Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team will try to hand first loss to Murray State today

First-year Murray State men's basketball coach Steve Prohm thought he was inheriting a solid team.

But never in Prohm's wildest imagination did he envision the Racers carrying the nation's only perfect record and a top-10 ranking into the latter stages of the regular season.

"I thought we had a chance to be a good basketball team," Prohm said. "I never dreamed about being 21-0 heading into February."

But 21-0 the Racers are, along with a 9-0 Ohio Valley Conference record, entering today's 7 p.m. OVC showdown against second-place Southeast Missouri State (12-9, 7-2).

The game, expected to be played in front of the Racers' third straight sellout at 8,600-seat CFSB Arena in Murray, Ky., will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

Murray State guard Ivan Aska holds a sign he received after Saturday’s 73-58 win against Eastern Illinois in Murray, Ky. Aska returned to action Saturday after missing six games with a broken hand. (JOHN WRIGHT ~ The Paducah Sun)

"It's a great opportunity for us and our program, to play on national TV against a top-10 team," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "How often can you say that?"

Prohm, 37, has taken full advantage of his first head coaching opportunity after spending the previous five seasons at MSU as an assistant to Billy Kennedy.

Prohm was elevated to the top spot when Kennedy left to become Texas A&M's coach. He is tied for the third-best start by a Division I coach in his first season.

"He took over a very good team and he's done a good job," Nutt said.

MSU is ranked 9th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and 10th in the Associated Press poll. It's the first time an OVC team has been ranked in the top 10 since former league member Western Kentucky was No. 7 in the final poll of the 1970-71 season.

Murray State head coach Steve Prohm watches the action from the sidelines in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Murray, Ky. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

The Racers have tied the OVC's all-time longest winning streak of 21 games, set by Western Kentucky during the 1953-54 and 1966-67 campaigns.

The two-time defending OVC regular-season champion Racers weren't even favored to repeat after losing two of their top three scorers from a year ago.

Murray State was picked third in the conference's preseason poll -- voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors -- behind No. 1 Austin Peay and No. 2 Tennessee Tech.

"I thought we could be pretty good. How good I didn't know," Prohm said.

The Racers broke into the national rankings this year for the first time since the 1997-98 season after a nonconference run that featured wins over Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Dayton, strong programs that are a combined 49-18.

Murray State's Donte Poole, left, looks to make a move from the sideline while pressured by Eastern Illinois' Jeremy Granger in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Murray, Ky. (AP Photo/Lance Dennee)

MSU has continued to climb the polls despite a few close calls in conference play when the Racers were without senior forward Ivan Aska, their leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer who missed six games with a broken hand.

Aska, averaging 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds, returned to action during Saturday's 73-58 win over Eastern Illinois. He had eight points and three rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

"We'll continue to work him into the rotation until he gets comfortable," Prohm said.

The Racers' star is junior point guard Isaiah Canaan, who has been among the OVC's top players since he was the league's freshman of the year in 2009-10.

That season -- Nutt's first at Southeast -- Canaan made a mid-court shot while on one knee during a win over the Redhawks that was viewed more than two million times on YouTube.

Murray State's Ivan Aska, right, displays a sign he received from a fan after an NCAA college basketball game against Eastern Illinois, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Murray, Ky. At left is radio broadcaster Neal Bradley. Murray State won 73-58. (AP Photo/The Paducah Sun, John Wright)

Canaan, probably the leading contender for OVC player of the year honors, is the league's No. 2 scorer with an 18.7 average. He ranks ninth nationally in 3-point percentage (47.0), 16th in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and 27th in scoring.

Senior guard Donte Poole averages 14.7 points for the Racers, who lead the OVC in most major statistical categories.

MSU ranks fifth nationally in 3-point shooting (41.9 percent), 13th in 3-point percentage defense (28.7), 15th in steals (9.0 per game) and 15th in scoring margin (plus 14.5).

"They have loads of talent with lots of experience," Nutt said. "They're a well balanced team. They don't have any weak links."

Southeast is drawing attention around the OVC as one of the conference's surprise teams after being picked sixth in the preseason poll.

The Redhawks, who have won eight of their last 10 games, are off to the program's best OVC start since the 1999-2000 season. They have the program's most victories since the 2004-05 campaign.

"SEMO is a very good basketball team. Coach Nutt is doing a great job," said Prohm, whose team has won 17 consecutive games on its home court.

Southeast handed MSU its most recent regular-season OVC loss, 64-57 last year at the Show Me Center. That came after the Racers routed the visiting Redhawks 96-58 less than a month earlier.

The Redhawks, who host MSU on Feb. 15, have lost eight of the last nine meetings against the Racers, including the past four on the road. Murray State leads the all-time series 44-18.

Southeast is 0-8 against nationally ranked opponents on the Division I level, but the Redhawks are conceding nothing.

"We are playing with some confidence," Nutt said. "We know we have a tremendous challenge. We know we'll have to do a lot of things right, but our team thinks we can win. We're not going over there just to make a good showing."