It took 11 games before the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball had a taste of victory last year. If the Redhawks can put one notch on their belt this time around, it's that they've gotten that out of the way already.
Southeast (1-1) will, however, continue looking for its first victory against a Division I opponent when it travels to Western Illinois (1-1) today for a 7 p.m. start in Macomb, Illinois.
The Redhawks will have a little positive momentum after breezing past NAIA-opponent Hannibal-LaGrange on Sunday, 86-54, but the test will be stiffer against the Leathernecks, who bounced back after falling to Kansas State 82-55 in their opener and defeated Oak Hills Christian 95-48 on Sunday.
WIU returns a good amount of experience from a side that went 10-17 in its first season under coach Billy Wright, bringing back 11 total players and three starters.
The most dangerous of those returning starters is senior guard Garret Covington, who averaged 17.9 points per game on 44.4-percent shooting and was 77 of 182 from 3-point range a year ago. He thrives in the Leathernecks' ball-screen offense, which Southeast coach Rick Ray likened to the continuous ball-screen attack that John Wooden popularized at UCLA.
"You can't give [Covington] any space at all," Ray said. "When he's coming off screens, you've got to be there. When he's dribbling the ball, you can't back up. He's a really good player, so they try to put him in some isolation situations. If you give him any space at all, you'll pay for it because he's a really good player and a really good shooter and a guy that can create his own offense.
"The first thing is he turns the ball screen down, and that's the worst way to get beat on the ball screen. ... If you let him sweep and go away from the ball screen, you've got no help because of spacing issues. The second thing is, if your big is not up there in line with the ball and you give him an inch, he's going to take advantage of that inch."
Covington scored 17 points against Kansas State and 15 against OHC.
Returning to support Covington in the back court is senior guard Jabari Sandifer, who put up 8.4 ppg and 4.7 assists per game in 2015-16.
Anchoring the front court is the third returning starter, sophomore center Brandon Gilbeck. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound post player was not a big offensive threat a year ago but does provide a size mismatch and help on the boards and on defense. He pulled down eight rebounds in the season opener.
He's not the only big man WIU can put on the floor, either, as junior college transfer Chris Snyder comes in at 6-10, as does sophomore Jordan Hughes, who played very limited minutes as a freshman.
"I have no concern about size," Ray said. "What we've got to do is, I don't care if we're playing someone 6-5 or 6-10 in the post, you can't let them catch the ball. If they let people catch the ball behind them, they've got a great chance to score or get fouled."
Senior forward Mike Miklusak (6-6, 190) was among the WIU's top five in minutes per game a season ago, averaging 17 minutes with 5.3 ppg on 46.6-percent shooting and hitting 45.6 percent of his 3-pointers.
Junior Dalan Ancrum played a bench role last season, but the 6-6 wing has been a key contributor through the first two games of the season, scoring 12 and 13 points, respectively.
Film study has shown the Southeast coaching staff that the Leathernecks have predominantly been a man-to-man defense this season, but Ray said he expects to see a decent amount of zone tonight. For that, he gives credit to his players' ability to drive the basketball, led by guys like Antonius Cleveland (13 ppg) and Denzel Mahoney (8.5 ppg).
The zone, however, is a defensive scheme that gave the Redhawks some fits in the season opener at Illinois.
"We've had a zone offense, but the biggest thing is the guys hadn't played against it in live action [before Illinois]," Ray said. "I just think it kind of shocked them a little bit.
"The thing I try to make sure our guys understand is that the reason they're playing guard is because they can't guard you, so they've got to still be aggressive, still attack gaps, still move the ball. That's the biggest key. I don't care what zone offense you run, you've got to attack the gaps."
When it comes to defense, Ray's focus is on his team's own. It is, he says, the biggest lesson the Redhawks can take away from their first victory of the year.
"I thought we saw in the second half that we can be a good defensive team, and that's the way we need to play in order to have success," Ray said.
"Defense has got to be our identity. Offense is something that's going to come and go ... but if you want to be a good basketball team, defense has got to be a constant."
Eligibility update
Just before Southeast departed for Macomb on Tuesday, it learned that junior William Tchiengang had been granted eligibility by the NCAA, which was reviewing transcripts deep into his schooling history.
The 6-8 Cameroonian is a transfer who came to Southeast in the offseason after two seasons at Midland College in Texas.
