Austin Peay comes into the game 1-0 with a 90-72 win over Life University.
Austin Peay is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). They were picked to finish 8th out of 12 in the Preseason Coaches Poll and 11th in the media poll. Last year Austin Peay was 9-22 (3-15) and finished dead last in the 14 team conference. Throw that record out, it is meaningless. See below.
The name of this thread should really be GMU vs the 2022-2023 Northwestern St. Demons. Austin Peay is starting over with new coach Corey Gipson. Gipson played at Austin Peay for two seasons (2002-04) and worked as an assistant coach for Dave Loos for three seasons (2012-15). He was the head coach at Northwestern State during the 2022-23 season. Gipson turned around a Demons program that won nine games the year prior his arrival. He led the Demons to a 22-9 record, a win at then-No. 15 TCU, and a No. 2 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament. An impressive first year resume to say the least.
KenPom: Gives us a 69% chance of winning.
GMU - 164
Austin Peay - 202
NET:
GMU - NA
Austin Peay - NA
We are 2-0 all-time against Austin Peay.
Schedule: https://letsgopeay.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2023-24
Roster: https://letsgopeay.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Box Score vs Life: https://letsgopeay.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2023-24/life/boxscore/12706
Austin Peay’s line-up was a hot mess last year with 14 different guys starting games and 13 guys averaging double digit minutes in the games they played in. They lost their top three scorers from last year.
In total, six players transferred to Austin Peay from Northwestern St. 6’3” Demarcus Sharp (19.5 ppg at Northwestern St.), 6’4” Ja’Monta Black (15.4 ppg for Northwestern St.), and 6’2” Isaac Haney (11.0 ppg for Northwestern St.) appear to be the future for the Governors. Northwestern St, finished 22-11 (13-5), (NET 205 & KenPom 215) last year competing in the Southland Conference. Also of interest to me is 7’3” 352 pound Jordan Wilmore. I am curious just to see this young man who must be an absolute load in the paint. He played 28 games, starting 12, for Northwestern St.
During the 22-23 campaign Austin Peay averaged 66.7 ppg while giving up 72.3 ppg. As a team they shot 41.5% from the field and 32.2% from 3. Opponents shot 47.8% overall and 34.1% from 3. The Governors averaged 11.7 turnovers per game and shot 72.7 from the charity stripe. Opponents out rebounded them by an average of 3.9 boards per game.
The game is on ESPN+ and MASN.
My prediction: Gipson's Northwestern St. team made its mark on the defensive end last season. They led the Southland in scoring defense (72.1 ppg). They ranked 37th in the NCAA in steals per game (8.3) and turnovers forced per game (14.8). Northwestern State also took care of the basketball better than any team in the Southland, leading the league in fewest turnovers per game (11.9) while ranking second in the conference and 34th in Division I in turnover margin (+2.9).
When I originally saw Austin Peay on our schedule and looked at their dismal performance last year I immediately thought easy win. Not so much now. I expect them to be vastly improved under the direction of Gipson.
GMU wins a close one 75-72.
Discuss.
Austin Peay is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). They were picked to finish 8th out of 12 in the Preseason Coaches Poll and 11th in the media poll. Last year Austin Peay was 9-22 (3-15) and finished dead last in the 14 team conference. Throw that record out, it is meaningless. See below.
The name of this thread should really be GMU vs the 2022-2023 Northwestern St. Demons. Austin Peay is starting over with new coach Corey Gipson. Gipson played at Austin Peay for two seasons (2002-04) and worked as an assistant coach for Dave Loos for three seasons (2012-15). He was the head coach at Northwestern State during the 2022-23 season. Gipson turned around a Demons program that won nine games the year prior his arrival. He led the Demons to a 22-9 record, a win at then-No. 15 TCU, and a No. 2 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament. An impressive first year resume to say the least.
KenPom: Gives us a 69% chance of winning.
GMU - 164
Austin Peay - 202
NET:
GMU - NA
Austin Peay - NA
We are 2-0 all-time against Austin Peay.
Schedule: https://letsgopeay.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2023-24
Roster: https://letsgopeay.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Box Score vs Life: https://letsgopeay.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2023-24/life/boxscore/12706
Austin Peay’s line-up was a hot mess last year with 14 different guys starting games and 13 guys averaging double digit minutes in the games they played in. They lost their top three scorers from last year.
In total, six players transferred to Austin Peay from Northwestern St. 6’3” Demarcus Sharp (19.5 ppg at Northwestern St.), 6’4” Ja’Monta Black (15.4 ppg for Northwestern St.), and 6’2” Isaac Haney (11.0 ppg for Northwestern St.) appear to be the future for the Governors. Northwestern St, finished 22-11 (13-5), (NET 205 & KenPom 215) last year competing in the Southland Conference. Also of interest to me is 7’3” 352 pound Jordan Wilmore. I am curious just to see this young man who must be an absolute load in the paint. He played 28 games, starting 12, for Northwestern St.
During the 22-23 campaign Austin Peay averaged 66.7 ppg while giving up 72.3 ppg. As a team they shot 41.5% from the field and 32.2% from 3. Opponents shot 47.8% overall and 34.1% from 3. The Governors averaged 11.7 turnovers per game and shot 72.7 from the charity stripe. Opponents out rebounded them by an average of 3.9 boards per game.
The game is on ESPN+ and MASN.
My prediction: Gipson's Northwestern St. team made its mark on the defensive end last season. They led the Southland in scoring defense (72.1 ppg). They ranked 37th in the NCAA in steals per game (8.3) and turnovers forced per game (14.8). Northwestern State also took care of the basketball better than any team in the Southland, leading the league in fewest turnovers per game (11.9) while ranking second in the conference and 34th in Division I in turnover margin (+2.9).
When I originally saw Austin Peay on our schedule and looked at their dismal performance last year I immediately thought easy win. Not so much now. I expect them to be vastly improved under the direction of Gipson.
GMU wins a close one 75-72.
Discuss.
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