; INDIANS VISIT SIU, MIZZOU THIS WEEK

Sure, Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team could very well be sitting there with a 2-0 Ohio Valley Conference record right now.

But coach Gary Garner is still pleased with the kind of progress the Indians are making as they take a break from league play for a while.

And, based on what he saw in their two recent OVC games, he firmly believes the Indians can be a factor in the league race. Southeast lost in overtime to Tennessee State 79-77 last Thursday and beat Austin Peay 73-61 on Saturday. Both contests were at home.

"I'd always like it (progress) to come faster. All coaches want to be in February form in December," said Garner during his weekly media conference Monday. "But I think we're making good progress. I think we continue to get better, but we still have a long way to go."

Of the Indians' chances in the OVC race, Garner said, "I do think we can compete, I don't think there's any question. We played the teams picked to finish second (Tennessee State) and third (Austin Peay) well.

"We could easily be 2-0. What's disappointing is to be 1-1 with both of those games at home. For us to have any chance at all (in the OVC), we have to protect our home court. We didn't do that. Now we have to go get one on the road that we're not really supposed to get."

While Southeast won't play another OVC game until January, the Indians' certainly aren't taking a breather. This week they'll have two rugged non-conference tests on the road, facing Southern Illinois Thursday night in Carbondale and Missouri Saturday night in Columbia.

"Those are going to be two very difficult games for us," said Garner, whose team is 4-2 overall. "I've seen tape of SIU and they're a very good basketball team. (Rashad) Tucker looks like an NBA player.

"Missouri is not playing well right now but they will start playing a lot better. They're such a physical team. That's going to be the big thing."

SIU is 2-4 after finishing second over the weekend in a tournament in Hawaii. Despite that record, the Salukis have held up well against a rugged early-season schedule. They took St. Louis to the wire and own a win at Virginia Commonwealth.

Missouri is 2-4 heading into a Wednesday night game against Oral Roberts. The Tigers have struggled, although they have been beaten by some of the nation's top teams, including Duke, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Garner, who played at Missouri from 1961-65, served as an assistant for the Tigers under Norm Stewart from 1977-81.

"Norm and I are very good friends," said Garner. "I played there, coached there and graduated from there, so it's going to be fun."

Then Garner corrected himself and added with a laugh, "Well, I'll tell you late Saturday if it's fun or not."

* All five Southeast starters are averaging in double figures, something Garner really likes.

Center Bud Eley leads the way with 17.2 points per game, followed by guard Cory Johnson (14.0), forward Calvert White (11.7), guard Kahn Cotton (10.6) and forward David Montgomery (10.3).

"I'm really pleased about our balance," Garner said. "If we can keep that going it would be great."

Montgomery is shooting a team-best 62 percent from the field.

"David has really been playing well," said Garner.

* Eley, after playing just 62 games at Southeast, is moving up on the school's all-time scoring, rebounding and blocked shots lists.

The 6-foot-10 center has 1,004 points, 607 rebounds and a school-record 99 blocks.

Eley is the 16th player in Southeast history to score over 1,000 points. He is 13th on the all-time scoring list and ninth on the all-time rebounding list.

* The Indians are limiting the opposition to just 39.8-percent field-goal shooting, which leads the OVC.

Southeast is also third in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 63 points per contest.

* Through early-season OVC play, heavy favorite Murray State, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin are all 2-0 while Middle Tennessee is 1-1.

Southeast and Tennessee State are both 1-1, with Tennessee Tech 0-1. Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State are all 0-2.

* Thursday's game at SIU (7:05 p.m. tipoff) will be televised by KBSI-Fox 23.