Austin Peay

Pittman should play more minutes than he has all year.
Gary Johnson should not even attempt to warm up for this game.
Atchley should get >12 points in the paint.
We should out rebound them by >13 boards.
Chapman and Wangname should be playing well with 5pts 5 boards each by the time the night is over.

We should be up by 20 with 5 mins left so our starters can rest for at least 3 mins.

SHOULD
 
Another welcome to the Peay'ers. Congratulations on the tourney bid and here is to a good game.
 
Hello gecko,

What is the key when they win? Well, that is difficult to answer but it is a veteran team (starting three seniors and two juniors) so chemistry and experience which comes from several years of playing together. Although they are usually outsized in height they have been known to outrebound bigger teams. Lockett and Fields both have tremendous hops. They tend to win when they buckle down defensively and while their defense was suspect early in the season they really put the clamps on some teams down the stretch. They are one of the best teams in the country at getting to the line for free throws. They are well disciplined and well coached and exhibit poise if they happen to get behind. To be as honest as possibly I can though - they rack up wins when they begin conference play and the OVC is not what it used to be. Further, last years OVC POY is Drake Reed who single handedly tore up teams last year so this year nearly every team doubled him everytime he got the ball. This left others open and their OVC opponents paid the price for the gamble. Uhm, I think Texas is a whole other animal. Basically, though, when they play as a unit then they are a very good basketball team. The Govs have some good athletes and play unselfishly.
 
Okay, lets introduce to you this team of no names; Likely Starters:

1. Derek "The Blur" Wright: PG, 5'9" Senior: Our diminuitive floor general is called "The Blur" because of his outstanding quickness. Don't know if he will be the quickest Guard you have seen this year but is probably close to it. Governors all time leader in steals - don't blink or he'll take the ball from you. DJ has become a true gem for the Govs this year and truly blossomed into a great little floor General. Has the ability to break down a defender and penetrate. Usually makes sound decisions with the ball. Looks first to penetrate and dish rather than score although he can certainly fill the hole if left open - scored 42 in one game this season. Despite physical stature, is not afraid to take it amongst the trees and to the hole.

2. Kyle Duncan - 6'5" G/F Junior: "KD" is the primary perimeter "lockdown defender." Whoever is the biggest threat from the outside on the Longhorn's team, Duncan will be assigned the matchup. Has the ability to score but his primary purpose is to stop the outside threat on defense. Held First Team OVC Price of TSU (avg. 18 ppg) to 3 pts in the OVC Final.

3. Todd "The Babber" Babbington - 6'5" G Senior: The Babber is the primary outside shooter. Three point specialist. Comes well off the screen and has a quick release. Has been known to be somewhat of a streaky shooter but was very consistant down the stretch and nailed 6-8 threes in the OVC Final. Was once a defensive liability but really shored up that part of his game this year and has become a pretty good defender. If his threes are going then, well, it's a glorious thing, man.

4. Fernandez "The Rocket" Lockett - 6'4" F Junior: 6'4" Forward? Yes, and he plays well above the rim which is why he is called "The Rocket." TREMENDOUS hops and an outstanding athlete altogether. Made Sports Centers "Top Ten Plays" last week with one of his gravity defying dunks. He has had some big offensive games for the Peay but the criticism is that he does not realize how good he is or how good he can be. Hence, sometimes indecisive. A very quick player who has the ability to abuse defenders if isolated on him.

5. Drake "The Enforcer" Reed - 6'5" F Junior: The Enforcer was the OVC POY last year. Has a wide variety of moves and is a workhorse-like warrior inthe paint. Has an amazing ability to get to the basket but one of his deadliest weapons and one which is becoming a rarity is that he has an outstanding mid-ranged jumper. Can also step out and hit a three on occassion. Very strong upper body. The Governors strategy in every game is to first try to get the ball into Drake's hands. Nearly every OVC team doubled him up this year. Oh yes, and he can shoot equally well with either hand and has the ability to switch hands in mid air to get off a shot. Great touch.

