By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – One of the most highly anticipated seasons in University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball history officially gets underway with the 2022-23 opener at Pitt. The season opener takes place on Monday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. CST on ACC Network Extra.
The Skyhawks have never faced the Panthers but are making their second trip to the Steel City in the last six years as UT Martin defeated Atlantic 10 Conference opponent Duquesne by a 66-63 margin on Nov. 23, 2016.
This game also marks the return of Skyhawk graduate guard Parker Stewart, who played at Pitt during the 2017-18 season. Stewart averaged 9.1 points per game as a Panther freshman before transferring to UT Martin the following season. Following the untimely passing of his father Anthony (the Skyhawks’ head coach at the time), Stewart spent last season at Indiana before inking with the Skyhawks back in April. He enters his final collegiate season with 982 career points.
Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year KJ Simon (16.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game in 2021-22) and Stewart were each voted to the Preseason All-OVC squad. UT Martin head coach Ryan Ridder returns nine players (including starters Simon, Koby Jeffries, KK Curry and Chris Nix) and welcomes five talented newcomers to the fold – all of whom boast NCAA Division I playing experience. As a result, the Skyhawks have been tabbed as the OVC preseason favorite by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, The Almanac and Andy Katz of NCAA.com.
Pitt returns six letterwinners and three starters, including All-ACC honorable mention selection John Hugley IV (14.8 points, 7.9 rebounds per game last season). In exhibition wins over Clarion (103-51 on Oct. 21) and Edinboro (92-53 on Nov. 2), Blake Hinson averaged 24.5 points on 69.6 percent shooting (16-of-23) while Federko Federko (9-for-10 shooting) collected a pair of double-doubles.
Fans can watch the game on ACC Network Extra at this link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401482965?gameId=401482965. Fans can follow along with live stats here: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=427485.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information