Southeast opens seasons this weekend

The exhibition tuneups are out of the way. Now it's time for Southeast Missouri State's basketball teams to hit the court for their season openers.

Southeast's men officially begin the Dickey Nutt era Saturday at Saint Louis University.

Southeast's women begin their fourth year under John Ishee by hosting Division II Missouri-St. Louis tonight.

Both games tip off at 7 p.m.

Men at SLU

Southeast's men enter the season carrying the nation's longest losing streak as they finished the 2008-09 campaign with 19 straight defeats.

That was part of a 3-27 record, including an 0-18 Ohio Valley Conference mark.

Nutt, who previously coached Arkansas State for 13 seasons, was hired at Southeast in mid-March. He has four returning players -- none averaged double-figure points last year -- and 11 newcomers.

"We know we've got a big challenge ahead of us and a lot of work to do, but everybody has been working hard and we're very excited about the future of this program," Nutt said.

The Redhawks had some rough spots but also their share of bright spots in winning both their exhibition games, 75-67 over Harris-Stowe and 81-59 over Ouachita Baptist.

SLU also went 2-0 in exhibition play, beating Arkansas-Fort Smith 79-51 and St. Ambrose 61-47.

The Billikens are coming off an 18-14 season that saw them finish ninth in the Atlantic 10 Conference at 9-9.

SLU had a young team last year and will be even younger this season with no juniors or seniors. The Bills' total of 11 underclassmen scholarship players is tied for the most in the country

The Bills, under third-year coach Rick Majerus, are picked 12th in the 14-team Atlantic 10. They return three starters, led by sophomore point guard Kwamain Mitchell.

Mitchell is SLU's top returning scorer after averaging 11 points per game as a freshman. He averaged 14.1 points in conference play and was named to the Atlantic 10 all-rookie team.

Other returning regulars are 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Willie Reed (7.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, team-high 40 blocks) and 6-6 sophomore forward Brian Conklin (6.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg).

"They're young, but they've got good players," Nutt said. "It's a great challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it.

"I told my guys, you give me great effort, great attitude and everything will take care of itself."

Southeast plans to start the same unit as it used during both exhibition games.

Juniors Jajuan Maxwell and Cameron Butler will be the forwards, with junior Anthony Allison at point guard, along with junior Sam Pearson and freshman Marland Smith in the three-guard set.

Only Maxwell among that group was in the program last season.

Women vs. UMSL

Southeast's women lost 77 percent of their scoring and 78 percent of their rebounding from last season's 15-15 squad.

With only four returning players -- just one a senior -- and nine freshmen, Ishee knows it's going to take time for the Redhawks to become a solid team.

That was apparent in their only exhibition, Monday's 71-55 loss to a Division II Christian Brothers squad that went 11-16 last year.

"We just need a lot of seasoning," Ishee said. "We have to get better in all facets."

Considering how much Southeast struggled Monday, Ishee expects a major test from UMSL, even though the Tritons are coming off a 7-21 season that featured a 3-14 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

"Every game is going to be a challenge for us," Ishee said. "Every possession is going to be a challenge."