Eastern Illinois vs UT Martin Prediction 1/16/25 College Basketball Picks

The Eastern Illinois Panthers and the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks meet Thursday in college basketball action from Elam Center. Here’s an Eastern Illinois vs Tennessee-Martin prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Eastern Illinois vs Tennessee-Martin pick. We will examine:

The Eastern Illinois Panthers’ recent form and player performance

The Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Eastern Illinois Panthers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks

Recent betting trends in games played between Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Eastern Illinois vs Tennessee-Martin game

Eastern Illinois Panthers Betting Preview

Eastern Illinois hasn’t had a very steady season so far this year—to say the least. The Panthers have only one instance of consecutive wins. After a 3-8 start featuring wins over only Earlham College, Northern Illinois, and Calumet College (alongside losses to Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, DePaul, Valparaiso, Butler, Eastern Kentucky, and SEMO), EIU managed a couple of consecutive victories. Those came versus Blackburn and Lindenwood. Since then it’s been a three-game skid for Eastern Illinois. Those losses have come courtesy of Western Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, and Tennessee Tech for a 5-11 overall record so far this year.

In the Tennessee Tech game last Thursday, the Panthers came out of the break looking at a 37-28 advantage on the scoreboard. Eastern Illinois was blitzed in the second half 41-27 however, resulting in a 69-64 defeat in the end. Leading the team on a double-double in the loss was Nakyel Shelton with 20 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kooper Jacobi added 14 points with six boards, one assist, and one steal. Also in double-figures was Corey Sawyer with 11 points, three rebounds, and one assist in 25 minutes off the bench.

TN-Martin Skyhawks Betting Preview

Over on the Skyhawks’ side, they haven’t had a very good season so far either. Tennessee-Martin was able to win a couple of games right out of the gate over Illinois State and Kentucky Christian, then fell to North Alabama, Longwood, Texas A&M-CC, Le Moyne, Tennessee, and Charleston Southern in the next six outings. A 3-3 stretch commenced after that with wins over Montreat, Champion Christian, and Southern Indiana among losses to Alabama State, Morehead State, and Little Rock. Since then it’s been a pair of wins over Southeast Missouri State and Western Illinois ahead of a loss to Lindenwood for a 7-10 overall record so far.

Matched up against Lindenwood over the weekend, the Skyhawks came out of halftime looking up at a two-point deficit on the scoreboard. Tennessee-Martin got a little closer in the second on a 41-40 run but ended up with the loss 82-81 in a tough result. The team’s leading scorer was Tarence Guinyard with 18 points and three steals. Vladimir Salaridze doubled up on 14 points with 13 boards and three assists, while both Josue Grullon (three rebounds) and Afan Trnka (three steals; two assists; two rebounds) notched 14 points apiece off the bench.

Why the UT Martin Skyhawks will win

• UT Martin has won 11 of its last 12 games at Kathleen and Tom Elam Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Eastern Illinois has lost seven of its last eight night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Eastern Illinois has lost the first half in nine of its last 12 night games.

Why the Eastern Illinois Panthers will win

• UT Martin has lost six of its last seven night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Eastern Illinois has won four of its last five night games at Kathleen and Tom Elam Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Eastern Illinois vs Tennessee-Martin Prediction

I’m going to stay with TN-Martin. Probably not touching this one, though. The Skyhawks were quite permissive on defense to a middling Lindenwood team in their last outing, giving up 50 percent shooting and 12 turnovers for 21 Lions points. The good news is that Tennessee-Martin has scored quite well over their last two games, notching a combined 166 points.

As for Eastern Illinois, they shot a tepid 37 percent from the field in their latest loss to Tennessee Tech. The Panthers have failed to hit 68 points in three straight games (all losses), and they’ve given up 69 or more points in two of those. I like TN-Martin to power one out here if they can cut down on the ball-handling mistakes.

Andrew Jett's Pick: TN-Martin Skyhawks -7