It's unclear when he will be able to contribute on the court after being unable to participate prior to the NCAA's ruling.
Southeast (1-1) will, however, continue looking for its first victory against a Division I opponent when it travels to Western Illinois (1-1) today for a 7 p.m. start in Macomb, Illinois.
The Redhawks will have a little positive momentum after breezing past NAIA-opponent Hannibal-LaGrange on Sunday, 86-54, but the test will be stiffer against the Leathernecks, who bounced back after falling to Kansas State 82-55 in their opener and defeated Oak Hills Christian 95-48 on Sunday.
WIU returns a good amount of experience from a side that went 10-17 in its first season under coach Billy Wright, bringing back 11 total players and three starters.
The most dangerous of those returning starters is senior guard Garret Covington, who averaged 17.9 points per game on 44.4-percent shooting and was 77 of 182 from 3-point range a year ago. He thrives in the Leathernecks' ball-screen offense, which Southeast coach Rick Ray likened to the continuous ball-screen attack that John Wooden popularized at UCLA.
"You can't give [Covington] any space at all," Ray said. "When he's coming off screens, you've got to be there. When he's dribbling the ball, you can't back up. He's a really good player, so they try to put him in some isolation situations. If you give him any space at all, you'll pay for it because he's a really good player and a really good shooter and a guy that can create his own offense.
"The first thing is he turns the ball screen down, and that's the worst way to get beat on the ball screen. ... If you let him sweep and go away from the ball screen, you've got no help because of spacing issues. The second thing is, if your big is not up there in line with the ball and you give him an inch, he's going to take advantage of that inch."
Covington scored 17 points against Kansas State and 15 against OHC.
Returning to support Covington in the back court is senior guard Jabari Sandifer, who put up 8.4 ppg and 4.7 assists per game in 2015-16.
Anchoring the front court is the third returning starter, sophomore center Brandon Gilbeck. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound post player was not a big offensive threat a year ago but does provide a size mismatch and help on the boards and on defense. He pulled down eight rebounds in the season opener.
He's not the only big man WIU can put on the floor, either, as junior college transfer Chris Snyder comes in at 6-10, as does sophomore Jordan Hughes, who played very limited minutes as a freshman.
"I have no concern about size," Ray said. "What we've got to do is, I don't care if we're playing someone 6-5 or 6-10 in the post, you can't let them catch the ball. If they let people catch the ball behind them, they've got a great chance to score or get fouled."
Senior forward Mike Miklusak (6-6, 190) was among the WIU's top five in minutes per game a season ago, averaging 17 minutes with 5.3 ppg on 46.6-percent shooting and hitting 45.6 percent of his 3-pointers.
Junior Dalan Ancrum played a bench role last season, but the 6-6 wing has been a key contributor through the first two games of the season, scoring 12 and 13 points, respectively.
Film study has shown the Southeast coaching staff that the Leathernecks have predominantly been a man-to-man defense this season, but Ray said he expects to see a decent amount of zone tonight. For that, he gives credit to his players' ability to drive the basketball, led by guys like Antonius Cleveland (13 ppg) and Denzel Mahoney (8.5 ppg).
The zone, however, is a defensive scheme that gave the Redhawks some fits in the season opener at Illinois.
"We've had a zone offense, but the biggest thing is the guys hadn't played against it in live action [before Illinois]," Ray said. "I just think it kind of shocked them a little bit.
"The thing I try to make sure our guys understand is that the reason they're playing guard is because they can't guard you, so they've got to still be aggressive, still attack gaps, still move the ball. That's the biggest key. I don't care what zone offense you run, you've got to attack the gaps."
When it comes to defense, Ray's focus is on his team's own. It is, he says, the biggest lesson the Redhawks can take away from their first victory of the year.
"I thought we saw in the second half that we can be a good defensive team, and that's the way we need to play in order to have success," Ray said.
"Defense has got to be our identity. Offense is something that's going to come and go ... but if you want to be a good basketball team, defense has got to be a constant."
Eligibility update
Just before Southeast departed for Macomb on Tuesday, it learned that junior William Tchiengang had been granted eligibility by the NCAA, which was reviewing transcripts deep into his schooling history.
The 6-8 Cameroonian is a transfer who came to Southeast in the offseason after two seasons at Midland College in Texas.
It's unclear when he will be able to contribute on the court after being unable to participate prior to the NCAA's ruling.
