Austin Peay (11-6 | 7-4 OVC) at Morehead State (14-6 | 11-2 OVC)
Saturday, February 6th, 2021 | 1:00pm CT
Morehead, KY | Johnson Arena
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team will face one of the toughest defensive units in the Ohio Valley Conference when the Govs visit Morehead State on Saturday, February 6th for a 1:00pm CT clash from Johnson Arena.
On Austin Peay State University’s last visit, recently-minted scoring leader Terry Taylor, then just a sophomore, scored 42 points against the Eagles, the only 40-point game of his career to this point and just the second by a Governor since the turn of the century.
A win would give the APSU Govs a sweep of the weekend against the two teams right ahead of them in the league race and would give the Govs five straight true road wins for the first time since 2003.
About the Morehead State Eagles
Morehead State gets it done on the strength of its defense; the Eagles hold opponents to a league-best 62.0 points per game, the 22nd-best mark in Division I, and five points better than any OVC team.
Statistically, the Eagles are lockdown defensive artists–in addition, the Eagles lead the league in opponent field goal percentage (40.6 percent), opponent three-point field goal percentage (29.6 percent), rebounding margin (plus-5.8), rebounds allowed (30.7), and are second in blocks per game at 4.8.
Don’t expect a fast-paced game out of the Eagles–Morehead State averages just 53.1 shots per night, the second-lowest tally in the OVC. They do hit on 45.8 percent of those attempts, the fifth-highest mark in the league, led by freshman Johni Broome’s 58.2 percent mark.
Broome has played his way into contention for OVC Freshman of the Year honors, leading the Eagles in scoring (12.1 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg), blocked shots (33) and field goal percentage.
The Plant City, Florida native leads the OVC with five Freshman of the Week honors, including the most recent accolade, as he seeks to become the Eagles first Freshman of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference since Ricky Minard in 20001; incidentally, Terry Taylor sits just 96 points behind Minard on the league’s all-time scoring list. But Broome has been one of the big catalysts for Morehead State’s recent 10-game winning streak; during that span, he’s averaging 13.3 points and 8.1 boards, with DeVon Cooper (13.6 ppg) expanding his offensive presence as well.
Austin Peay’s Last Game Against Morehead State
After a sluggish start that saw the teams miss 15 of their first 20 shots, Austin Peay State University and Morehead State engaged in a fiercely-contested February 28th, 2020 matchup in the Dunn Center, with the Govs emerging victorious in a 67-58 decision.
APSU controlled the glass, out-rebounding Morehead State 45-33, and saw both Terry Taylor (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Eli Abaev (11 and 11) record double-doubles during the final home outing of 2019-20 for the Govs.
Keep An Eye On
The APSU Govs are averaging 18.7 points off turnovers in the last three games.
Sophomore Alec Woodard is hitting 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from three over the last three games.
Taylor has been on a hot streak even by his standards lately, averaging 23.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor, 52.2 percent from three, and 79.3 percent at the line over his last seven games.
Morehead State was the last team that held the APSU Govs without a three-pointer, 601 games ago in 2002.
Jordyn Adams is averaging 11.7 points per game since his return from injury seven games ago.
Carlos Paez is averaging 11.1 points and 5.4 assists over his last eight games. He’s also hitting 51.3 percent (20-for-39) from three over his last nine games.
The APSU Govs are averaging 13.7 fast-break points over their last nine outings.
Mike Peake is hitting 66.1 percent (39-for-59) from the floor over the last nine games.
Austin Peay State University is hitting 9.0 threes per night over their last seven games, hitting a 40.9 percent 96-for-154) clip over that time.
Against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, the Govs 57.1 percent three-point mark was a season-high, and their 12 threes equaled a season-best.
Milestone Watch—Career: Terry Taylor needs seven free-throw attempts to pass Wes Channels (2006-10) for sixth all-time in career free-throw attempts.
Milestone Watch—OVC: Taylor needs 15 rebounds to pass Jim Jennings (Murray State, 1961-64) for ninth in OVC history in rebounding. He also needs 32 points to pass Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky, 2015-19) for fifth in league history in scoring.
APSU Govs in the time of COVID-19
For the 2020-21 season, Austin Peay State University athletics will allow approximately 35 percent capacity in the Dunn Center for home basketball events.
Students seating will be located in sections AA-BB for both men’s and women’s games. Masks or facial coverings are required to enter the Dunn Center. They must remain in place at all times unless eating or drinking. Failure to comply with any of these measures, by fans or media, could result in immediate expulsion from the arena.
APSU Govs Online
Check back at LetsGoPeay.com and on Austin Peay State University’s Official Athletics Facebook page often for up-to-date news about all APSU 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.
