Wednesday, December 10
Carbondale, Ill.
7 p.m.
UT Martin
at
Southern Illinois
Ascending UT Martin Squad Makes Short Trek To Southern Illinois Tomorrow
12/9/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – For the first time in over three weeks, the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team faces a true road test as the Skyhawks take on the Southern Illinois Salukis out of the Missouri Valley Conference. Tipoff from Carbondale, Ill. is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow on ESPN+.
UT Martin is flying high as its 7-2 record is tied for the best nine-game start in the program's NCAA Division I Era (since 1992). The Skyhawks - whose last five contests have been at home or neutral sites - are 2-1 on the road so far in 2025-26, including triumphs at UNLV (86-81 on Nov. 4) and Bradley (78-67 on Nov. 12).
A stifling defense has been UT Martin's calling card this season as the Skyhawks entered the week ranking in the top-25 in NCAA Division I men's hoops in opponent three-point field goal percentage (.270, 19th), scoring defense (65.0 points per game, 23rd) and opponent field goal percentage (.382, 25th).
UT Martin has won three straight contests, including a 74-64 triumph over reigning SouthWestern Athletic Conference champion Alabama State on Sunday. In that game, the Skyhawks received incredibly balanced scoring from Andrija Bukumirović (15 points, career-best 13 rebounds), Matas Deniusas (15 points), Filip Radaković (14 points) and Damien King (career-highs of 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals off the bench). Bukumirović became the ninth different player in UT Martin's NCAA Division I history to nab a double-double in three straight games while Deniusas – crowned as a five-time Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week yesterday – topped the Skyhawks in scoring for the fourth time in the past five outings.
Southern Illinois (5-4) is coming off an impressive 86-84 road victory last Wednesday at High Point, a consensus top-100 team across various NCAA Division I rankings. Damien Mayo, Jr.'s game-high 22 points paced four Salukis in double figures scoring as Southern Illinois sank 45.5 percent (10-for-22) of its three-point tries to help overcome a 46-34 halftime deficit.
Links to watch the ESPN+ video stream, follow along with live stats and browse UT Martin's game notes can all be found above.
UT Martin is flying high as its 7-2 record is tied for the best nine-game start in the program's NCAA Division I Era (since 1992). The Skyhawks - whose last five contests have been at home or neutral sites - are 2-1 on the road so far in 2025-26, including triumphs at UNLV (86-81 on Nov. 4) and Bradley (78-67 on Nov. 12).
A stifling defense has been UT Martin's calling card this season as the Skyhawks entered the week ranking in the top-25 in NCAA Division I men's hoops in opponent three-point field goal percentage (.270, 19th), scoring defense (65.0 points per game, 23rd) and opponent field goal percentage (.382, 25th).
UT Martin has won three straight contests, including a 74-64 triumph over reigning SouthWestern Athletic Conference champion Alabama State on Sunday. In that game, the Skyhawks received incredibly balanced scoring from Andrija Bukumirović (15 points, career-best 13 rebounds), Matas Deniusas (15 points), Filip Radaković (14 points) and Damien King (career-highs of 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals off the bench). Bukumirović became the ninth different player in UT Martin's NCAA Division I history to nab a double-double in three straight games while Deniusas – crowned as a five-time Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week yesterday – topped the Skyhawks in scoring for the fourth time in the past five outings.
Southern Illinois (5-4) is coming off an impressive 86-84 road victory last Wednesday at High Point, a consensus top-100 team across various NCAA Division I rankings. Damien Mayo, Jr.'s game-high 22 points paced four Salukis in double figures scoring as Southern Illinois sank 45.5 percent (10-for-22) of its three-point tries to help overcome a 46-34 halftime deficit.
Links to watch the ESPN+ video stream, follow along with live stats and browse UT Martin's game notes can all be found above.
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballSkyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 18
Tuesday, January 06
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 17
Tuesday, December 16
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 16
Tuesday, December 09
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 15
Tuesday, December 02