THE BENCH: Wes "World Wide Wes" Channels (Soph. G) and Earnst Fields (Soph - F) will see a lot of playing time. This dynamic duo out of Memphis is the core of the Govs future. Channels established himself last year with some big games and has had some big games this year as well. Can make the big shot in pressure situations and plays full steam ahead. The Memphis Tigers could not stop him. Earnst "E-Rabbit" Fields (6'6" F) is another high flying act. Showed spurts of his potential in games last year and early in the season but everyone has been waiting for his breakout game because everyone knows Fields is going to be an outstanding Governor when his career is over. His opportunity came in the game against Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, KY in a game where the Govs could clinch the regular season title. Reed was out for that contest and Fields got his first start. About 20 points and 16 rebounds later we all knew he had finally broken out. He has been a force in every game since. TREMENDOUS leaping ability and quick off the floor. Excellent shot blocker as well especially when giving weak side help.

Caleb Brown (G) and Thomas Janusauskas (C - 7'0") might also see some action but their minutes are usually very limited.

The Govs run the High/Low offense and work inside out. One problem for opponents is that every single player on the court is a threat to score. The Governors have enjoyed very balanced scoring this year and routinely place four players in double figures. Teams in the OVC focused heavily on Reed this year because he destroyed them last season but while Reed's numbers this year do not equal his numbers from last year, the extra attention has left one Gov open and the League learned this year that the Govs are not a one horse team.

Defensively, Coach Loos plays man-to-man almost exclusively for 40 minutes. He preaches defense. This particular squad is not his best defensive team and the defense seemed non-existant early in the season. However, this team really came together later in the season and has played some outstanding D particularly in their last 5 games or so. Loos has employed some zone this year but I would expect that Texas will see man-to-man for the night unless forced into a zone.

Of all the potential matchups which were being speculated. When Texas was mentioned as a possibilty my first reaction was "No, anybody but Texas!" The Longhorns should win but don't be too surprised if the Govs put up a fight.
 
What an amazing writeup. Well done, stringmusic.

I will point out to you, that for all of Austin Peay's lack of size, They're bigger than Texas at two positions on the starting lineup.

Texas goes:

Soph 6' (more like 5'10 or 5'11) DJ Augustin
Junior 5'11 (more like 5'9 or 5'10) AJ Abrams
Soph 6'2 Justin Mason
Soph 6'7 Damion James
Redshirt Jr 6'10 Connor Atchley

All the regular reserves are front court players.

FR 6'7 Gary Johnson (6th man, but may be out with injury)
FR 6'7 Alexis Wangmene (7'1 wingspan, REALLY long arms)
SO 6'10 Dexter Pittman (299, he's BIG)
FR 6'10 Clint Chapman

SR JD Lewis is the one guard who sees time. He's about 6'1.

I went back and added classifications. As you can see, Austin Peay is a much more veteran team.

Texas is going to try to push tempo on offense. They'll look for transition baskets, but even if it's not there they'll get into their halfcourt looks as quickly as possible. They run as much screen and roll as anyone in the country, with DJ Augustin dominating the ball. It sounds like Kyle Duncan will be the person in charge of trying to guard Augustin to begin with, but he'll almost surely need help. No one stays in front of Augustin without help. Not Darren Collison. Not Russell Robinson or Mario Chalmers. Nobody.

Then someone will need to stick to AJ Abrams. His shot is so quick, and Texas does a lot of things to get him open, so he's tough to cover. He is a streaky shooter, though, so if he's off, he may not end up being a problem. If he's on, he can become practically unguardable, much like Tennessee's Chris Lofton, who you're probably more familiar with.

Justin Mason is the third guard, who has been up and down this season --- mostly down on offense. He scored over 20 in the real early game against Tennessee, and had a great game in the win over UCLA, but after that he became hesitant on his shot, and stopped looking to do anything with the ball.

On defense, he's always been the best on the ball defender. He's usually going to defend the opponent's best dribble penetrator, even if that leaves the undersized Augustin and Abrams on much taller players.

He will bring the ball up the floor sometimes and initiate the offense, with the idea being that Augustin and Abrams playing on opposite wings makes them very difficult to defend.

