The Pinkie Previews: Austin Peay (7-4) at Kentucky (10-0)

Kentucky played their best 40 minutes of the season last week in Bloomington. Following the convincing win, attention quickly turned to final exams. After a week off from game action, the ‘Cats focus now turns to the Austin Peay Governors of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Head Coach Dave Loos has turned the Austin Peay program into a model of consistency. Year in and year out, they are a team to deal with in the OVC. In fact, they have finished in the top five of the regular season standings the last seven seasons. The Governors are only 11 games into their season but it has been a busy one for Loos. He recorded his 400th victory against Southeast Missouri and then in their win against Ohio, he became the all-time winningest coach in OVC history.

Anyone else have to peay?

After being picked to finish third in the preseason OVC poll, behind Morehead State and Murray State, they started the season off with a 2-4 record, with losses at Tennessee and at home against IUPUI, NC  State and Drake.  Since that 2-4 start they have reeled off five strait victories to improve their record to 7-4.

They now must put that five-game streak on the line as they face the #3 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. This is the first time that the Governors have faced the #3 team in the country since 2007 when they faced John Calipari’s Memphis squad and lost 104-82.

This Austin Peay squad is led by senior guard Wesley Channels. Channels was a second-team All-OVC selection and made the OVC All-Tournament team a year ago. This season he was selected to the preseason All-OVC team.

He is an aggresive player on both ends of the court and has continuously improved his defensive game. He had 52 steals in his sophomore campaign and 42 last year. He owns tremendous court awareness and when effective he has the ability to control the speed of the game. He posssesses good speed and quickness and has the ability to attack the rim. At 6-3, he is a strong player and is very effective at posting smaller guards up on the block.

This season his scoring is down a bit from last year with 14.1 ppg, but that could be attributed to the fact that he is only shooting 38-percent from the field. He is also averaging 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game.

Sophomore Anthony Campbells is the Governors’ leading scorer with 15.3 ppg and he does most of his damage from beyond the arc. He has connected on 25 of his 51 attempts from deep and nearly half of his overall attempts are from three-point range.

Besides his shooting ability, he is a fundamentally sound basketball player and a willing defender. At 6-6, he is a very effective rebounder with nearly five a game.

At 6-8, 220-pounds, John Fraley handles the business underneath for Loos’ squad. The sophomore saw the court in spots a year ago but continued to improve and now has been inserted into the starting lineup. Fraley’s motor is continuously running and he uses his wide body and upper-body strength to bring down a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per game. He also has the ability to score from the post, which is evident by his 8.9 ppg.

Duran Roberson, a 6-8 junior, is a player who has shown ability during his time at Austin Peay but has struggled with his strength. This season he is showing signs on the offensive end with 7.5 ppg, while shooting 60-percent from the field, but still struggles on the defensive side of things. Much like Perry Stevenson, he is a decent weak-side defender who can slide over to contest shots, but he is easily pushed around underneath.

Helping out John Fraley on the glass is the 6-8 sophomore, Marcell Williams. Underneath, Williams is a rugged and aggresive player with a strong reputation as a rebounder and shot blocker. During his freshman campaign, he was looked to at the defensive end but he developed some offensive skill sets in the off-season. He is their fifth leading score with 7.2 ppg and is shooting over 50-percent from the field.

Starting at the point guard position for the Governors is junior Caleb Brown. After moving into the starting spot last year, Brown has lacked consistency and is now looking over his shoulder at sophomore Tyrone Caldwell. Brown is a solid decision maker with 3.2 assists and only 1.4 turnovers, but he is not a great scoring threat and has only connected on two deep balls all season long. He is shooting 17-percent from beyond the arc.

Caldwell got some starts a year ago and could again be inserted into that role. He is a fundamentally sound player who brings tremendous court vision and awareness to the game. He has the ability to get to the hole and is improving his outside game. At 6.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 turnovers, his numbers are very similar to Brown’s, but he provides them with improved perimeter shooting.

This is a game that Kentucky should win, but it will provide a decent test for them after a week off. You know that Austin Peay is going to be well-coached and fundamentally sound simply because Dave Loos is there, as he has been what seems like the last 60 years.

I am anxious to see if Kentucky is once again as proficient as they were in the half-court set as they were against Indiana. I did not expect the ‘Cats to execute like that in their half-court offense all season long, much less the 10th game of the season.

Everyone knows that Kentucky’s struggles defensively have related to perimeter shooting. Channels and Campbell have the ability to keep the Governors in the game with their outside shooting. If they do not get into a groove from deep, it could be a long day for Austin Peay.