Redhawks Set Sights on Tennessee State for Thrilling OVC Road Showdown!

Southeast Missouri (7-6, 2-0 OVC) at Tennessee State (4-9, 0-2 OVC)

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025
Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m., CT
Venue: Nashville, Tenn.
Facility: Gentry Center (9,100)
Series: TSU leads, 31-29
Last Encounter: TSU 77, SEMO 74 | 2/10/24 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Last Clash in Nashville: TSU 85, SEMO 65 | 2/9/23

Head Coaches

Tennessee State: Brian “Penny” Collins (85-111 overall; 85-111 at TSU; 46-66 OVC)

Southeast Missouri: Brad Korn (60-79 overall; 60-79 at SEMO; 33-42 OVC)    

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Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) 

Redhawks Celebrate New Year at Tennessee State

•    Southeast Missouri will commemorate the New Year by heading to Tennessee State on Thursday. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m., CT at the Gentry Center.

•    This Thursday’s clash signifies SEMO’s inaugural Ohio Valley Conference away game of the campaign.

•    Following their encounter with the Tigers, the Redhawks will stay in Tennessee to take on UT Martin two days later.

•    SEMO has a record of 1-5 outside of Cape Girardeau this season, which includes a 1-4 mark in actual road contests.

•    The Redhawks’ sole away victory was obtained at Central Arkansas (77-73, OT) on Nov. 21, 2024.

Series Insights

•    Thursday will denote the 61st match between Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State.

•    TSU currently holds a 31-29 advantage in the historical series.

•    SEMO has a record of 8-19 against the Tigers in Nashville.

•    The Redhawks and Tigers have evenly split their home-and-home series over the preceding three years.

•    SEMO last triumphed over TSU at the Gentry Center on Jan. 19, 2021 (63-59).

•    The Redhawks have won six of their last nine confrontations with the Tigers.

Redhawks Start OVC Campaign at 2-0

•    The Redhawks commenced their Ohio Valley Conference campaign with consecutive home victories.

•    Southeast Missouri triumphed over Eastern Illinois, 79-72, on Dec. 19 and SIU Edwardsville, 80-64, on Dec. 21.

•    SEMO is enjoying a 2-0 start to the conference season for the first time under Head Coach Brad Korn.

•    This season also marks the initial time in 12 years that the Redhawks opened league play with a 2-0 ledger.

•    SEMO kicked off its 2012-13 OVC calendar with home wins against UT Martin (65-60) and Austin Peay (86-84).

•    A victory at Tennessee State (Jan. 2) would establish the Redhawks’ first 3-0 start in conference play since 2011-12.

Getting Hot

•    Southeast Missouri has claimed victory in five of its last seven matches and enters Nashville on a four-game winning streak.

•    All four of SEMO’s recent victories were secured at the Show Me Center.

•    SEMO is presently tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference standings alongside Morehead State.

•    Both SEMO and MSU maintain records of 7-6 overall, 2-0 in league matches, and are currently on a four-game winning streak.

•    SEMO, MSU, and Little Rock (1-0) stand as the only remaining unbeaten teams in OVC action.

Korn Achieves 60th Victory

•    Brad Korn registered his 60th career win as head coach when Southeast Missouri defeated Westminster, 88-39, on Dec. 29.

•    Korn, currently in his fifth year at SEMO, has amassed an overall record of 60-79 and 33-42 in Ohio Valley Conference contests.

•    Korn’s 60 victories rank fourth among SEMO’s head coaches during the NCAA Division I era, behind Gary Garner (126), Dickey Nutt (80), and Ron Shumate (71).

About Tennessee State

•    Tennessee State finds itself currently at the bottom of the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an overall record of 4-9 and 0-2 in OVC play.

•    TSU leads the OVC in scoring with 80.3 points per game. The Tigers also top the league in rebounding margin, boasting a +8.3 advantage.

•    Brandon Weston stands as the OVC’s leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game.

December Concludes

•    The Redhawks concluded December with a 4-2 record after sweeping their season-long four-game home stand.

•    Southeast Missouri achieved a winning record in December for the second consecutive season.

•    SEMO’s recent 88-39 triumph over Westminster (Dec. 29) granted the Redhawks their first winning record of the season, now standing at 7-6.

Anticipate High Scoring on Thursday

•    Tennessee State claims the top spot in the Ohio Valley  Conference for scoring, averaging 80.3 points per game. 

•    Conversely, Southeast Missouri ranks as the league’s leading scoring outfit with 79.5 points per contest in OVC engagements.

•    TSU and SEMO have both scored 80 or more points collectively a total of 12 times this season.

Ranking Metrics

•    In Ohio Valley Conference matches, Southeast Missouri leads the league in scoring offense (79.5 ppg), free throw percentage (.800), field goal accuracy (.518), assists (16 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).

•    Overall, SEMO excels in the OVC in 3-point field goal defense (.270), is ranked third in free throw percentage (.696), and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2). 

Washington, Jr. Misses First Game

•    Teddy Washington, Jr. sat out his first game of the 2024-25 season against Westminster College (Dec. 29).

•    Washington, Jr. was unable to participate due to illness. He was unable to attend practice for that reason the day prior to that game.

•    He is expected to return for Southeast Missouri’s game at Tennessee State.

Stacker Steps Up

•    Braxton Stacker made his first start of the season in lieu of Teddy Washington, Jr. against Westminster (Dec. 29).

