North Florida vs Austin Peay Prediction 1-2-25 College Basketball Picks

The Austin Peay Governors and the North Florida Ospreys meet Thursday in college basketball action from UNF Arena. Here’s a North Florida vs Austin Peay prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best North Florida vs Austin Peay pick.

Austin Peay Governors Betting Preview

Austin Peay got off to a good start this year, taking wins over Union TN, Butler, and Chattanooga in their first three outings. The Governors would then fall to Tennessee and Morehead State before another victory over Georgia State. A slide began from there, however, as Austin Peay lost to TX-Arlington, East Tennessee State, Samford,  Southern Illinois, Ohio, and Vanderbilt over the next six games before finally taking out Brescia.

Matched up against Brescia in their most recent outing on Sunday, the Governors came out of the break with a comfortable lead of 39-21. Austin Peay finished off on a nice 54-25 stretch the rest of the way for a 93-46 win. Tate McCubbin came off the bench to lead the way with 20 points and eight rebounds. Isaac Haney added 14 points and two boards, while LJ Thomas notched a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.

Leading the Governors in scoring this year is Thomas with 17.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 3.6 assists per game. Sai Witt is second with 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in eight appearances, while Haney also has double-digits with 10.6 points per game.

North Florida Ospreys Betting Preview

Over on the North Florida side, they also won their first three over South Carolina, Charleston Southern, and Georgia Tech. The Ospreys would go 4-4 over the next eight with wins over Edward Waters, SIU Edwardsville, Warner U, and UNC Greensboro alongside losses to Georgia, UNC Asheville, Nebraska, and Georgia Southern. Since then it’s been a pair of losses to UNC Asheville and Florida for the Ospreys.

In the Florida game back on December 21, North Florida was looking at a 54-17 deficit after one half. The Ospreys didn’t get any closer in the second on a 45-28 run and took the loss 99-45 in the end. Both Liam Murphy and Jasai Miles posted a team-high 13 points in the defeat. Tops in bench scoring was Ametri Moss with seven points and five turnovers.

Miles is averaging 14.1 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game so far this year. Nate Literas isn’t far behind with 13.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Murphy is sitting at 12.3 points per game.

Why the North Florida Ospreys will win

• Austin Peay has lost each of its last seven road day games against the ASUN Conference.
• The home team has won each of North Florida’s last six games.
• The home team has won the first half in each of North Florida’s last eight games.

Why the Austin Peay Governors Will Win

• Austin Peay has won nine of its last 11 games against the ASUN Conference.
• North Florida has lost four of its last five day games against the ASUN Conference.
• Austin Peay has won the first half in six of its last seven day games against the ASUN Conference.

North Florida vs Austin Peay Prediction

I’ll probably try North Florida here. The Ospreys were grossly overmatched in their matchup with Florida, and it showed in the stats columns. North Florida finished with just 23.2 percent shooting from the field, a 65-25 rebounding deficit, and 17 turnovers for 16 Gators points. After the 17-point first half, there wasn’t much hope for the Ospreys staying anywhere close. That said, North Florida hasn’t been scoring too badly this year. Prior to their 45 points against Florida, the Ospreys had posted 72 or more points in 12 straight outings—in other words, every other game of the season. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that North Florida will do the same to Austin Peay on Thursday.

Speaking of the Governors, they secured a much-needed win in blowout fashion versus Brescia. Austin Peay shot 46.1 percent from the field in that one and carried a 48-33 rebounding advantage. Brescia’s 20 turnovers turned into a whopping 43 Governors points as well. Scoring has otherwise been a major problem for Austin Peay lately, though. Prior to their 93 points in their last outing, the Governors had been at 62 points or below for eight straight games—a 1-7 stretch. It would be hard to imagine Austin Peay putting up a big total here.