3 things to watch in the SEMO men’s basketball home opener vs Crowley’s Ridge

SEMO sophomore BJ Ward drives up the court during the first day of practice on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Home at last.

That, more or less, is what Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball is feeling ahead of its home opener against Crowley’s Ridge following a challenging two-game road stretch at Bradley and Vanderbilt to open the new season. Head coach Brad Korn’s squad will face its NAIA opponent at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, inside the Show Me Center.

Here are three storylines to keep an eye on in SEMO’s first home game of the 2024-25 campaign:

Welcome to the BJ Ward show

If there is one player to pinpoint through the first two games of the season, look no further than the sophomore point guard out of St. Louis.

Ward has been the heart of the SEMO offense thus far, pacing the team in nearly every offensive category, including points (39), points per game (19.5), and field goals (15). The hot-shooting point guard has also been lethal from beyond the arc, as his nine 3-pointers and 75% 3-point rate both currently rank top 20 in the country.

“He's so under control,” Korn said. “He talks on offense. He puts guys in position where they're supposed to be. He’s a strong kid.

“I’m glad to see him have that kind of output because, of course, we need it. You need it from your point guard positions.”

Who else will emerge?

It seems likely Korn will continue to deploy a lengthy rotation in the early stages of the season, with 12 players earning minutes in the first two games. That’s not even including projected starter Braxton Stacker, who is still nursing a preseason injury. What will make Wednesday interesting is how many players get opportunities in a home atmosphere against a rather inferior opponent.

Outside of Ward’s breakout performances, no Redhawks have made a huge splash quite yet. Senior TJ Biel and transfer Teddy Washington Jr. both scored in the double-digits against Vanderbilt, but the two guards had a combined six points and shot 3-of-18 from the field against Bradley in the opener.

Top returning shooter Rob Martin has had a quiet start behind just 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, but, again, SEMO is only two games in.

Shooting more efficiently at the third level could be critical down the stretch, too. Aside from Ward’s 9 of 12 shooting from 3 this season, SEMO is shooting at a mere 25% clip (9-of-36) from long distance. The Redhawks struggled in that area last season after finishing second-to-last in the OVC in 3-point percentage (.304).

Tough start opens more opportunity

SEMO’s two-game stretch to kick off the 2024-25 season was not easy. The Redhawks fell 88-60 at Bradley, who is projected to win the Missouri Valley Conference, before traveling to SEC country and dropping another game to Vandy 85-76.

The good news is that Korn has been impressed by his team’s effort so far and pointed out that the pair of early losses shed light on the weaknesses that can be detected and refined moving forward.

“You don't necessarily want to start your season at Vandy and at Bradley, per se, but one thing that does do is exposes your weaknesses right away,” he said. “Give our guys credit of understanding that, accepting that, and give the staff credit for getting our guys ready for that. Again, it's not an ideal start of what you want, but at the end of the day, you got told what you weren't good at. You’ve got to listen and get better at it, and I think our guys did that.”

Now is SEMO’s time to ramp up. Following Crowley’s Ridge, the Redhawks will face Chattanooga (0-3) and Central Arkansas (9-23 in 2023) before cranking the competition level back up a notch against UNC Asheville and Kansas City during the rest of November. Wednesday’s game will be particularly important in informing where the chemistry is at for a team that features six new transfers and what the points of emphasis will be during the rest of the month.