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HomeSportsAPSU Basketball finishes four game road trip Saturday at Eastern Illinois

APSU Basketball finishes four game road trip Saturday at Eastern Illinois

Austin Peay Govs at Eastern Illinois Panthers

Saturday, February 10th, 2018 | 3:15pm CT
Charleston, IL | Lantz Arena

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team closes out a four-game road trip when it ventures to Charleston, Illinois to face Eastern Illinois, 3:15pm, Saturday, February 10th at Lantz Arena.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball hits the road Saturday to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball hits the road Saturday to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers. (APSU Sports Information)

The Govs enter play seeking their 10th OVC win of the 2017-18 campaign–a mark that would be the most by an Austin Peay men’s basketball team since the 2010-11 season.

This begins the home stretch for the Governors; following this contest, Austin Peay plays three of its final four at home, beginning with a 7:30pm, Thursday, February 15th contest against Tennessee Tech.

About the Eastern Illinois Panthers

Eastern Illinois PanthersEastern Illinois has trended toward low-scoring affairs this season; of their 24 contests, 12 have seen either the Panthers or their opponent fail to break the 60-point barrier, which helps explain why Eastern Illinois ranks dead last in the league in scoring (66.1 ppg) but have secured five league victories thanks to stingy defense (68.0 ppg).

The Panthers are in the botom-three in the OVC in both free-throw percentage (68.9 percent, 10th) and field goal percentage (41.8 percent, 12th), but limit opponents good looks by protecting the rim (4.2 blocks per game, second in the league). The Panthers don’t give away much in the way of free points; Eastern Illinois commits just 16.5 fouls per game, second in the league and 61st nationally.

Last Time Against Eastern Illinois

APSU Men's Basketball - Averyl UgbaAustin Peay’s dynamic post duo of Terry Taylor and Averyl Ugba posted double-doubles, turning a close first-half game into a second-half rout in a 70-54 demolition of Eastern Illinois, December 30th.

Ugba posted 17 points and 11 boards, while Taylor added a 12-11 night, becoming the first APSU teammates to post back-to-back double-double performances since February 10th-13th, 2016.

The duo led a spirited effort on the glass, outrebounding EIU by 17 (46-29), most against a Division I foe since February 26th, 2015 (SIU Edwardsville).

Keep An Eye On

A win would give Austin Peay double-digit conference victories for the first time since 2010-11.

APSU Men's Basketball - Terry TaylorTaylor is now one of 38 freshmen nationwide since the 2009-10 season to pull in 100 or more offensive rebounds; at his current pace of 4.0 per contest, with five regular season contests and at minimum one OVC Tournament game remaining, that would put him in ninth, ahead of the freshmen campaigns of Anthony Davis (Kentucky, 2011-12), Kawhi Leonard (San Diego State, 2009-10) and Andre Drummond (Connecticut, 2011-12).

A victory would run Austin Peay’s winning streak against Eastern Illinois to four games, giving the Govs back-to-back season sweeps of the Panthers for the first time since 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Taylor (4.00) and Ugba (3.00) rank sixth and 47th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, joining Duke duo Marvin Bagley III (4.04) and Wendell Carter Jr. (3.08) as the only pair of teammates averaging a combined 7.0 offensive rebounds or more per contest.

The Govs are 7-3 following a loss this season.

A win would be Austin Peay’s fourth straight road win at Lantz Arena, equaling the longest road winning streak for either team in series history (Austin Peay won four straight road games against EIU from 2006-08).

APSU Men's Basketball - Zach GlottaJunior Zach Glotta looks to reach double figures for the third straight game; it would mark his first career streak of three or more consecutive contests scoring in double figures.

Taylor and Ugba are one of five teammate tandems in the nation both averaging more than eight rebounds per game.

For reference, the Ivy League and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference have no players currently averaging more than eight boards a night.

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 this game courtesy of EIU’s athletics website (eiupanthers.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).

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