•    Stacker achieved a career-high of 16 points, grabbed five rebounds, and provided three assists in 18 minutes.

•    He converted 7-of-11 from the field and also managed to hit one 3-pointer.

•    Stacker’s previous start occurred during Southeast Missouri’s 2023-24 season finale at Southern Indiana (Mar. 2).

Redhawks Dominate Westminster College

•Southeast Missouri attained its fourth consecutive victory with an 88-39 rout of NCAA Division III institution Westminster College (Dec. 29).

• With this success, SEMO concluded non-conference play with a 5-6 record.

• Every Redhawk that participated managed to score during the match. Rob Martin led a quintet of players in double digits with 17 points. Braxton Stacker followed with a personal best of 16 points, Damarion Walkup added 14 and Brendan Terry contributed 10.

• The Redhawks never fell behind during the match and restricted the Blue Jays to a mere 16 points in the first half.

Maintaining the Advantage

• The Redhawks have not lagged behind in four consecutive games.

• Southeast Missouri’s most recent deficit occurred during its road defeat to Murray State on Dec. 8.

• SEMO triumphed in three of those games by double digits, two of which were by 37 or more points.

SEMO Cruises to Second OVC Victory

• Southeast Missouri accumulated 80 points in a decisive 16-point triumph (80-64) over SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 21).

• SEMO had three players score in double figures against the Cougars, who top the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense (67.1 ppg allowed).

• BJ Ward led the charge with 18 points, while Teddy Washington, Jr. and Brendan Terry each closely followed with 17 points.

• The Redhawks maintained the lead throughout the contest and out-rebounded SIUE, 37-22.

• The Cougars were unable to secure an offensive rebound throughout the match.

• This marked the first occasion in SEMO’s NCAA Division I history where an opponent failed to register an offensive rebound against the Redhawks.

Washington, Jr. Honored by HoopsHD.com

• Southeast Missouri guard Teddy Washington, Jr. received recognition among the top players in college basketball throughout the 2024 calendar year.

• HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel ranked the top five players from each conference based on their overall statistics.

• SIUE’s Ray’Sean Taylor, Tennessee State’s Brandon Weston, Eastern Illinois’ Kooper Jacobi, and Southern Indiana’s Stephen Olowoniyi joined Washington, Jr. on the Ohio Valley Conference list.

Korn in the OVC

• Brad Korn holds an all-time record of 33-42 in Ohio Valley Conference matches.

• Korn led Southeast Missouri to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament participation in over two decades during the 2022-23 season.

• It was SEMO’s second OVC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in the program’s history.

• In 2022-23, the Redhawks concluded fifth in the OVC with a 10-8 record and became the first #5 seed to secure an OVC Tournament victory.

• SEMO’s additional conference records under Korn include 9-11 (2020-21), 8-9 (2021-22), and 4-14 (2023-24).

• This year’s 2-0 record marks the best start in OVC play under Korn.

Terry Elevates His Game

• Brendan Terry, who has been a starter in all 13 contests this season, recorded double figures in six of his last seven games.

• Terry hit double-digit points in each of his last five appearances.

• Most recently, Terry tallied 10 points against Westminster College (Dec. 29).

• Prior to that, he tied his career-high with 17 points against SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 21).

• Terry also posted 13 points against Eastern Illinois (Dec. 19), 17 against St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 15), 12 points at Murray State (Dec. 8), and 14 against Kansas City (Nov. 30).

• Terry currently ranks as SEMO’s fourth-highest scorer (9.2 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (3.8 rpg) and leads the Redhawks with 21 steals as well.

Streak of Three-Pointers

• The Redhawks have successfully made at least one 3-pointer in 502 consecutive games.

• The last instance Southeast Missouri failed to score a 3-pointer was against Western Illinois (0-of-6) on Dec. 10, 2008.

• This season, SEMO has converted 98-of-316 threes at a 31.3 percent clip.

• The Redhawks successfully knocked down 10 or more threes in a game four times this season.

Redhawks Rank Third Nationally in Three-Point Defense

• After limiting Westminster College to merely two successful 3-pointers at 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from beyond the arc, Southeast Missouri advanced to third in the nation for 3-point percentage defense.

• Opponents are shooting just 26 percent from long range against Southeast Missouri this season.

• SEMO has restricted its opponents to five or fewer made 3-pointers in eight of its 13 games in 2024-25.

• The Redhawks are ranked third among 355 NCAA Division I basketball teams.

80 or More Points

• Southeast Missouri has scored 80 points or more on six different occasions this season.

• SEMO achieved a season-high 93 points in victories over NAIA rivals Crowley’s Ridge College (Nov. 13) and St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 15).

• The Redhawks concluded with 82 points against Chattanooga (Nov. 17), 80 versus Kansas City (Nov. 30), 80 against SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 21), and 88 against Westminster (Dec. 29), all of which were home games.

• SEMO boasts a 5-1 record in matches where it scores 80 or more points.

Cheers to the New Year!

• The Redhawks aim to commence the New Year with a victory for the third time under Head Coach Brad Korn.

• Southeast Missouri stands at 2-2 in its opening game of the New Year with Korn in charge.

• SEMO triumphed over Tennessee State (83-79) on Jan. 2, 2021, and Austin Peay (98-79) on Jan. 1, 2022, for its wins in those encounters. Both matches occurred in Cape Girardeau.