Austin Peay (7-4, 3-2) vs. UT Martin (3-6, 1-4)
Skyhawk Arena, Martin, Tennessee; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Austin Peay looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over UT Martin. Austin Peay has won by an average of 9 points in its last six wins over the Skyhawks. UT Martin’s last win in the series came on Feb. 23, 2017, a 76-72 win.
TEAM LEADERS: UT Martin’s Cameron Holden has averaged 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds while Eden Holt has put up 9.9 points. For the Governors, Terry Taylor has averaged 21.2 points and 11.4 rebounds while Reginald Gee has put up 10.9 points.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Skyhawks have allowed only 80 points per game to conference opponents so far, an improvement from the 86 per game they allowed in non-conference play.TERRIFIC TERRY: Taylor has connected on 28.1 percent of the 32 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 5 of 18 over the last five games. He’s also made 83.3 percent of his free throws this season.
UNBEATEN WHEN: Austin Peay is a perfect 5-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 42.6 percent or less. The Governors are 2-4 when allowing opponents to shoot any better than that.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Skyhawks have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Governors. UT Martin has an assist on 35 of 67 field goals (52.2 percent) across its previous three outings while Austin Peay has assists on 36 of 80 field goals (45 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: UT Martin has attempted the second-most free throws among all OVC teams. The Skyhawks have averaged 21.2 foul shots per game this season, but that total has dropped to 18.7 over their six-game losing streak.
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