THE LATEST LINE: TRIBE GIVING FANS PLENTY TO CHEER ABOUT

I know it's still early and you hate to get too carried away at this point in the basketball season.

But if you're a fan of the Southeast Missouri State University Indians, then you simply have to be fired up about the way the season has started.

At 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Indians are off to their best start in each category since the school made the move to NCAA Division I and the OVC eight years ago.

And what's particularly impressive about SEMO's fast run out of the gate is that it's legitimate and certainly hasn't been accomplished at the expense of a bunch of cream puffs.

Sure, there were a couple of early wins over overmatched foes SIU-Edwardsville and Central Methodist.

But look at some of the other teams the Indians have beaten. There were conference road wins over Tennessee State and Austin Peay, ranked second and third in the OVC's preseason poll. There was that scintillating last-second triumph at Arkansas State, the defending Sun Belt Conference co-champion.

So right there you have three wins that -- except for SEMO players, coaches and maybe some fans -- most outside observers probably didn't figure on the Indians getting.

And look at the two losses. They were by two points at Bradley, which recently thrashed Penn State, and at home to an extremely talented Louisiana Tech squad.

But ever since that Tech setback, the Indians have been on a roll, winning four straight. And their three consecutive OVC victories have them on top of the league standings, where they will remain until at least January, when OVC play resumes.

SEMO head coach Gary Garner and his staff appear to have molded a team with all the ingredients for OVC success. The Indians feature a strong inside-outside balance and a capable bench that provides quality minutes.

Center Bud Eley has been a force inside, particularly with his defense and rebounding, while forwards Roderick Johnson and Mike Branson have had impressive rookie seasons and Demetrius Watson has picked up where he left off last year with his gritty all-around play.

In the backcourt, Cory Johnson has been his typical sharpshooting self from the outside while Jeramy Biles and Kahn Cotton have handled the point guard duties well. Cotton has especially given the Indians a big lift in recent games since returning from knee problems.

Brian Bunche has been a major inside presence off the bench, particularly when Eley gets into foul trouble, while Nathan Owen and Fred Abraham have been capable backcourt reserves.

Perennial OVC power Murray State, which has already won at Oklahoma, might once again be too good for everybody in the league, but even if that's the case -- and there's no guarantee it is -- second place is definitely up for grabs between several teams, including SEMO.

I know it's still early. And so much can happen between now and the end of the season.

But that doesn't mean SEMO fans shouldn't be flying high right now -- and ready to pack the Show Me Center when OVC play resumes in January

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian