UT Martin Skyhawks (6-9, 2-2 OVC) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-7, 2-2 OVC)
Macomb, Illinois; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Western Illinois hosts UT Martin after Marko Maletic scored 25 points in Western Illinois’ 75-67 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
The Leathernecks have gone 5-1 at home. Western Illinois has a 3-5 record against opponents over .500.
The Skyhawks are 2-2 against OVC opponents. UT Martin ranks seventh in college basketball with 39.0 rebounds per game. Vladimer Salaridze paces the Skyhawks with 8.3.
Western Illinois averages 70.9 points per game, 1.6 more points than the 69.3 UT Martin allows. UT Martin’s 41.8% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than Western Illinois has allowed to its opponents (44.7%).
The Leathernecks and Skyhawks match up Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tay Knox is averaging 5.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Leathernecks.
Salaridze is averaging 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals for the Skyhawks.
LAST 10 GAMES: Leathernecks: 6-4, averaging 74.8 points, 34.5 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 5.7 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.0 points per game.
Skyhawks: 4-6, averaging 75.2 points, 39.2 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.1 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
