APSU Men’s Basketball releases 2021-22 Schedule

Clarksville, TN – In the first season of the Nate James Era, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team will embark on a challenging slate featuring a pair of Power Five road games and a tour against some of the nation’s toughest mid-majors as part of the 2021-22 schedule, which was released Monday.

This schedule will provide the APSU Govs—with nine new faces on the roster—with an abundance of opportunities to show their collective mettle against quality opposition, often in a hostile environment, before the Ohio Valley Conference schedule kicks off December 30th.

“Ideally, you want to have a balance in home and road games,” James said. “This year, there were already some games locked into place that we had to honor; it’s a tough schedule. It’s a challenge the young group needs in order to grow some hair on their chests and get prepared for conference play.

“There’s nothing like coming together as a unit on someone else’s floor. You have to band together and the chemistry has to be on point or it could be a long non-conference season. I’m excited about it and I think our group will be up to the task.”

The slate opens with an exhibition contest against Life University—coached by former Gov Kevin Easley—November 4th, with the regular-season kicking off against UT Southern (formerly Martin Methodist) and its head coach, former Austin Peay State University graduate assistant Dugan Lyne, November 9th. Two games to kick off James’ tenure, both at home with former Govs on the opposing bench; what could be better?

Most of the next month of dates find the Govs on the road, with only a home contest against Milligan (December 5th) breaking up a lengthy stretch of travel. During this period, the Govs will journey to Southern Illinois (November 12th), Purdue Fort Wayne (November 16th), Dayton (November 20th), Howard (November 26th), TCU (November 29th), North Florida (December 11th), South Florida (December 14th) and Vanderbilt (December 18th), before finally returning back to the Dunn Center to bring the nonconference schedule to an end against former APSU assistant Rick Stansbury and Western Kentucky (December 22nd).

Aside from first-time opponents Howard and TCU, every opponent the Govs are scheduled to visit is an opponent Austin Peay State University has squared off with at least once in the last seven years, including three meetings with both the Ospreys and Commodores during that stretch.

Some familiar faces pop up during non-conference this season. In addition to former Govs Easley, Lyne and Stansbury as head coaches, APSU guard DJ Peavy will square off against younger brother Micah, now at TCU; junior Alec Woodard will go up against former prep teammate Tyrin Lawrence at Vanderbilt; and Ben Harvey, formerly of Eastern Illinois, now suits up in Carbondale for the Salukis.

The OVC slate begins December 30th against UT Martin the Dunn Center before the APSU Govs venture to Cape Girardeau for a New Year’s Day contest against Southeast Missouri. With Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State gone from OVC play, there is more parity to the schedule, particularly pertaining to travel, than in year’s past—the Govs will never play more than two consecutive conference games at home or on the road.

After returning from their meeting with the Redhawks, the Govs host SIU Edwardsville (January 6th) and Morehead State (January 8th)—the Eagles are the only team from the 2021 NCAA Tournament on APSU’s schedule this season. January continues with a visit to Belmont (January 13th), a visit from Eastern Illinois (January 15th), the return trip to UT Martin (January 20th), and another run down I-24 to Tennessee State (January 22nd) before Austin Peay State University closes the month with Belmont (January 27th) at home and Tennessee Tech (January 29th) on the road.

February opens with a big one—Murray State visits Austin Peay State University on February 3rd; the Clarksville edition has been featured on either ESPNU or ESPN2 each of the last three seasons. The Govs make a return journey to Morehead State (February 5th) before hosting Southeast Missouri (February 10th) and Tennessee State (February 12th) ahead of the rematch with the Racers (February 17th). The final home date of the 2021-22 regular season is scheduled for February 19th against Tennessee Tech, with visits to SIU Edwardsville (February 24th) and Eastern Illinois (February 26th) closing out the regular season.

For the fifth year in a row, the OVC Basketball Championships will take place in Evansville, Indiana, beginning March 2nd, with Championship Saturday set for March 5th. The 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships begin Tuesday, March 15th, with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio—the very same arena the Govs are scheduled to visit on November 20th to take on the Flyers.

Below is a brief summation of the non-conference schedule. Be sure to keep up with everything happening around Austin Peay State University at LetsGoPeay.com and the official Facebook page of APSU athletics, as well on Twitter and Instagram (@letsgopeay). For all things related to men’s basketball, be sure to follow @GovsMBB on Twitter and Instagram.

APSU Men’s Basketball 2021-2022 Schedule