Damion James is one heck of an athlete, and even at 6'7 playing both the 3 and 4 positions, he's averaged over 10 rebounds per game, and is ranked 11th in the country in that category. He can also step out and shoot the 3, hitting over 40% of his shots from that distance. He can take defenders off the dribble, but it's probably the one aspect of his game he needs to improve before he heads to the league. When he grabs the rebound, he will initiate a fast break himself, rather than delaying it by getting it to a guard first.

Connor Atchley is another big man who has been able to step out and make 3 pointers with consistency. To me, it looks like he's the one guy who has been wearing down over the course of the season. He's not as physically put together as the other Texas players. He's not a weakling necessarily, but strength isn't a strong component of his game, either, and he's been averaging well over 30 minutes per game. He's the leading shotblocker in the Big 12 at over 2 per game, and he'll change multiple shots other than the ones he blocks, too. Atchley also has an underrated post game, that Texas has chosen not to employ as much as I would have liked to have seen this year.

If James and Atchley are hitting shots from beyond the arc, it makes Texas really difficult to defend, because Augustin is so good at dribble penetration. Also, if Texas can establish an inside game --- which has been pretty hit and miss all year --- whether with the guards on dribble penetration, back cuts off screens, or traditional low post feeds, then it's going to be a rough game for Austin Peay's defense.

Peay also needs to limit 2nd chance points as much as possible. Same goes for Texas, too. UT's Coach Barnes is a big emphasizer of rebounding on both ends of the court. While this team isn't constructed to be a strong rebounding team, and the statistics reflect that, because it's important to Barnes there are games where they go out and absolutely dominate opponents on the glass. The Peay players really need to concentrate on making sure that doesn't happen. Mason and James in particular are strong rebounders for their position.

Texas has been a strong man to man defensive team at times, but during the recent conference tournament they played a ton of 2-3 zone. Borrowed 5 years ago from Syracuse after the Orangemen mauled 4 Big 12 teams on the way to their national title, the 2-3 zone has provided all kinds of dividends for Barnes and Texas since then. Mostly, he's used it to save legs and fouls so he could keep his starters out on the floor as much as possible, and it's worked to that extent.

However, teams have shown an ability to hit 3s over it in bunches, including a record setting performance by the KU Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament championship game. I don't expect to see a lot of it against Peay, but the chance is there, particularly if Texas puts an emphasis on saving legs to some degree for the Sunday NCAA tournament game two days later.

A few more things. Texas leads the nation in fewest turnovers committed, but they also don't do much to create turnovers of their own. They prefer getting back in transition, and executing sound fundamental defense in the halfcourt. They may employ some press as a change up, but it won't be a game long philosophy. If Peay ends up committing a bunch of turnovers, it will be almost solely because they didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball. Texas would prefer to limit Peay's field goal percentage than to create turnovers.

I'll have to commit seppuku if Austin Peay ends up pulling a Santa Clara over Arizona or a Hampton over Iowa State, but the fact remains that a #15 seed has beaten a #2 before, so maybe this is the third one. Big upsets can't happen unless a team faces overwhelming odds, and big upsets do happen, so maybe this is another one. They play the games for a reason, and that reason is that no one truly knows what the outcome will be.

Thanks again for the great writeup. I hope you like your time on this board this week. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Enjoy the tournament. I love this event, and I love this time of year.
 
Great scouting report-thank you for all the info. We will have more to look for as we watch this game now. A team with a polished senior point guard can always be counted on to be pesky in the NCAA's. Hopefully, not too much.
You know, I have always hated peas.
 
Great write-ups on both sides. Welcome Peay's. I am a bit concerned with the 6'5" perimiter shooter being guarded by DJ or AJ. The little general could also cause foul trouble but some bench players to note:

Dexter Pittman - big *** center who lives in the paint and makes you earn them from the stripe. He will probably see increased playing time and will rack up a few block, boards, and even more fouls in short order.

Wangmene - high energy forward who plays phsically and will get some tough boards he can also score some points in the ten foot area.

Johnson - forwards who hopefully will not see much playing time. This guy is a small forward who plays with more energy than anyone else on the team. He gets some tough paint points for a littler guy but has a bum leg that he will hopefully get to rest.

Chapman - Center. Not a whole lot to say. He is a pretty good defender in the paint but can get a little too far away from home at times and gets burned. He gets some defensive rebounds but is mostly there to hold down the fort while Atchley sits in foul trouble. This is no small role in the tourney though because Atchley will need some rest to make a deep run. He is solid.
 
With Wangmene being more aggressive in the post lately, this could be a nice game for him. Same with Pittman. Upsets like these happen when the higher seeds get lights out from the outside, so if UT plays aggressively on defense, they'll be fine. Still, after an emotional weekend in KC, something tells me we're going to be frustrated at halftime. There is a huge difference between a 15 and 16 seed, and Peay was the class of the OVC all year so it'll be no easy task, but UT should be fine in the end if they play their game.

Thanks to the Gov fans for their posts here. I'll enjoy hearing the Let's Go Peay cheers! You'll also have thousands of Memphis fans on your side plus those from Arkansas who hold all things burnt orange in extreme disregard. Fortunately for us Horn fans, the road environment in Little Rock won't be what UT had to go through yesterday.
 
These threads always worry me when I am finished reading...It seems like by their write ups that this team will easily hang with us...let's hope they are wrong.
 
The Governors radio sports announcer will probably give the Longhorn players some good ones. If you get the chance, even if but for one or two minutes, tune in to the Peay broadcast of the game. Greg Walker is a legend and his calls have been featured on Mike & Mike. The Illini fans who listened to him during our game with them last year wanted to hire him and they were serious! Some Walkerisms:

A made three: "BAM!" or "BAAYYYYYYUUUUMMMMMM!"
made free throw: "He twinkles the twine." "He tickles the net."
MIssed free throw: "Doink." "He doinked it."
A Fanatastic Dunk: "THUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNDDDAAAAA!"
A very good player: "He's a clean act."
Jai Lewis of George Mason: "He's huge. Two cheeseburgers shy of 300."

See, Walker gives all the Gov players a nickname and that is what they are called. Very passionate in his calls and there is no doubt as to who he wants to win but his calls are also fair and a good opposing player will get major props.
 
Thank you very much for the information, SL Express.

Well, I am not under any delusions. I know that the chances for a Governor victory are exceptionally slim. Texas is not just a great team, they are a beast. Still, the hope is that if Austin Peay plays to their capability and Texas comes out sluggish or looking toward a potential next opponent that the Govs can make the game interesting.

Texas may want to emply a press early because the Govs have not been pressed that much this year. Austin Peay does not want this game to become an uptempo affair. Their comfort zone is in the halfcourt and Coach Loos has a maxim of trying to keep opponents under 70 points.

Augustin? I really don't know what to do about him. No one can stop him so what do you do? Just try to contain the other four? Play a zone in hopes of keeping out of the interior and further hoping that the open outside looks will not fall on that particular day? Poke him in the eye?

So, while you said that the Longhorns may employ a press but not for the full 40 minutes that is one thing which is a concern to me. The Govs may handle it fine but may also fall apart under the pressure. They just haven't been pressed that much this year.

I've gotten some conflicting reports on the Longhorn rebounding prowess. Some say they really hit the glass and others have said they are not that good a rebounding team. I think the Governor Forwards can hang on the boards with teams of greater height. It is the teams that have the wide bodys inside which is where they have run into trouble. Players that take up a lot of space and can bull their way to the basket.
 
What height advantage?
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The combined height of all Horns who average 7 minutes or more is 44 feet, 4 inches. The combined height of the Guvs who average 7 minutes or more is 50 feet, 3 inches. They are almost 6 feet taller than us.
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We're doooooooooomed.

Seriously, though, I think the height advantage is overblown. We do have a 5 inch advantage at the 5 and and 3 more inches at the 4, but I have seen all too many games when smaller players play "bigger" than taller opponents. And we aren't known for playing all that big ourselves. If these guys can box out and jump, we may not have all that big of an advantage inside.

If we are going to win this one (and I think we will, with points to spare), it's going to be because of our skills, not our size.

Hook 'Em!
 
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