UT Martin Skyhawks vs Morehead State Eagles Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UT Martin Skyhawks vs Morehead State Eagles

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: Ellis T. Johnson Arena in Morehead, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Morehead State Eagles (7-8) will try to beat the UT Martin Skyhawks (11-4) at Ellis T. Johnson Arena on Thursday.

The UT Martin Skyhawks took the court against Eastern Illinois and walked away with a win by a score of 65-61 in their last game. In regard to personal fouls, the Skyhawks finished with 16 and Eastern Illinois accounted for 21 personal fouls. They buried 6 out of their 24 attempts from downtown. Eastern Illinois finished shooting 65.2% from the charity stripe by making 15 of their 23 tries. Additionally, Eastern Illinois had 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Eastern Illinois recorded 13 assists and had 14 steals for the matchup. Concerning the defense, UT Martin let their opponent shoot 35.1% from the floor on 20 of 57 shooting. They also recorded 10 assists for this game in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and having 7 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 41 with 11 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Skyhawks made 22 of 26 attempts for a percentage of 84.6%. UT Martin ended having earned a 37.5% FG percentage (18 of 48) and made 7 out of their 29 3-point shots.

Matas Deniusas is someone who was a contributor in the matchup. He went 42.9% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist. He played 31 minutes and also grabbed 9 boards. He accounted for 19 points on 6 out of 14 shooting.

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UT Martin enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-4 this year. They are averaging 74.9 pts per game (234th in Division 1) while shooting 43.6% from the floor. The Skyhawks are hitting 31.7% on 3-pointers (123 of 388) and 67.9% from the free throw line. As a team, UT Martin is collecting 41.9 boards per game and has accumulated 219 assists so far this year, which is 178th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 15.1 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Skyhawks are able to force 13.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.9 personal fouls. They rank 135th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 190 surrendered on the season. The Skyhawks defense is allowing a FG percentage of 39.1% (337 of 862) and they surrender 33.0 rebounds per contest as a team. They concede 28.2% on three-point shots and they are ranked 25th in college hoops in opponents PPG (65.4).

The last time they took the court, the Morehead State Eagles got the victory with a final of 73-72 against SIU Edwardsville. In relation to how they rebounded, Morehead State allowed SIU Edwardsville to collect 25 in all (9 offensive). They finished the game shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc by shooting 8 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Eagles allowed SIU Edwardsville to make 26 of their 59 tries from the field which had them sitting at 44.1% for this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Eagles ended up shooting 25 for 47 from the field which had them sitting at 53.2%. When it comes to shots from beyond the perimeter, Morehead State converted 6 out of their 17 attempts (35.3%). They were able to bury 17 of those for a clip of 77.3%. SIU Edwardsville committed 19 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They also coughed it up 14 times, while earning 5 steals in the game. The Eagles collected 18 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 24 for the game.

Chase Dawson pitched in for the Eagles in the game. He accumulated 17 points in his 29 mins of playing time and totaled 1 assist in the game. He made 4 of 9 in this matchup giving him a rate of 44.4%, and accounted for 1 rebound.

Morehead State has a win-loss mark of 7-8 on the campaign. The Eagles are committing 17.7 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 70.3% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 14.5 times per game (174th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.1 times per contest. Morehead State has totaled 1,155 pts this season (77.0 per game) and they grab 37.3 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles are connecting on 46.3% from the field, which is 139th in the nation.

The Eagles defensively are ranked 284th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 77.5. They are able to force 12.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.5% from the floor (244th in college hoops). The Morehead State defense gives up 34.0% on 3-point attempts (132 of 388) and their opponents are making 69.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 16.5 assists and 35.4 boards per game, which has them ranked 340th and 236th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Morehead State

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