The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team was picked first in the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference's preseason poll announced last week, as I had predicted.

But to my surprise, the Redhawks shared the top spot with Murray State after Southeast finished second behind the Racers in the division last year.

I assumed the Redhawks would be West Division favorites by themselves after all of Murray State's top players last year were seniors.

But the voters -- the league's coaches and sports information directors, who were not allowed to vote for their own teams -- apparently leaned on tradition in placing the Racers that high. It also should be noted that voting was done before a season-ending injury to key Racers guard Zay Jackson.

Still, the Racers -- who received the same amount of total points as Southeast, 117, but two fewer first-place votes, 13 to 11 -- probably deserve that benefit of the doubt.

Southeast coach Dickey Nutt was quick to point out that, over the past few decades, regardless of what kind of player or coaching turnover the Racers have, they invariably wind up putting a good product on the court.

Preseason polls don't really mean a whole lot anyway, other than serving to give fans -- and probably players and coaches -- something to talk about before the campaign begins.

I believe the Redhawks will be the West Division's most talented squad, and I think they'll end up as West champions, which would be big because it automatically puts you in the semifinals of the OVC tournament.

Now the Redhawks have to go out and live up to that billing.

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I also believe Southeast's women will fare better than their fifth-place prediction in the OVC West.

After three-time defending OVC tournament champion Tennessee-Martin, the rest of the division looks wide open, and coach Ty Margenthaler's improving Redhawks should have a real shot at competing for one of the top few spots.

It should be an interesting and exciting year for both Southeast squads, which are less than two weeks away from their season openers.

Southeast's men, in fact, have an exhibition game Tuesday against Hannibal-LaGrange at 7 p.m.

The Redhawks have their final exhibition Saturday against Ouachita Baptist -- Dickey Nutt's younger brother Dennis Nutt is the Tigers' third-year coach -- the same night the women have their lone exhibition against Maryville University.

Margenthaler, for the third straight year, elected to play a closed scrimmage against another Division I program instead of a second exhibition against a non-Division I team. The Redhawks scrimmaged at Evansville on Sunday.

Southeast's squads open the season Nov. 8, the men at Saint Louis and the women at Alabama A&M.

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The OVC football game of the year wasn't really much of a contest.

Second-ranked Eastern Illinois rolled past 21st-ranked host Tennessee State 34-16 in a battle between the only two OVC teams without a conference loss.

Senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo continued his remarkable season by throwing for 410 yards and four touchdowns as the nation's top-ranked offense piled up 567 yards against the nation's second-ranked defense.

EIU (7-1, 4-0) now has a leg up on the OVC championship, although the Panthers still have several challenges remaining.

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Friday night I covered one of the wildest high school football games I can recall, Central's 62-56 home victory over Festus.

There were four touchdowns -- two by each team -- over the final 1:23 of the fourth quarter. The Tigers broke a 56-56 tie with 7.9 seconds left on an 89-yard catch-and-run by Mikey Jones.

I'm not taking any credit for Central's four-game winning streak that has the Tigers at 5-4, but their streak did start when I covered them for the first time this year, a blowout victory over Farmington. I've also covered Central's last three wins.

In fact, it's getting to be a running joke between me and Central coach Nathan Norman, who after each of our post-game interviews the past few games tells me I better be back to cover the Tigers the following week.

If you've ever seen Norman -- one of the area's best-ever high school athletes at Jackson in the mid-1990s who went on to an impressive college football career at Arkansas, nearly made an NFL roster and is still in impeccable physical shape -- you know you better do what he says.

Seriously, I covered Norman during his stellar high school athletic career and have known him for a long time. He's a super nice guy.

This week Central and all the other area football teams -- along with squads across the state -- begin single-elimination district tournament play under the state's postseason format that is in its second year.

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My sincere condolences go out to the family and countless friends of Chris Seyer, who recently passed away unexpectedly at age 48.

Chris, a graduate of both Notre Dame Regional High School and Southeast -- where he later worked for more than 20 years -- was a huge supporter of Southeast athletics, especially basketball. He attended virtually every home hoops game and many road contests.

Chris never failed to greet me at a Southeast athletic event without a big smile and a hearty handshake. I think he greeted just about everybody else in the same manner -- whether he knew them well or not.

He will be sorely missed.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.