Now the real Southeast basketball seasons begin

The preliminaries are out of the way for Southeast Missouri State's basketball teams.

This week the "real" seasons begin as Southeast squads open Ohio Valley Conference play with two home games, Thursday against Tennessee State and Saturday against Tennessee Tech.

Both teams are 4-4 against fairly demanding nonleague schedules, although they have taken different paths to those records.

Southeast's men have lost to three solid teams. Road losses at Xavier, Illinois State and Bradley were fairly predictable.

The Redhawks should have beaten Coppin State -- which is mediocre at best -- at the Chicago Invitational Challenge but fell in double overtime.

Southeast has one particularly impressive win, by 10 points at home against Evansville in a game that really wasn't that close.

The Redhawks also struggled past NAIA Culver-Stockton at the Show Me Center, held off Longwood in Chicago and also squeaked past host Louisiana Tech, which was a solid victory considering it came on the road.

Three of Southeast's four wins were not overwhelming, but the bottom line is that the Redhawks are 4-2 in their last six games to rebound nicely from an 0-2 start.

With only two home contests, that record is pretty much right on target from what might have been predicted entering the season, although it wasn't unrealistic to think the Redhawks could be 5-3 right now.

But it's sure a lot better than the 2-5 mark the Redhawks entered OVC play with during coach Scott Edgar's first season a year ago.

As for Southeast's women, they dropped two games in the past week, at home to 10th-ranked Baylor and at Purdue, which is another perennial national powerhouse.

Those defeats were expected, but the Redhawks somewhat surprisingly lost twice at the New Mexico State Thanksgiving Classic, although Texas State is strong and Northern Colorado appears improved.

Those losses have all come in succession, after the Redhawks started out 4-0, including home wins over Tulsa, Division II Henderson State and NAIA Cumberland, and a road triumph over Central Arkansas. Several were of the impressive variety.

But if you're a Southeast fan, you can pretty much forget about what has taken place so far with both squads because it's basically been to try to prepare them for their 20-game OVC schedules.

Southeast's men were picked fifth in the OVC preseason poll. Based on what the Redhawks have displayed to date, that's probably about where they should be.

Still, with nobody in the league looking overly impressive right now, I've got to think the Redhawks have the talent to at least make a run at an upper-level finish.

But they'll have to get a lot more consistent to make that a reality.

Southeast's women were heavy OVC preseason favorites after returning four starters from a squad that captured second straight league regular-season and tournament titles.

I've still got to rate the Redhawks as the team to beat, but there have been some red flags raised, including problems on the boards, poor shooting, the health issues of point guard Tarina Nixon and Sunday's ankle injury suffered by senior center Missy Whitney at Purdue.

What has taken place so far for both Southeast teams, however, won't really be relevant come Thursday, when a whole new season begins.

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This should be a great weekend for Southeast athletics, with the induction of the university's sixth Hall of Fame class.

I'm really looking forward to Friday's induction ceremony at the Show Me Center, where I'll get to reunite with the 1985-86 men's basketball team coached by Ron Shumate that finished second in the Division II national tournament.

I started working at the Southeast Missourian in 1984, and that 1985-86 squad was the second Southeast team I covered.

What a ride it was -- and what great memories I have -- as the then-Indians, led by powerful center Riley Ellis and sweet-shooting swingman Ronny Rankin, advanced all the way to the title game in Springfield, Mass.

Shumate, his assistants and most of the players from that squad are expected to be on hand for Friday's induction ceremony, and also at the Show Me Center Saturday when they will be introduced at halftime of the game with Tennessee Tech.

Along with that team, other Hall of Fame inductees will be Lisa Foster (softball and basketball, 1987 to 1989), Mike Gohn (football, 1978 to 1981), Ed Kiehne (basketball, 1920 to 1923) and Ed White (track and cross country, 1972 to 1975).

Tickets for the induction ceremony, which begins at 6 p.m. with a reception, are $20 and available to the public. They can be purchased at the ticket office in Houck Field House.

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Fans of the Southeast gymnastics team who want to get a sneak preview of the Redhawks will have that opportunity Tuesday.

Southeast will hold its annual intrasquad meet beginning at 6 p.m. at Parker Gymnasium on campus.

It will also be "Meet the Team" night as fans can mingle with the athletes and coaches, while also obtaining autographed posters and schedule cards.

The Redhawks open the season Jan. 18 at home against Kentucky.

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The University of Missouri football team had its bubble burst Saturday night as Oklahoma beat the Tigers 38-17 in the Big 12 title game in San Antonio.

That loss prevents the Tigers from playing for the national championship.

But, after the initial disappointment that is natural, I can't imagine most MU fans being too down on the Tigers, who have had a far better year than anybody could have imagined.

When the season started, how many MU supporters would have been giddy if they knew the Tigers would be 11-2 right now with a bowl game still to go?

I'd guess just about all of them.

Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.