2017–18 Austin Peay Governors basketball team

The 2017–18 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represented Austin Peay State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Governors, led by first-year head coach Matt Figger, played their home games at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 12–6 in OVC play to finish in third place. They defeated Eastern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Belmont. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Louisiana–Monroe in the first round, a game referred to as the Coach John McLendon Classic, and received a second round bye before losing in the quarterfinals to UIC.

2017–18 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball
Coach John McLendon Classic champions
CIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	19–15 (12–6 OVC)
Head coach	Matt Figger (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Rick Cabrera Dalonte Hill Sergio Rouco
Home arena	Dunn Center
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Murray State †	16	–	2		.889			26	–	6		.813
Belmont	15	–	3		.833			24	–	9		.727
Austin Peay	12	–	6		.667			19	–	15		.559
Jacksonville State	11	–	7		.611			23	–	13		.639
Tennessee Tech	10	–	8		.556			19	–	14		.576
Tennessee State	10	–	8		.556			15	–	15		.500
Southeast Missouri State*	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Eastern Illinois	7	–	11		.389			12	–	19		.387
SIU Edwardsville	5	–	13		.278			9	–	21		.300
UT Martin	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Morehead State	4	–	14		.222			8	–	21		.276
*ineligible for postseason due to APR violations
† 2018 OVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Governors finished the 2016–17 season 11–19, 7–9 in OVC play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They failed to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

On March 2, 2017, head coach Dave Loos announced his retirement. He had been undergoing cancer treatment during the season, and had taken a medical leave in January 2017, missing four games.^[1] He finished with a 27 year record of 420–410. On April 3, South Carolina assistant Matt Figger was hired as the new head coach of APSU.^[2]

Preseason

In a vote of conference coaches and sports information directors, Austin Peay was picked to finish in 11th place in the OVC.^[3]

After five years of divisional play in the OVC, the conference eliminated divisions for the 2017–18 season. Additionally, for the first time, each conference team will play 18 conference games.^[3]

Roster

2017–18 Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Acoydan McCarthy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Las Palmas, Spain G 1 Tre’ Ivory 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Louisville, Kentucky G/F 2 Deyshawn Martin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania F 3 Chris Porter-Bunton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 217 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Bowling Green, Kentucky G 4 Dayton Gumm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Fr Bowling Green, Kentucky G 10 Ferran Bernacer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Fr Portocolom, Spain G 11 Ed Stephens 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Sr Columbia, South Carolina C 15 Ivan Cucak 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Kitchener, Ontario G 21 Terry Taylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Fr Bowling Green, Kentucky F 22 Richard Henderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Maryland Heights, Missouri G/F 23 Steve Harris 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr St. Louis, Missouri F 24 Averyl Ugba 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Silver Spring, Maryland G 25 Zach Glotta 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr O'Fallon, Missouri	Head coach Matt Figger (Eastern Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Rick Cabrera (Tennessee Tech) Dalonte Hill (UNC Charlotte) Sergio Rouco (Nova Southeastern) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 6, 2017

