Tennessee basketball vs. UT Martin: Live stream, TV and radio info, line, predictions, odds for Vols’ season-opener Nov. 9
It’s back. Tennessee basketball begins the 2021-2022 season Tuesday night by hosting one of the University of Tennessee system schools from the western portion of the state. The UT Martin Skyhawks travel to Rocky Top in what is the season-opener for them as well.
Ranked No. 18 in the preseason AP Poll and No. 17 in the preseason Coaches Poll, the Vols are beginning their seventh year under Rick Barnes. They won their only exhibition 10 days ago, a 103-62 blowout over Barnes’ alma mater, the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears.
This is the fifth meeting between Tennessee basketball and UT Martin, with the Vols leading the series 4-0 dating back to 1993. Rocky Top has hosted all of the games. The two teams last met on Dec. 29, 2010, with UT winning 68-62, the closest game in the series. Here is all the information you need for Tuesday night’s matchup.
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Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks at Tennessee Volunteers
When: Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, Tenn.
TV: SEC Network
Live stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Vol Network; Skyhawk Radio Network
Listen online: UTSports; Thunderbolt Radio
Line according to WynnBET: Tennessee -35
Over/Under according to WynnBET: 145.5
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Coming off an 18-9 season in which they suffered a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament, the Vols have once again retooled. They lost three starters to the NBA. Yves Pons graduated, and freshman guards Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer became one-and-dones.
Numerous players who saw lesser roles also hit the transfer portal in the offseason. UT lost Davonte Gaines, Drew Pember and E.J. Anosike. Corey Walker Jr., who didn’t play last year, also hit the portal. To offset these losses, Barnes brought in another top five recruiting class.
Unanimous five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler and two post players who were four-stars and five stars across different services, center Jonas Aidoo and power forward Branton Huntley-Hatfield headlined the class along with four-star wing Jahmai Mashack. Three-star center Handje Tamba and three-star guards Quentin Diboundje Eyobo and Zakai Zeigler round out the class.
In addition to a high-profile recruiting class, the Vols added Auburn Tigers transfer wing Justin Powell, and they have center John Fulkerson back for a sixth year. Guards Victor Bailey Jr., Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi are also back, as are backup power forward Olivier Nkamhoua and backup center Uros Plavsic.
Simply put, Tennessee basketball has a solid mix of elite newcomers and returning talent. With no COVID protocols limiting their development, there’s reason to believe Barnes and co. can bounce back after falling short of expectations last year.
Fulkerson and Aidoo have both been banged up recently, and they missed UT’s exhibition. However, Chandler led the team in scoring, and Huntley-Hatfield had a double-double, so the freshmen area already showing promise.
On the other side, UT Martin has the rare distinction of having lost everybody from the previous season, the only Division I program to do that. They also have a new head coach in Ryan Ridder, who comes from the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, where he went 48-45 in three years and won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2017-2018.
Given these changes, last year’s 8-16 overall record is completely irrelevant. Ridder has assembled a roster that includes five freshmen and nine transfers. Most notable among them are graduate transfers Darius Simmons and Bernie Andre. Simmons is a guard who averaged 18.2 points per game the last two years with Lenoir-Rhyne, so he’ll be the main guy.
Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks at Tennessee Volunteers prediction
Because of all of UT Martin’s issues, it’s easy to see why Tennessee basketball is a 35-point favorite. The only reservation you should have on that is the injuries to Fulkerson and Aidoo. However, those injuries will lead Barnes and co. to rely on more three-pointers.
Next. Projecting Vols' 2021-2022 starting lineup. dark
In their exhibition, the Vols shot a shockingly high 19 threes. They’ll likely do something similar as Fulkerson and Aidoo get re-acclimated to the offense. As a result, there will be a ton of scoring, and the Vols will dominate because UT Martin is so bad, so take Tennessee -35 and the Over 145.5.The score will look something like this: Tennessee 97 UT Martin 60.