Austin Peay at Tennessee Tech
Thursday, January 11th, 2018 | 7:30pm CT
Cookeville, TN | Eblen Center
Clarksville, TN – After a six-game homestand yielded a 5-1 mark, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball kicks off a four-game road trip with a 7:30pm, Thursday, January 11th, 2018 trip to Cookeville to take on Tennessee Tech.
The road has been unkind to Austin Peay thus far in the 2017-18 campaign, as the Govs seek their first road win on their sixth attempt.
Part of that has been competition; the average RPI of Austin Peay’s five road opponents has been 93, including a visit to Virginia (No. 3) in the season’s second game.
Austin Peay looks to snare its season’s first road win and its first win in the conference road opener since the 2010-11 campaign.
To topple the Golden Eagles in the Eblen Center—where the hosts boast a 174-48 mark since the turn of the century—will require a healthy dose of Terry Taylor and Averyl Ugba, who are fast staking their claim as the best post duo in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Ugba, winner of three straight OVC Newcomer of the Week honors, is averaging 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds on 54.4 percent shooting over his last nine games, while Taylor—the four-time OVC Freshman of the Week—is averaging 19.5 ppg in his last eight appearances.
About the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles do three things particularly well—control the ball, get into passing lanes and shoot the three. Tennessee Tech has averaged 17.5 assists per game this season, with 20 or more assists on six occasions; that level of ball control has allowed the Golden Eagles to share the load offensively, with six players averaging at least 7.0 ppg.
Led by Aleksa Jugovic, the Golden Eagles are hitting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc, tied for the league-lead and a legitimate threat to the Govs, who do the majority of their damage inside via Taylor and Ugba. One of Tennessee Tech’s biggest strengths doubles as one of Austin Peay’s–the two squads are tied for the OVC lead in steals, each averaging 8.1 per game.
Last Time Out Against Tennessee Tech
John Murry and Kenny Jones each scored 21 points, but a late drought cost Austin Peay in a 76-67 loss in last season’s OVC road opener at Tennessee Tech. Austin Peay hit just two shots over the final 4:36 of regulation, but were within a bucket at the 2:29 mark thanks to solid free-throw shooting (18-of-20).
With then-head coach Dave Loos on leave as he continued chemotherapy, it marked the first time since March 7th, 1990 someone else acted as Austin Peay’s head coach.
Notably
Taylor (4.3 offensive rebounds per game) and Ugba (2.8 orpg) rank first and second, respectively, in the OVC. The Govs look to extend their streak of pulling in at least 10 offensive rebounds to 11 games.
A win would be the Governors first in Cookeville since 2009.
Over the last six games, the Govs hold a plus-10.3 advantage in rebounding margin, which has led to a 17.3-8.2 advantage on second-chance points during that span.
With six double-doubles, Taylor is tied for sixth among the nation’s freshmen, alongside Duke’s Wendell Carter, Texas’ Mohamed Bamba and Duquesne’s Eric Williams Jr. His 4.25 offensive rebounds per game leads all freshmen and is tied for sixth overall.
A victory would make the Govs 3-0 in January for the first time since 2010-11.
Follow APSU Govs Online
Check back at LetsGoPeay.com and on Austin Peay’s Official Athletics Facebook page often for up-to-date news about all Governor athletics, as well as the Governor men’s basketball Twitter page (@AustinPeayMBB). Live stats will be available during the game at PeayStats.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com.
Postgame video interviews and other videos from around APSU Athletics can be found on our YouTube page (www.youtube.com/letsgopeay).
