TN-Martin vs Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/16/23

The Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars and the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks meet Thursday in college basketball action from Elam Center. SIU Edwardsville comes into this matchup at 17-10 so far. The Cougars lost to Eastern Illinois on Saturday. As for TN-Martin, they’re 16-11 following a win over Little Rock on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Southern Illinois Edwardsville managed to go a solid 14-6 over their first 20 games of the year. Since then, the Cougars are just 3-4 however, taking losses to Southern Indiana, Tennessee Tech, Morehead State and Eastern Illinois in that time. 

On Saturday versus Eastern Illinois, the Cougars went into halftime trailing 35-31. SIU Edwardsville didn’t get any closer in a 49-42 second half and lost 84-73. Damarco Minor led the team on 19 points and five rebounds. 

TN-Martin Skyhawks

Over on the Tennessee-Martin side, they were 12-8 at the 20-game mark this season. The Skyhawks have gone 4-3 in their last seven with wins over Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana and Little Rock. 

Matched up against Little Rock on Saturday, the Skyhawks jumped out to a 46-22 edge at the break. TN-Martin scored another 38 points in the second half in an 84-61 win. Parker Stewart was the leading scorer on 18 points. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to stick with TN-Martin in this one. The Skyhawks broke a recent three-game losing streak with their win over Little Rock and they’ve been scoring well lately. TN-Martin has hit 75 or more points in five straight games, including the last time these teams met up back on February 2 at Vadalabene Center. TN-Martin lost that one 89-75 thanks to a rough 49-27 start by halftime. SIU Edwardsville is 3-1 in their last four games so they won’t go down easily but I think TN-Martin is talented enough to cover/win here. Should be a great matchup.