Thursday, December 18
Nashville, Tenn.
7:30 p.m.
UT Martin
at
Tennessee State
UT Martin Travels To Music City For Tomorrow's OVC Opener At Tennessee State
12/17/2025 8:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference portion of the University of Tennessee at Martin's 2025-26 men's basketball schedule starts with an in-state showdown tomorrow at Tennessee State. Tipoff from the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn. is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
UT Martin enters league play with the best record in the OVC at 8-3. The Skyhawks' .727 winning percentage is the highest in the program's 34-year NCAA Division I Era heading into OVC play (minimum three games played). UT Martin currently tops the OVC in scoring defense (65.5 points per contest), opponent three-point field goal percentage (.270, 14th nationally), rebounding margin (+10.7, 16th nationally) and three-point field goals made (8.8 per outing).
This matchup marks the third time that the Skyhawks have opened their OVC slate against the Tigers. UT Martin is 2-0 in such contests, defeating Tennessee State by a 91-75 margin at the Gentry Center to kick off the 2023-24 campaign while also winning 63-60 at home to begin the 2017-18 league schedule.
The Skyhawks are coming off a 96-52 home win over Champion Christian on Sunday. AJ Hopkins (career-high 21 points on a sizzling 7-of-9 shooting from three-point land), Lamine Niang (career-best 16 points, 10 rebounds), Pedro Santos (career-highs of 12 points, 11 rebounds, five steals) and Filip Radaković (11 points) each scored in double figures for UT Martin, who led wire-to-wire.
The Tigers - who rank fourth nationally with 11.2 steals per game - have won four of their last five decisions, including a 63-60 victory against UNLV on Saturday. Two-time OVC Player of the Week Aaron Nkrumah guided Tennessee State (6-4) with 12 points and eight rebounds while Travis Harper II (12 points) and Carlous Williams (10 points) also scored in double digits. That same trio also averaged double figures in the scoring column against the Skyhawks last season (Williams at 11.5 points per contest, Nkrumah and Harper each at 10.5 points per outing).
Links for the ESPN+ video stream, radio broadcast on WCMT 1410 AM/100.5 FM, live stats and UT Martin game notes are all located above.
UT Martin enters league play with the best record in the OVC at 8-3. The Skyhawks' .727 winning percentage is the highest in the program's 34-year NCAA Division I Era heading into OVC play (minimum three games played). UT Martin currently tops the OVC in scoring defense (65.5 points per contest), opponent three-point field goal percentage (.270, 14th nationally), rebounding margin (+10.7, 16th nationally) and three-point field goals made (8.8 per outing).
This matchup marks the third time that the Skyhawks have opened their OVC slate against the Tigers. UT Martin is 2-0 in such contests, defeating Tennessee State by a 91-75 margin at the Gentry Center to kick off the 2023-24 campaign while also winning 63-60 at home to begin the 2017-18 league schedule.
The Skyhawks are coming off a 96-52 home win over Champion Christian on Sunday. AJ Hopkins (career-high 21 points on a sizzling 7-of-9 shooting from three-point land), Lamine Niang (career-best 16 points, 10 rebounds), Pedro Santos (career-highs of 12 points, 11 rebounds, five steals) and Filip Radaković (11 points) each scored in double figures for UT Martin, who led wire-to-wire.
The Tigers - who rank fourth nationally with 11.2 steals per game - have won four of their last five decisions, including a 63-60 victory against UNLV on Saturday. Two-time OVC Player of the Week Aaron Nkrumah guided Tennessee State (6-4) with 12 points and eight rebounds while Travis Harper II (12 points) and Carlous Williams (10 points) also scored in double digits. That same trio also averaged double figures in the scoring column against the Skyhawks last season (Williams at 11.5 points per contest, Nkrumah and Harper each at 10.5 points per outing).
Links for the ESPN+ video stream, radio broadcast on WCMT 1410 AM/100.5 FM, live stats and UT Martin game notes are all located above.
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