USI visits SEMO, Little Rock this week
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball finishes its three-game road swing this week with visits to Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Tipoff Thursday at SEMO in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is 7:30 p.m., while the start time versus Saturday at Little Rock is 3 p.m.
The USI Screaming Eagles (6-8, 1-3 OVC) are coming off a tough week, losing a pair of league games last week by a combined six points. USI lost at home to Morehead State, 70-68, and on the road to Tennessee Tech University, 68-64.
USI junior guard Damoni Harrison led USI last week in the OVC with 22.0 points per game. Sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi posted 16.0 points per outing while grabbing a team-high 9.0 rebounds per contest.
The Eagles has three players in double-digits for the season, led by junior guard Jayland Randall‘s 15.5 points per contest. Olowoniyi follows with 15.1 points per game, while Harrison rounds out the double-digit scorers with 13.5 points per outing.
In the four OVC games, Harrison is posting a team-best 16.5 points per game. Olowoniyi also is second in conference games with 14.0 points per appearance, while Randall is posting 12.0 points in the league game.
The Redhawks of SEMO (8-7, 3-1 OVC) enter this week’s action tied for the lead in the OVC with a 3-1 mark in league play. SEMO split last week on the road, defeating Tennessee State University, 67-65, and falling at the University of Tennessee at Martin, 66-63. The loss to UTM snapped SEMO’s five-game winning streak.
SEMO leads the all-time series with USI, 6-3, after taking both meetings last season. The Redhawks won the first match-up in a thrilling 93-91 overtime game that saw the Screaming Eagles’ Jeremiah Hernandez score 35 points in Cape Girardeau. SEMO also took the second game at Liberty Arena.
The Trojans of Little Rock (8-6, 2-1 OVC), who host Morehead State before USI comes to town this week, posted a split on the road last week. Little Rock opened 2025 with a 57-56 win at the University of Tennessee at Martin and a 95-86 loss at Tennessee State University last week. The Trojans have won five of their last seven games.
Series Note: The series is tied 2-2 after Little Rock took both games in the series last season. The Trojans took the opening game of the home-and-home series, 77-75, at Liberty Arena and 80-62 in Little Rock.
All of the USI Basketball action can be seen live on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on ESPN 97.7FM (http://listentotheref.com) and 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com). Tickets for the homestand and all USI home dates are on sale now at USIScreamingEagles.com.
