Eastern Illinois vs Austin Peay 2/26/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Austin Peay Governors will travel to Lantz Arena to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Austin Peay Governors snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 11-16 on the season after defeating the SIU Edwardsville Cougars, 68-64 (OT), this past Thursday. Austin Peay allowed SIU Edwardsville to fight back from a 34-20 halftime deficit to force OT, however, the Governors were solid on the offensive end in OT and pulled away after taking a 63-57 lead with 2:45 left in regulation. Austin Peay shot 43.6% from the field & 44.0% from beyond the arc while allowing SIU Edwardsville to shoot 41.5% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Governors was Caleb Stone-Carrawell who had 24 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, Austin Peay is averaging 65.2 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. The Governors are averaging 8.0 three-pointers per game on 32.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Austin Peay has been led by Elijah Hutchins-Everett (12.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg), Caleb Stone-Carrawell (11.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.0 apg), Tariq Silver (10.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.0 apg), & Cameron Copeland (8.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Austin Peay is allowing their opponents to average 69.4 ppg on 46.4% shooting from the field. The Governors have a rebound margin of -2.2 and a turnover margin of 0.1.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers lost their 5^th straight game and dropped to 5-25 on the season after being defeated by the Morehead State Eagles, 82-46, this past Thursday. Eastern Illinois had no answers on either end of the court against Morehead State and the Eagles were able to pull away in the 2^nd half after taking a 49-25 lead with 15:05 left in regulation. Eastern Illinois shot 33.3% from the field & 18.2% from beyond the arc while allowing Morehead State to shoot 58.2% from the field & 40.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was Dan Luers who had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, Eastern Illinois is averaging 56.5 ppg on 39.7% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 6.0 three-pointers per game on 32.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Eastern Illinois has been led by Kashawn Charles (8.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg), Kejuan Clements (8.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.0 spg), Dan Luers (7.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 apg), & Paul Bizimana (7.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, Eastern Illinois is allowing their opponents to average 71.4 ppg on 45.6% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of -7.3 and a turnover margin of -3.6.

The Governors are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games & 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games vs. Eastern Illinois. The Panthers are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games & 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Saturday home games.

Austin Peay has struggled on the offensive end this season, ranking 304^th in scoring offense & 307^th in FG%, however, the defense has performed better as they currently rank 196^th in scoring defense & 186^th in turnover margin. Eastern Illinois has had issues on both ends of the court this season as the Panthers come into this game ranked just 349^th in scoring offense, 337^th in FG%, & 281^st in defensive FG%.

Austin Peay is just 5-11 on the road this season, however, Eastern Illinois has lost 8 of their last 9 games with 5 of those losses coming by double-digits. Austin Peay defeated Eastern Illinois by a 62-54 margin less than two weeks ago and as I expect a similar result in this one, I’m taking Austin Peay to cover this mid-range road spread.