The only comparison that could be used to describe the 2002-03 Austin Peay men’s basketball team would be a teetertooter.

In the Governors’ opening game they accomplished a task that schools like Mississippi, Villanova and Illinois couldn’t do. Austin Peay defeated John Calipari’s Memphis Tigers in overtime at the Pyramid.

However, Austin Peay has proved they play down to lower competition by losing to Evansville, University of Wisconsin at Green Bay and Tennessee Tech all away from Clarksville, Tenn.

On the other hand, the Governors’ currently hold a perfect (5-0) record on their home floor, but only two of those games included I-A opponents (Middle Tennessee State and Belmont) and therefore, Eastern may arguably be its toughest home foe when the Panthers come to the Dunn Center Thursday night.

“We have great respect for their team and coach Samuels,” Governors head coach Dave Loos said.

Austin Peay has been rendered ineffective on the offensive end by being held to less than 50 points in three games this season for the first time since 1951-52. The Governors currently rank last in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring and are coming off a 47-point performance Thursday at Tennessee Tech.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, but part of that was because of Tech’s defense,” Loos said. “I thought that they got after us pretty well.”

Along with poor shooting, the Governors also aren’t getting many-second chance opportunities by being eighth in the OVC in offensive rebounding.

The one Austin Peay starter that is struggling the most could be leading scorer Adrian Henning. In the last two OVC losses, Henning has scored a total of 18 points while shooting eight-of-24 from the floor with 11 turnovers.

“That’s been our Achilles heel this year,” Loos said. “When one guy goes south, it seems like the other guy goes south too.”

Another problem that might haunt them against the Panthers will be Austin Peay’s ability to defend from beyond the arc.

Currently, the Governors are surviving the battle on the perimeter by making up for their title as the OVC worst three-point defense with the conferences best three-point attack, averaging at least seven per game.

“What we have been doing is going to those perimeter shots first, but we prefer to play inside-out,” Loos said.

Austin Peay is also concerned with its long layoff. The team has been between games because of a weather postponement of its game at Tennessee State. The Governors have not seen game action since Jan. 16.

“It was disappointing, but that was the hand we were dealt with the weather and there isn’t much you can do about it,” Loos said.