12-29-2022, 12:49 AM
Should be a good test for us tomorrow. Blue Ribbon magazine actually picks them to finish first in the OVC. They are currently 8-5, but only 5 of those wins are against DI competition. Of course, that's 3 more DI wins than we have. Their best win looks to be at Bowling Green, although I don't think they are particularly strong this year. Best loss was by 4 points, at Ole Miss, who took #7 done to the wire tonight. They lost by 6, at ASU, which is pretty comparable to us. Blue Ribbon picks UT-Martin's KJ Simon as the OVC player of the year. So obviously a win would be pretty big, but any loss at home hurts. Whatever home court advantage we have is likely lost by having to play in cavernous Simmons Bank Arena. Hopefully, they will curtain off the upper deck. But the main disadvantage is that our guys have played exactly the same amount of games at Simmons (i.e. zero) as UT-Martin and will be no more familiar with the floor, baskets, or sight-lines.