Redhawks ride late-season surge into OVC tourney

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for Southeast Missouri State's men this year.

But the Redhawks are without a doubt playing by far their best basketball of the season entering the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The Redhawks are in the postseason event for the third consecutive year for just the second time in program history after previously not making the field since the 2006-07 campaign.

Southeast's 16-15 overall record and 8-8 OVC mark -- tied for fifth place in the 12-team league -- is not quite what many people expected, myself included.

But right now the Redhawks are on quite a roll, having won five of their last seven games -- and the two losses were on baskets in the final 10 seconds that broke ties.

Particularly impressive have been the Redhawks' two most recent victories, Thursday's 108-81 romp at Austin Peay and Saturday's 84-68 triumph at Murray State -- marking the first time Southeast has ever swept that road swing.

While the Redhawks underachieved during various part of the season, their 16 wins are the program's most since the 2000-01 squad notched 18 victories. And one win in the OVC tournament will assure Southeast of its first winning record since 2004-05.

That shows you just how far fourth-year coach Dickey Nutt has elevated Southeast after he took over a program that ranked among the nation's worst.

The Redhawks have an opportunity to make their mark this week in Nashville, Tenn., although they face an uphill battle as the No. 6 tournament seed.

Southeast opens the eight-team event at 8 p.m. Wednesday against seventh-seeded Eastern Illinois. The squads split their two regular-season meetings, the Redhawks romping 77-64 in Cape Girardeau on Feb. 9 after the Panthers prevailed 78-72 in overtime in Charleston, Ill., on Jan. 26.

The Redhawks will be favored to beat the Panthers on a neutral court, and if that indeed happens it would give them OVC tournament wins in three straight years for the first time.

If the Redhawks beat EIU, they'll play third-seeded Eastern Kentucky in Thursday's 8 p.m. quarterfinal. Southeast lost this year's lone meeting with the Colonels 81-72 at home on Feb. 2, but the Redhawks have ended EKU's season in the OVC tournament the past two years.

And if the Redhawks get past EKU, they'll play second-seeded Murray State in Friday's semifinals. The teams split their two matchups this season.

It's a daunting road to be sure, but the way the Redhawks are playing now, who's to say they can't pull it off?

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Belmont's men won the OVC regular-season title during their first year in the league, and they'll enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Murray State, the No. 2 seed by virtue of winning the West Division title, joins Belmont as receiving a double-bye into the tournament semifinals.

Third-seeded Eastern Kentucky and fourth-seeded Tennessee State earn byes into the quarterfinals, with fifth-seeded Morehead State, sixth-seeded Southeast, seventh-seeded Eastern Illinois and eighth-seeded Tennessee-Martin completing the field.

On the women's side, co-regular-season champions Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech are the top two tournament seeds, meaning they won't play until the semifinals.

Belmont and Tennessee-Martin are seeded third and fourth, with Eastern Kentucky, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee State and Murray State rounding out the tournament field.

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Former Southeast men's basketball coach Gary Garner, who led the Redhawks to their only NCAA Division I tournament berth in 1999-2000, continues to excel at previously struggling Dakota State University.

Garner, in his fourth season with the NAIA squad from Madison, S.D., has led the Trojans to their third consecutive winning record after they had not finished above .500 since 1993.

The Trojans (22-9), who set a school record for victories, have qualified for the NAIA Division II national tournament in consecutive years for the first time. Last season they made their first national tournament appearance since 1992.

The national tourney begins this week in Point Lookout, Mo.

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The Southeast baseball team, despite stumbling a bit lately against strong competition, is still off to a solid 7-5 start.

This weekend the Redhawks, following nonconference games Tuesday and Wednesday at Arkansas-Little Rock, will begin to see how they measure up against the rest of the OVC.

Southeast kicks off its conference schedule with a three-game series Friday through Sunday at first-year OVC member Belmont.

Belmont, located in Nashville, Tenn., is picked to finish second in the 11-team OVC after going 39-24 last year on its way to capturing Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

The Bruins, off to a strong 9-3 start, returned some of their top players, including OVC preseason pitcher of the year Chase Brookshire, who went 8-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 2012.

Southeast, tabbed just eight in the OVC preseason poll, will have an early chance to show that it just might be a surprise contender.

But regardless of what happens this weekend -- good or bad -- the series will represent only three of the Redhawks' 30 conference games.

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Southeast director of athletics Mark Alnutt has been selected to serve a four-year term on the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, effective Sept. 1. The committee is comprised of 18 members.

The committee was formed in 1990 to review issues related to the interests of ethnic minorities and women. The issues focus on the education and welfare of minority student-athletes, as well as the enhancement of opportunities for ethnic minorities and women in coaching, athletics, administration, officiating and the NCAA governance structure.

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Big-time congratulations to the Oran High School boys basketball team, which is headed to the state's final four for the first time since 1969 after Saturday's thrilling 63-61 Class 2 quarterfinal win over Winona.

And kudos to former Southeast guard Anthony "Butch" Hall, who has his Lutheran North boys from suburban St. Louis in the Class 3 Final Four during his first season as the Crusaders' coach.

Hall played for coach Ron Shumate's 1985-86 NCAA Division II national runner-up squad.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.