CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A 1 p.m., Thursday, tilt awaits Austin Peay State University women’s basketball in the Sunshine State, as the Governors travel to Miami to compete in the Florida International Holiday Hoops Showdown. The Govs will make their first-ever appearance at the FIU Holiday Hoops Showdown, Dec. 19-20.
On day two of the tournament, Austin Peay will play at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. against either Florida International or Grambling State, depending on the results from the first day’s action. The four-team tournament is hosted by Florida International University at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
This is the second meeting in a series that dates back to 2012; the Govs lead the all-time series 1-0, with the one previous meeting being in Clarksville.
After finishing fifth in the American East Conference a season ago, the Bearcats of Binghamton were tabbed to finish fourth in the conference this season. On Tuesday morning Binghamton was one of the 12 teams in the country that still remained undefeated. That changed Tuesday night, when the Miami Hurricanes handed the Bearcats their first loss of the season, 79-56, in Coral Gables.
The Binghamton offense is the best the American East has to offer, leading the conference in scoring (71.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (42.9%), three-point percentage (36.6%) and free throw percentage (79.6%).
For the second consecutive season, and fifth time in program history, the Governors have scored 100-plus points multiple times in a season. If the Govs can score in triple-digits again, they will match the program record of three 100-point games in single season, set by the 1985-86 team.
The Governors have dominated their opponents in bench production this season, with the Govs reserves outscoring their opponents 268-169 on the season. On average, the Govs receive 12.4 more points per game off the bench than their opponent.
Starting the season 6-2, the Govs are off to their second-best eight game start with David Midlick at the helm. The 2017-18 squad started the season 7-1.
The Governors first game of the FIU Holiday Hoops Showdown against Binghamton will not be streamed. Only games played by host-school Florida International will be streamed online, so if the Govs play the Panthers on day two, that game will be available for fans to watch online.