UT Martin (3-7, 1-5) vs. Eastern Kentucky (12-2, 6-1)
McBrayer Arena, Richmond, Kentucky; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Kentucky looks for its sixth straight conference win against UT Martin. Eastern Kentucky’s last OVC loss came against the Morehead State Eagles 75-62 on Dec. 14, 2020. UT Martin came up short in a 79-57 game at home to Murray State in its last outing.
TEAM LEADERS: Eastern Kentucky’s Tre King has averaged 17.6 points, eight rebounds and 2.1 steals while Wendell Green Jr. has put up 12.4 points and 5.3 assists. For the Skyhawks, Cameron Holden has averaged 16.8 points and eight rebounds while Jaron Williams has put up 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Skyhawks have given up just 79.8 points per game across six conference games, an improvement from the 86 per game they allowed over three non-conference games.
KEY CONTRIBUTIONS: Green has been directly responsible for 40 percent of all Eastern Kentucky field goals over the last three games. Green has 14 field goals and 24 assists in those games.
TWO STREAKS: UT Martin has dropped its last four road games, scoring 61 points and allowing 83.3 points during those contests. Eastern Kentucky is on a seven-game home winning streak, scoring an average of 83.4 points while giving up 65.1.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Colonels have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Skyhawks. Eastern Kentucky has an assist on 54 of 95 field goals (56.8 percent) across its past three outings while UT Martin has assists on 31 of 65 field goals (47.7 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Eastern Kentucky offense has scored 82.1 points per game this season, ranking the Colonels 23rd among Division 1 teams. The UT Martin defense has allowed 79.7 points per game to opponents (ranked 271st).
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