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2017* 7:00 pm		Sewanee	W 95–78		Dunn Center (1,974) Clarksville, TN
Non-conference regular Season
Nov 10, 2017* 8:30 pm, SECN		at Vanderbilt NIT Season Tip-Off	L 54–73	0–1	Memorial Gymnasium (8,609) Nashville, TN
Nov 13, 2017* 6:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Virginia NIT Season Tip-Off	L 49–93	0–2	John Paul Jones Arena (12,995) Charlottesville, VA
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm		Oakland City NIT Season Tip-Off	W 109–50	1–2	Dunn Center (1,178) Clarksville, TN
Nov 19, 2017* 2:00 pm		UNC Asheville NIT Season Tip-Off	L 79–82 OT	1–3	Dunn Center (2,017) Clarksville, TN
Nov 22, 2017* 3:00 pm		Bethel (TN) Played at Fort Campbell military installation	W 90–58	2–3	Shaw Fitness Center (726) Hopkinsville, KY
Nov 26, 2017* 2:00 pm		Miami (OH)	W 86–61	3–3	Dunn Center (1,164) Clarksville, TN
Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSOK+		at Oklahoma State	L 63–79	3–4	Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,697) Stillwater, OK
Dec 2, 2017* 3:30 pm		Alabama A&M	W 67–47	4–4	Dunn Center (1,417) Clarksville, TN
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN		at Illinois	L 57–64	4–5	State Farm Center (12,352) Champaign, IL
Dec 16, 2017* 3:00 pm		at Evansville	L 74–78	4–6	Ford Center (3,403) Evansville, IN
Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm		Troy	W 75–73	5–6	Dunn Center (1,51) Clarksville, TN
Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm		Western Kentucky	L 55–72	5–7	Dunn Center (2,023) Clarksville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference regular season
Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm		SIU Edwardsville	W 78–58	6–7 (1–0)	Dunn Center (1,648) Clarksville, TN
Dec 30, 2017 7:00 pm		Eastern Illinois	W 70–54	7–7 (2–0)	Dunn Center (2,051) Clarksville, TN
Jan 4, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN		UT Martin	W 75–69	8–7 (3–0)	Dunn Center (1,737) Clarksville, TN
Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm		Southeast Missouri State	W 76–71	9–7 (4–0)	Dunn Center (1,825) Clarksville, TN
Jan 11, 2018 7:30 pm		at Tennessee Tech	L 74–86	9–8 (4–1)	Eblen Center (1,334) Cookeville, TN
Jan 13, 2018 4:30 pm		at Jacksonville State	W 87–67	10–8 (5–1)	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,933) Jacksonville, AL
Jan 18, 2018 7:30 pm		at Tennessee State	L 56–70	10–9 (5–2)	Gentry Complex (1,301) Nashville, TN
Jan 20, 2018 5:00 pm		at Belmont	L 59–83	10–10 (5–3)	Curb Event Center (2,731) Nashville, TN
Jan 25, 2018 7:30 pm		Eastern Kentucky	W 90–84	11–10 (6–3)	Dunn Center (2,326) Clarksville, TN
Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm		Morehead State	W 92–76	12–10 (7–3)	Dunn Center (2,345) Clarksville, TN
Feb 1, 2018 7:30 pm		at UT Martin	W 59–57	13–10 (8–3)	Skyhawk Arena (1,971) Martin, TN
Feb 3, 2018 4:15 pm		at Southeast Missouri State	W 96–81	14–10 (9–3)	Show Me Center (2,234) Cape Girardeau, MO
Feb 8, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at Murray State	L 63–84	14–11 (9–4)	CFSB Center (4,339) Murray, KY
Feb 10, 2018 3:15 pm		at Eastern Illinois	W 75–69	15–11 (10–4)	Lantz Arena (1,407) Charleston, IL
Feb 15, 2018 7:30 pm		Tennessee Tech	L 80–86	15–12 (10–5)	Dunn Center (1,613) Clarksville, TN
Feb 17, 2018 7:00 pm		Jacksonville State	W 60–57	16–12 (11–5)	Dunn Center (2,353) Clarksville, TN
Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm		at SIU Edwardsville	W 86–82	17–12 (12–5)	Vadalabene Center (1,583) Edwardsville, IL
Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm		Murray State	L 64–73	17–13 (12–6)	Dunn Center (4,343) Clarksville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
Mar 1, 2018 9:00 pm	(3)	vs. (7) Eastern Illinois Quarterfinals	W 73–66	18–13	Ford Center (914) Evansville, IN
Mar 2, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPNU	(3)	vs. (2) Belmont Semifinals	L 79–94	18–14	Ford Center (3,403) Evansville, IN
CIT
Mar 15, 2018* 7:00 pm		Louisiana–Monroe First round – Coach John McLendon Classic	W 80–66	19–14	Dunn Center (1,228) Clarksville, TN
Mar 21, 2018* 7:00 pm		UIC Quarterfinals	L 81–83	19–15	Dunn Center (1,121) Clarksville, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source[4].

References

1. "OVC all-time wins leader Dave Loos to retire" (Press release). Austin Peay Athletics. March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
2. Allison, Autumn (April 3, 2017). "Matt Figger officially named Austin Peay basketball coach". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
3. "Belmont Picked As 2017-18 OVC Men's Basketball Favorites; Murray State's Stark Tabbed Preseason Player of the Year". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
4. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Schedule".