Thursday, November 30
Houston, Texas
7 p.m.
UT Martin
at
Rice
SKYHAWK MEN'S HOOPS HEADS TO LONE STAR STATE FOR FIRST-EVER MATCHUP AGAINST RICE
11/29/2023 10:21:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The second leg of a three-game road swing for the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball squad takes place in Houston, Texas as the Skyhawks square off against the Rice Owls out of the American Athletic Conference on Thursday, Nov. 30. Tipoff time from Tudor Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m.
This marks the first meeting on the hardwood between UT Martin and Rice. The Skyhawk program is making their first visit to the Lone Star State since Dec. 18, 2019 when UT Martin took on No. 10 Baylor as part of the Battleground 2k19 event at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The Skyhawks (5-2) are off to their best seven-game start to a season since 2016-17, entering the week ranking second in NCAA Division I men's basketball in defensive rebounding per game (34.86), sixth in total rebounding per game (46.57) and 15th in fastbreak points (18.14 per outing). UT Martin currently tops the Ohio Valley Conference in seven different statistical categories, including scoring offense (86.0 points per contest) and field goal percentage defense (.399).
Last Saturday, the Skyhawks' road trip opened with a 94-71 triumph at Chicago State - the program's largest margin of victory for a nonconference road game since March 19, 2015. Jordan Sears (27 points) and Jacob Crews (career-best 25 points) combined to shoot 74 percent (17-of-23) from the floor and became the first UT Martin teammates to each score 25-plus points in the same game since the 2019-20 season finale. For his efforts, Sears was named OVC Player of the Week and one of six Mid-Major Madness Players of the Week.
Winners of 19 games and participating in the College Basketball Invitational a year ago, the Owls (1-5) are coming off an appearance in the Ball Dawgs Classic in Henderson, Nev. Travis Evee averaged a team-best 19.0 points in the three-game event while Max Fiedler scored 9.7 points per outing with team-highs in field goal percentage (.571), rebounding (9.3 per game) and assists (4.3 per contest).
Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ while live stats are also available. Those links can be found above.
This marks the first meeting on the hardwood between UT Martin and Rice. The Skyhawk program is making their first visit to the Lone Star State since Dec. 18, 2019 when UT Martin took on No. 10 Baylor as part of the Battleground 2k19 event at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The Skyhawks (5-2) are off to their best seven-game start to a season since 2016-17, entering the week ranking second in NCAA Division I men's basketball in defensive rebounding per game (34.86), sixth in total rebounding per game (46.57) and 15th in fastbreak points (18.14 per outing). UT Martin currently tops the Ohio Valley Conference in seven different statistical categories, including scoring offense (86.0 points per contest) and field goal percentage defense (.399).
Last Saturday, the Skyhawks' road trip opened with a 94-71 triumph at Chicago State - the program's largest margin of victory for a nonconference road game since March 19, 2015. Jordan Sears (27 points) and Jacob Crews (career-best 25 points) combined to shoot 74 percent (17-of-23) from the floor and became the first UT Martin teammates to each score 25-plus points in the same game since the 2019-20 season finale. For his efforts, Sears was named OVC Player of the Week and one of six Mid-Major Madness Players of the Week.
Winners of 19 games and participating in the College Basketball Invitational a year ago, the Owls (1-5) are coming off an appearance in the Ball Dawgs Classic in Henderson, Nev. Travis Evee averaged a team-best 19.0 points in the three-game event while Max Fiedler scored 9.7 points per outing with team-highs in field goal percentage (.571), rebounding (9.3 per game) and assists (4.3 per contest).
Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ while live stats are also available. Those links can be found above.
Players Mentioned
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