Austin Peay (19-8 | 11-3 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (9-18 | 4-10 OVC)
Thursday, February 21st, 2019 | 8:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – With an opening-round bye secured for next month’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team turns its attention to positioning itself for a run to the top-two, beginning Thursday when the Govs host Southeast Missouri at 8:00pm as the second half of a doubleheader, with the women’s contest scheduled for a 5:30pm tipoff.
Southeast Missouri is one of several teams on the postseason bubble who could pose a great threat to the Governors down the stretch–three of Austin Peay’s final four contests are against teams who have not clinched an OVC Tournament berth but who are mathematically alive for one.
The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free long-sleeve t-shirt courtesy of game sponsor Northcrest Medical Center. It’s also College of Business Night for Austin Peay business students, who will be recognized during the game.
About the Southeast Missouri Redhawks
Austin Peay’s three-point shooting–which is second in the league overall at 38.1 percent, and has eclipsed 40 percent against league opponents–will be tested by a stingy Southeast Missouri defense that has limited opponents to 32.0 percent shooting from deep during the 2018-19 season. The Redhawks can also heat up from deep, hitting 35.3 percent from beyond the arc (fourth in the OVC).
The Redhawks have to force bad shots, because they haven’t been able to offer much resistance defensively from a results-based standpoint. Southeast Missouri’s 6.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game both rank 11th in the league; they are the only OVC team in the bottom-three of both categories.
Southeast Missouri has been buoyed in recent weeks by the ascent of Gabe McGlothan. The 6-7 freshman from Gilbert, Arizona played 19 largely unremarkable minutes for the Redhawks during the January meeting against the Governors, but is averaging 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over the last four games, earning OVC Freshman of the Week honors two weeks ago.
APSU Govs’ Last Time Out Against Southeast Missouri
In its Ohio Valley Conference road opener, Austin Peay earned a wire-to-wire 78-60 victory at the Show Me Center back on January 10th, with Terry Taylor leading four Govs in double figures with 17 points and seven rebounds. From the 8:15 mark in the first half on, Austin Peay never led by less than double digits.
Jabari McGhee made two big plays near the end of the first half with Southeast Missouri threatening to cut the Austin Peay lead to single digits: first, with time winding down on the shot clock, he nailed a step-back jumper and then, following an offensive foul, he skied for a putback of a Dayton Gumm miss and tipped it home as time expired, sending Austin Peay into the break with a 37-20 lead.
Keep An Eye On
A win would give the Govs five straight against the Redhawks for the first time since winning seven in a row from 2008-11.
If it held, Austin Peay’s 31.7 percent opponent three-point shooting mark would be a school-record for a single-season.
A victory would give Austin Peay its first 20-win season since the 2010-11 campaign. It would be the fastest Austin Peay has reached 20 victories by games since 2003-04 (28) and since 1977 by date (February 21st).
Taylor is averaging 26.4 points on 55.6 percent (69-of-124) shooting from the floor and 83.3 percent (30-of-36) shooting from the free-throw line over the last seven games, while also hitting 2.8 three-pointers and pulling down 9.4 rebounds during that stretch. He needs 22 points to pass Ralph Garner (1973-77) for 28th all-time.
With a victory, the Govs would sweep the season series against the Redhawks for the second year in a row and 12th time since the turn of the century (Govs would be 31-10 over that time).
Austin Peay’s plus-10.6 scoring margin would be third-best in program history if it held, behind only the 1972-73 season (plus-11.2) and 1975-76 (plus-11.0) campaign; the Govs won 20 games in both those seasons and the OVC title in 1972.
Taylor needs five points to pass Wesley Channels (546, 2008-09; 24th), seven to pass Tom Morgan (548, 1956-57; 23rd), 10 to pass Andrew Burton (551, 1980-81; 22nd) and 20 to pass Bubba Wells (560, 1994-95; 21st) in single-season scoring.
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 the ESPN+ app.
Postgame video interviews and other videos from around APSU Athletics can be found on our YouTube page (www.youtube.com/letsgopeay).
OVC basketball tournament all session packages are still available for purchase! All session packages can be purchased for $80.00. You may purchase your package by visiting www.letsgopeay.com/buytickets or calling 931.221.PEAY. If you are unable to attend but would like to purchase a package to sponsor a student attending the tournament please call 931.221.7224.