Austin Peay Governors Will Rule Against Meek Tennessee Tech

Austin Peay (14-10) has dropped two of its last three to drop to 10-8 in OVC play. The Governors are tied with Murray State for fifth in the league after losing at home to Eastern Illinois last weekend.

These two teams played earlier this season, with Austin Peay winning at home 72-69 on Jan. 21. If you’re going to be betting online on this contest, the visiting Governors are 7½-point favorites, with the over/under set at 146.

Leading the Way

The Governors are led by one of the top scorers in the nation in senior forward Terry Taylor, whose 22.1 points per game rank sixth in the country. Taylor is also averaging 11.3 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the nation.

Taylor is shooting 52.5% from the field despite constant defensive pressure, and he plays 37.2 minutes per game. He’s been making college basketball news all season with his play and is definitely the front-runner for conference Player of the Year honors.

The Governors also have a pair of double-figure scorers in sophomore forward Mike Peake (10.2 points) and freshman guard Jordyn Adams (10.0). Peake is shooting even better than Taylor, connecting on 59.9% of his field-goal attempts, including 43.3% from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard Carlos Paez runs the show, averaging 4.3 assists per game to tie for seventh in the conference. The Governors are the fourth-highest scoring team in the league at 74.9 points per game.

Rough Flight

The Golden Eagles have struggled this season, dropping nine of their last 10 coming into the final weekend of play in the conference. John Pelphrey’s squad is scoring just 65.8 points per game while allowing 77.5, which is not a winning combination and definitely not a way to get to NCAA March Madness.

Leading the Tennessee Tech offense is Jr. Clay, who is scoring 16.5 points per game. The junior guard has hit at least one 3-pointer in 35 straight games and is shooting 31.8% from beyond the arc.

One of the hottest players for the Golden Eagles has been junior guard Damaria Franklin. Franklin is averaging 13.6 points per game on the season, but over the last three contests, he’s scoring 19 points and grabbing 6.7 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Keishawn Davidson is the third double-figure scorer for Tennessee Tech, averaging 10.6 points to go along with a team-high 4.4 assists per game. Davidson is nearly perfect at the free-throw line this season, connecting on 93.6% of his attempts from the charity stripe.

Governors Rule

Although Tennessee Tech gives itself a puncher’s chance against anyone with its penchant for shooting lots of 3-pointers, it only hits at a 31.2% clip, making the punches miss more often than not. In the first game against Austin Peay, the Golden Eagles connected on eight from beyond the arc, but still fell by three.

We don’t expect this one to be as close. Taylor and the Governors will rule the paint and muscle their way to another win over the host Golden Eagles.

When making your college basketball picks, give the 7½ points and take Austin Peay.