Upcoming Match-ups
Tmrw
26
Apr
5:30 PM
MIL
IND
+5.5
-5.5
222.5
8:00 PM
LAC
DAL
+4.5
-4.5
211.5
10:30 PM
MIN
PHO
+4
-4
207.5
Saturday
27
Apr
3:30 PM
OKC
NO
-1
+1
209.5
6:00 PM
BOS
MIA
-9
+9
205

Austin Peay vs Eastern Kentucky Odds, Lines, and Spread

Blair Johnson

by Blair Johnson in College Basketball

Updated Mar 3, 2021 · 5:06 PM PST

Terry Taylor shooting over defender for layup
Austin Peay guard Terry Taylor (21) is defended by West Virginia forward Derek Culver, behind, and West Virginia forward Gabe Osabuohien (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)
  • The Eastern Kentucky Colonels take on the  Austin Peay Governors in the OVC Tournament quarterfinals 
  • This will be the last appearance in the OVC tourney for EKU, as the program is moving to the Atlantic Sun next season 
  • Read below for odds, analysis, and our best bet for this matchup

The No. 3 seed Eastern Kentucky Colonels (21-6, 15-5 OVC), winners in six of their last seven games, take on the No. 6 seed Austin Peay Governors (14-12, 10-10 OVC) in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Thursday, March 4. Tip is set for 10:30pm ET in Evansville at the Ford Center.

The Governors enter this quarterfinal matchup as losers of three in a row and are led by two-time OVC Player of the Year Terry Taylor. Meantime, the Colonels won a program-record 15 league games this season. EKU features a pair of first-team All-OVC players in Tre King and Wendell Green Jr.

Now, the Colonels are favored to win the rubber match between the two programs after splitting their two regular season games.

Austin Peay vs Eastern Kentucky Odds

Team Spread Moneyline Total
Austin Peay +3 (-110) Off Ov 155 (-110)
Eastern Kentucky -3 (-110) Off Un 155 (-110)

Odds taken March 3 at FanDuel

Taylor Made

Not only did Austin Peay’s senior guard lead league in scoring (21.7 points) and rebounds (11.0) a game, the Bowling Green native also finished first in offensive rebounds a game (5.1), first in minutes played (37.1) and third in free-throw  percentage (80.2). In other words, the best player in the league fills the stat sheet in a variety of categories.

He’s the 15th player in league history to earn back-to-back POY honors and only the second Governor to do so. Taylor also snagged his fourth All OVC honor — making him only the fourth player in conference history to reach that milestone.

But does he have any help? Only one other player (Mike Peake) averages in double figures (10.6 points per game). Austin Peay finished fifth in the league standings and feature a No. 211 overall rating by KenPom, good for sixth-best in the conference.

The Govs can crash the boards with the best in college basketball. APSU has an offensive rebounding percentage of 35.6%, good for 14th in the conference. But Matt Figger’s squad is also pretty porous on defense, allowing 108.9 points over 100 possessions (No. 304 in the country).

Swan Song

As noted above, this will be the final appearance ever for the Colonels in the Ohio Valley Conference after 73 years. That alone could provide an additional spark for A.W. Hamilton’s team Thursday. Leading the way are for Eastern are Green Jr. and King.

Green Jr, a 5-foot-11 guard out of Detroit, has been the conference freshman player of the week five times this season and ranks second in the OVC in assists (5.1 per game), seventh in free throw percentage (76.8%) and ninth in scoring (15.0 points) and steals (1.5).

He’s had some standout performances, too. Green Jr has had both a 30-point game (Jan. 2 at Austin Peay) and a 15-assist performance (Jan. 9 vs Tennessee Tech). Among freshmen, the 30 points are the seventh-most nationally while his 15 assists are the most by a freshman this year and second-most by any player.

YouTube video

Meantime, all King did was averaging 15.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, leading the team in both categories.

EKU is rated 40 points ahead of APSU by KenPom (at No. 171) and finished third in the league standings behind only Belmont and Morehead State. Hamilton’s group features one of the best turnover percentages of defense ( fifth-best at 24.2%) and steal percentage of defense (seventh-best at 12.6%).

The Series

The teams split their games this season, with each winning on the road. The Colonels scratched out an 80-75 win on Jan 2. The Governors returned the favor on Feb. 4, winning 94-79 — their highest scoring output against Division I competition this season.

The teams have split the last four matchups and APSU leads the overall series 65-54.

So, who wins the rubber match? Betting on Taylor’s ability to take over the game is tempting. But APSU enters the tourney struggling, losers of four of five. I like EKU’s ability to play efficiently on defense and the dynamic duo of Green Jr. and King to come out on top.

The pick: Eastern Kentucky -3 (-110)

Author Image