Austin Peay (4-5) at Wofford (3-7)
Thursday, December 15th, 2016 | 6:00pm CT
Spartanburg, SC | Benjamin Johnson Area
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team brings a three-game road trip to an end when the Govs take on Wofford, 6:00pm (CT), Thursday, in Spartanburg, SC.
Head coach Mike Young, among the all-time win leaders in the Southern Conference, saw his Terrier squad picked third in the SoCon preseason poll.Wofford is 3-7 through its first 10 games but the Terriers have faced a tough schedule against power conference foes Miami, LSU, Colorado and most recently TCU.
The Govs look to end a three-game slide and earn their first true road win in 2016-17. Senior Kenny Jones (8.0 rpg) is among the Ohio Valley Conference’s most efficient rebounders, pulling in 24.5 percent of Austin Peay’s total rebounds, the fifth-highest total in the OVC.
Scouting the Terriers
Wofford enters the contest looking to gain traction on the offensive end; the Terriers have yet to score more than 70 points against a Division I foe in 2016-17.
That could be a by-product of youth; Young’s youthful squad features six freshmen and sophomores averaging at least 10 minutes per game, including leading scorer Fletcher Magee (15.5 ppg) and defensive stopper Cameron Jackson (10 steals, six blocks).
The Terriers have been dangerous from deep, hitting 41.6 percent from beyond the arc as a team.
Summing Up Fort Wayne
A game-opening 26-6 run got the Mastodons out to a hot start and they went on to a 98-58 win despite 20 points and nine rebounds from Jones. The Govs simply couldn’t buy a bucket for much of the contest, shooting 25 percent (8-for-32) from the floor in the first half and 32.3 percent (20-for-62) for the game.
Austin Peay did hit 93.8 percent (15-for-16) from the free-throw line, the Governors best team mark since an 11-for-11 night at Murray State, Jan. 10, 2009.
Last Time Out Against Wofford
The Govs topped the Terriers 84-77 in the first meeting between the two schools, Dec. 22, 2015. Two milestones were surpassed in that contest: Chris Horton became the second Governor with 1,000 career rebounds, joining Tom Morgan, and Josh Robinson set a Dunn Center record by hitting 14-of-14 free-throws.
Robinson scored a game-high 30 points–his first career 30-point effort–to lead four Govs in double figures, while Magee scored 27 off the bench for the Terriers.
What You Should Know
The Terriers are a squad desperate to gain traction on the offensive end; Wofford has yet to score more than 70 points against a Division I foe in 2016-17.
The Terriers have been dangerous from deep, hitting 41.6 percent from beyond the arc as a team.
Deeper Meanings
What A Win Would Mean
Move the Govs to 12-10 against Southern Conference schools under head coach Dave Loos… would snap a three-game losing streak, the Govs longest since January 9th-16th, 2016… it would make Dave Loos 2-0 all-time against Wofford… it would be Loos’ 497th career victory and 415th at APSU.
What A Loss Would Mean
The Govs would fall to 1-1 all-time against the Terriers… the Govs would drop to .500 (11-11) against Southern Conference foes in the Loos era… Loos would drop to 496-451 overall and 414-398 as Govs head coach.
Keep An Eye On
Jones-ing for the Govs
After a season in Chris Horton‘s shadow, Kenny Jones is breaking out for the Govs. He’s averaging 16.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg and hitting 61.0 percent from the floor over the last seven contests, and holding his own defensively with 1.6 spg.
Strange But True
In Austin Peay’s four wins in 2016-17, the Govs are shooting 60.9 percent from the free-throw line; in losses, Austin Peay is now at 76.7 percent (79-for-103) from the charity stripe, including a 15-for-16 showing at Fort Wayne that was best by the Govs since 2009.
All three wins for Wofford have come in the friendly confines of Benjamin Johnson Arena; the Terriers are 0-4 on the road and 0-3 in neutral site contests.
Meanwhile, the Govs are still seeking their first true road victory in 2016-17.
Two players in the Ohio Valley Conference rank in the conference’s top-10 in scoring and rebounding: Jones (14.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and preseason OVC Player of the Year Evan Bradds (21.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg).
Austin Peay seeks its third straight win against a Southern Conference foe and 12th win against the SoCon in the Dave Loos era.
The Govs have an average turnover margin of plus-9.8 in wins and minus-3.6 in losses.
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 www.LetsGoPeay.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com
Postgame video interviews and other videos from around APSU Athletics can be found on our YouTube page (www.youtube.com/letsgopeay).