Austin Peay vs Jacksonville Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/4/25

The Austin Peay Governors and the Jacksonville Dolphins meet Saturday in college basketball action from Swisher Gym. Here’s an Austin Peay vs Jacksonville prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Austin Peay vs Jacksonville pick. We will examine:

The Austin Peay Governors’ recent form and player performance

The Jacksonville Dolphins’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Austin Peay Governors

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Jacksonville Dolphins

Recent betting trends in games played between Austin Peay and Jacksonville

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Austin Peay vs Jacksonville game

Austin Peay Governors Betting Preview

The Governors’ 2024-25 season kicked off on a 3-0 run and things were looking good. Austin Peay took out Union TN, Butler, and Chattanooga in that time, but would only beat Georgia State over the next nine games. Otherwise, it was losses to Tennessee, Morehead State, Texas-Arlington, East Tennessee State, Samford, Southern Illinois, Ohio, and Vanderbilt at that time. Since then Austin Peay has taken out Brescia and North Florida for a 6-8 overall record.

In the North Florida game on Thursday, the Governors came out of halftime looking at a 44-34 deficit. Austin Peay came alive in the second half however, surging on a 63-45 run for a comeback win 97-89 in the end. Tops in scoring for the Governors was Anton Brookshire, who came off the bench for 25 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Both Sai Witt (seven rebounds; two steals) and LJ Thomas (nine rebounds, three assists) contributed 23 points apiece, and Tate McCubbin had 13 bench points with four rebounds in the victory.

Jacksonville Dolphins Betting Preview

Over on the Jacksonville side, their 2024-25 season kicked off with a win over Trinity Baptist before losses to Florida and Furman. The Dolphins would beat South Carolina State and Virginia Tech in the next pair but haven’t won consecutive games since then. It’s been a 3-5 stretch over the last eight games featuring victories over Siena, Florida Tech, and East Tennessee State. The losses have come courtesy of Georgia, Mercer, Florida Atlantic, UCF, and Lipscomb for a 6-7 overall record for Jacksonville thus far in the season.

Matched up against Lipscomb on their latest matchup on Thursday, the Dolphins put up a 38-27 deficit in the first half. Jacksonville got better from there on a 38-32 run but still took the loss 70-65 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Robert McCray with 22 points and two assists alongside four turnovers. Also in double-figures was Jakari Spence with 14 points, four assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Enrico Borio led the bench players with six points as well.

Why the Jacksonville Dolphins will win

• Austin Peay has lost seven of its last eight road day games against Conference opponents.
• Jacksonville has won 18 of its last 21 day games at Swisher Gymnasium against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Jacksonville has won the first half in 18 of its last 22 day games at Swisher Gymnasium.

Why the Austin Peay Governors Will Win

• Jacksonville has lost seven of its last eight day games against Conference opponents.
• Austin Peay has won 10 of its last 12 games against Conference opponents.
• Austin Peay has won the first half in six of its last eight day games against Conference opponents.

Austin Peay vs Jacksonville Prediction

I’ll probably just stay with Austin Peay in this one. The Governors really started slowly in their last outing versus North Florida, but to their credit came back for a huge second half in a big victory. Austin Peay shot 51.9 percent from the field in that one with 34-of-39 (87.2 percent) from the line and a 35-31 rebounding edge. The Governors have scored a combined 190 points in their last two games, which is great news. Austin Peay had posted 60 or fewer in six straight (all losses) prior to that.

As for Jacksonville, they gave up 56.4 percent shooting in their latest matchup versus Lipscomb and got out-rebounded 24-23. The Dolphins also coughed up 15 turnovers for 20 points in a pretty sloppy overall game. Jacksonville hasn’t been scoring well lately, with fewer than 67 points in four straight games (a 1-3 stretch). It would be encouraging to see both teams notch a big shooting performance in a high-scoring game here, but that’s probably not in the cards. I like Austin Peay slightly better cover-wise but it’s probably not one I’m going to mess with in reality anyway.