Ohio Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 19: Kevin McClain #11 of the Belmont Bruins celebrates with teammates during the second half against the Temple Owls in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 19, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

13 of 13

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – DECEMBER 28: Terry Taylor #21 of the Austin Peay Governors (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

1. Austin Peay Governors

2019-20 record: 21-12 (14-4 in OVC)

A lot of times in a conference like the Ohio Valley when you win 21 games the season prior and have the best player in the conference like Matt Figger’s Austin Peay Governors have going for them, you are likely to be considered the favorite, and when a player like senior guard Terry Taylor is surrounded by a roster that makes it hard for defenses to focus on just the star, you become a team people don’t want to play in March.

Taylor led the Governors in every major statistical category last season, except assists, averaging a double-double with 21.8 points and 11 rebounds per game and shooting 55% from the field. But, Austin Peay is not just Taylor, they have the best guard combo in the conference with Jordyn Adams and his 17.4 points and 37.7% three-point shooting returning for his sophomore season.

Another key returner is senior guard Reginald Gee who played in just six games last season after coming over from Alabama State. Before suffering an injury, Gee was averaging nine points per game, so a healthy Gee could give the Governors yet another scoring option, and Venezuelan point guard Carlos Paez dished out a team-high 3.5 assists and added 6.5 points per game as a freshman.

One issue for the Governors is that nobody on the roster that played even a reserve role is taller than Taylor at 6’5. Figger is hoping some of the new faces can fix that, Ibrahima Jarjou is a 6’9 forward from Senegal and a couple of junior-college transfers arrive, Elton Walker is a 6’5 guard who averaged 12 points and 6.6 rebounds at Miami Dade College last season and, Merdy Mongozi is a 7’0 center that saw action at South Georgia Technical College last year.

Giving Austin Peay even more size is a couple of Division I transfers in 6’9 245lb. Corbin Merritt who saw limited action at Oklahoma, and Mike Peake, a 6’8 forward who began his career at Georgia.

Next. Top 25 backcourts for 2020-21. dark

This may be the most talented roster in the conference and if things continue to come together around Taylor, they become a dangerous team and a popular upset pick in March, should they make it to the tournament.