Southeast Missouri State will be coming into this game fresh off of a home court upset over the Ohio Valley Conference leader Murray State. SEMO is in the bottom half of the OVC with a 6-10 OVC record and an 8-19 overall record. If anyone has ESPN 3, you can replay their Jan 3rd game against UT-Martin and their Dec 6th game at Iowa State. Those games were long ago but I would assume their offense and defensive game plans have been similar since.
Offensively they use a lot of guards and have a quick and shifty backcourt. They shoot well from the perimeter (or at least better than we do) but overall they lack size. SEMO really only has one big man in Powell with a few others coming off the bench. They look to run in transition which could give the Hornets some problems if they struggle with turnovers.
Defensively they did show that they use some pressure. They don’t really pressure for steals so much as it is for turnovers, which could play well into their hands due to our poor ball handling skills. I think this SEMO team is vulnerable inside.
Even though they have a bad record, their team stats indicate that they are a decent squad. Here are their statistical leaders:
This game is meaningless for both schools so I hope Groom and Rak can see some significant playing time. For the Hornets, it is another long road trip to a distant place most Hornet fans probably never heard of or care about. Hopefully the Hornets can keep their momentum and win this one on the road.
Hornetsports preview:
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=9398
Go Hornets!
Offensively they use a lot of guards and have a quick and shifty backcourt. They shoot well from the perimeter (or at least better than we do) but overall they lack size. SEMO really only has one big man in Powell with a few others coming off the bench. They look to run in transition which could give the Hornets some problems if they struggle with turnovers.
Defensively they did show that they use some pressure. They don’t really pressure for steals so much as it is for turnovers, which could play well into their hands due to our poor ball handling skills. I think this SEMO team is vulnerable inside.
Even though they have a bad record, their team stats indicate that they are a decent squad. Here are their statistical leaders:
- • Powell, F: 14.7 ppg,8.0 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 63.5-FG%, 53.2-FT %
• Niemczyk, G: 13.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 40.4-FG%, 43.3-3%, 80.0-FT% (thru 5 games, injured?)
• Allison, G: 12.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 39.1-FG%, 33.0-3%, 71.3-FT%
• Smith, G: 11.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 36.4-FG%, 28.7-3%, 82.6-FT%
• Nutt, G: 9.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 40.4-FG%, 39.4-3%, 82.2-FT%
This game is meaningless for both schools so I hope Groom and Rak can see some significant playing time. For the Hornets, it is another long road trip to a distant place most Hornet fans probably never heard of or care about. Hopefully the Hornets can keep their momentum and win this one on the road.
Hornetsports preview:
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=9398
Go Hornets!
