Austin Peay Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – The slate is set for the defending Ohio Valley Conference champions.
After a whirlwind trip through the 2016 OVC Tournament, winning four games in four days to claim the title, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball and head coach Dave Loos have released the 2016-17 regular season schedule.
![Competitive slate awaits Austin Peay Governors Basketball in 2016-17. (Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports) Competitive slate awaits Austin Peay Governors Basketball in 2016-17. (Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)](https://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Austin-Peay-Basketball-wins-OVC-Championship-game-3-480x319.jpg)
“It’s a very good schedule in a number of ways,” Loos said. “It goes without saying that it’s very competitive. We have three high-major, guarantee-type games, we have local and regional rivals and I think our fans will be excited about the additions of teams like Evansville and Western Kentucky.”
Following exhibition contests against Thomas More (November 1st) and Sewanee (November 4th), the Govs open the regular season at Dayton (November 11th)—the Flyers have made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2014 run to the Elite Eight, and won the Atlantic 10 regular-season crown a year ago.
That will be followed by the home opener against Oakland City (November 14th)—the fourth straight year the Govs have faced the Mighty Oaks, and the second time in three seasons Austin Peay has hosted Oakland City for the home opener.
That’s followed by the Redhawk Invitational in Oxford, Ohio—a three-day event that will pit the Govs against Miami (Ohio), Northern Kentucky and Delaware, November 18th-20th. All three will be first-time opponents for the Governors.
“We’re in a very good exempt event again at Miami,” Loos said. “I think that’s a good place for us against some quality teams.”
Spalding (November 26th) and IPFW (November 30th) are featured in a short two-game stretch to close out November before Austin Peay hits the road for a three-game stretch to start December, which opens at SEC foe Arkansas—the December 3rd meeting will be just the third between the Governors and Razorbacks, and the first since 2008.
That will be followed by the road portion of the home-and-home with IPFW (December 10th) and a visit to Wofford (December 15th)—the Governors defeated the Terriers, 84-77, last season at the Dunn Center in the first meeting between the squads.
Austin Peay hosts Evansville (December 17th) and Lipscomb (December 20th) before traveling to Indiana (December 22nd) and Western Kentucky (December 28th) to close out the non-conference schedule. The Purple Aces won 25 games and advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference championship game last season, while national power Indiana was the 2016 Big 10 regular season champion and advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Govs embark on a four-game road trip through the OVC, beginning January 5th at Tennessee Tech and continuing on to Jacksonville State (January 7th), SIU Edwardsville (January 12th) and Eastern Illinois (January 14th). That’s followed by a four-game homestand against Morehead State (January 19th), Murray State (January 21st), UT Martin (January 26th) and Southeast Missouri (January 28th) to finish up the January schedule.
February begins in Richmond, Kentucky against Eastern Kentucky (February 1st). The Governors return to the Dunn Center to take on Tennessee State (February 4th), the first time the two will get together since Austin Peay erased a 19-point second-half deficit to topple the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament in March.
The Govs travel to Murray State (February 11th) before hosting Eastern Illinois (February 16th) and SIU Edwardsville (February 18th) in the final home contests on the 2017 schedule. Austin Peay closes out the regular season at UT Martin (February 23rd) and Southeast Missouri (February 25th).
The 2017 OVC Tournament begins March 1st, running four days until the Championship game, March 4th. The 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 14th-April 3rd.