Southern Illinois-Edwardsville vs Austin Peay 2/24/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Austin Peay Governors will travel to the First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center to take on the SIU Edwardsville Cougars this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Austin Peay Governors lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 10-16 on the season after being defeated by the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 73-69, this past Saturday. Austin Peay struggled on the offensive end against Tennessee Tech and the Governors could not fight back after the Golden Eagles took a 71-67 lead with :47 seconds left in regulation. Austin Peay shot just 33.3% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Tennessee Tech to shoot 54.2% from the field & 28.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Governors was Tariq Silver who had 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, Austin Peay is averaging 65.1 ppg on 41.2% shooting from the field. The Governors are averaging 7.9 three-pointers per game on 31.9% shooting form beyond the arc. Offensively, Austin Peay has been led by Elijah Hutchins-Everett (12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Caleb Stone-Carrawell (11.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.8 apg), Tariq Silver (10.1 ppg, 1.7 apg, 2.0 apg), & Carlos Perez (6.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Austin Peay is allowing their opponents to an average of 69.6 ppg on 46.6% shooting from the field. The Governors have a rebound margin of -2.3 and a turnover margin of 0.1.

The SIU Edwardsville Cougars snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 10-19 on the season after defeating the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 66-52, this past Monday. SIU Edwardsville was outstanding on the defensive end against Eastern Illinois and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 33-16 lead. SIU Edwardsville shot 40.7% from the field & 40.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Eastern Illinois to shoot 35.4% from the field & 35.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Cougars was Shamar Wright who had 13 points, 3 rebounds, & 3 assists.

On the season, SIU Edwardsville is averaging 67.6 ppg on 42.0% shooting from the field. The Cougars are averaging 5.8 three-pointers per game on 28.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, SIU Edwardsville has been led by Ray’Sean Taylor (17.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.8 spg), Shaun Doss Jr. (11.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg), DeeJuan Pruitt (10.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.3 apg), Shamar Wright (9.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 apg), & Courtney Carter (7.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.2 spg). Ray’Sean Taylor will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL in late January against Southeast Missouri.

Defensively, SIU Edwardsville is allowing their opponents to average 70.4 ppg on 41.2% shooting from the field. The Cougars have a rebound margin of 2.0 and a turnover margin of -1.7.

The Governors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games, however, are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, however, are just 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games following a straight up win.

Austin Peay has struggled on both ends of the court this season as the Governors come into this game ranked just 306^th in scoring offense, 308^th in FG%, & 325^th in defensive FG%. SIUE has struggled on the offensive end this season, however, their defense has been decent, ranking 72^nd in defensive FG% & 133^rd in defensive FG% and as the Cougars are 7-4 at home this season, I think SIU Edwardsville does enough in this one to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!