Eastern Kentucky (11-11) vs Austin Peay (9-13)
February 1, 2025 at 04:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Eastern Kentucky -8 — Over/Under: 144.5
The Austin Peay Governors and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels meet Saturday in college basketball action from EKU Alumni Coliseum. Here’s an Austin Peay vs Eastern Kentucky prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Austin Peay vs Eastern Kentucky pick. We will examine:
The Austin Peay Governors’ recent form and player performance
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Austin Peay Governors
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Recent betting trends in games played between Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Austin Peay vs Eastern Kentucky game
Austin Peay Governors Betting Preview
The Governors started out the year on a decent run, but they’ve only been able to win consecutive games once since mid-November. Austin Peay opened with a 4-2 stretch featuring wins over Union TN, Butler, Chattanooga, and Georgia State. Losses to Texas Arlington, East Tennessee State, Samford, Southern Illinois, Ohio, and Vanderbilt came next, then wins over Brescia and North Florida. The Governors went 2-5 in the next seven outings, beating Eastern Kentucky and Central Arkansas alongside losses to Jacksonville, West Georgia, Queens U, Lipscomb, and North Alabama, giving the team an 8-13 overall run through the first 21 games.
On Thursday versus Bellarmine, the Governors blew a 42-31 halftime lead but eventually recovered well enough for an 86-77 victory in overtime. Leading the way with a double-double was Sai Witt with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Anton Brookshire added 21 points with five assists and one rebound, and Isaac Haney had 17 bench points with four boards.
Eastern Kentucky Colonels Betting Preview
Over on the Eastern Kentucky side, they started out the year on a reasonable run as well, but it’s been choppy seas since late November for them as well. The Colonels won four of their first six over Alice Lloyd, East Tennessee State, Chicago State, and Southern Illinois. A 2-5 run came next with wins over Cambellsville-Harrodsburg and Eastern Illinois among losses to Louisiana Tech, Troy, Pitt, Jacksonville State, and Louisville. A 4-4 run came in the next eight outings with wins over Central Arkansas, North Florida, Bellarmine, and Florida Gulf Coast mixed with losses to North Alabama, Jacksonville, Austin Peay, and Stetson. The result through the first 21 games of the season was a 10-11 overall record for the Colonels.
In their game Thursday versus Lipscomb, the Colonels held a seven-point edge in the locker room. Eastern Kentucky kept it up in the second half with a 43-41 run and took the road victory 80-71 in the end. Leading the team in scoring with a double-double was Devontae Blanton with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Turner Buttry added 15 points, and Montavious Myrick had 10 boards with two assists and six points in 29 minutes.
Why the Eastern Kentucky Colonels will win
- Austin Peay has lost eight of its last nine road day games against the ASUN Conference.
- Eastern Kentucky has won 13 of its last 15 games at Baptist Health Arena following a road win.
- Eastern Kentucky has won the first half in seven of its last eight home day games against the ASUN Conference.
Why the Austin Peay Governors Will Win
- Eastern Kentucky has lost six of its last seven day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Austin Peay has won five of its last six games following an overtime win.
Austin Peay vs Eastern Kentucky Prediction
I’ll stick with Eastern Kentucky. You could make a case either way, though. The Colonels posted a pretty solid road win over a decent Lipscomb team in their last game, notching 42.9 percent shooting with 41 rebounds and just seven turnovers. EKU held the Bisons to just 38.7 percent shooting on the other side and scored 10 points off eight turnovers. That makes 161 combined points in the last two games for Eastern Kentucky.
These teams last saw each other on January 16 in a tight 97-90 overtime home win for the Governors. Austin Peay shot well in that one (47.8 percent) while the Colonels didn’t (36.8 percent). That said, EKU notched a dominant 50-39 edge on the boards (17-6 offensive) which helped them dig out of the 40-31 hole at halftime. We should be in for another competitive outing in the rematch; it’ll be a fun one to watch.