# 2017–18 UT Martin Skyhawks men's basketball team

The 2017–18 UT Martin Skyhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Tennessee at Martin during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Skyhawks, led by second-year head coach Anthony Stewart, played their home games at Skyhawk Arena as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 10–21, 5–13 in OVC play, to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the OVC tournament.

## Previous season

The Skyhawks finished the 2016–17 season 22–13, 10–6 in OVC play, to win the West Division championship. As the No. 2 seed in the OVC tournament, they defeated Murray State before losing to Jacksonville State in the championship game. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated UNC Asheville in the first round before losing in the second round to Campbell.

## Preseason

In a vote of conference coaches and sports information directors, UT Martin was picked to finish in eighth place in the OVC. Senior guard Matthew Butler was named to the All-OVC Team.
After five years of divisional play in the OVC, the conference eliminated divisions for the 2017–18 season. Additionally, for the first time, each conference team will play 18 conference games.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| November 10, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | at Marshall Global Sports Invitational | L 91–102 $^{OT}$ | 0–1 | Cam Henderson Center (5,754) Huntington, WV |
| November 12, 2017* 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | at Illinois Global Sports Invitational | L 74–77 | 0–2 | State Farm Center (11,882) Champaign, IL |
| November 15, 2017* 7:00 p.m., OVCDN | North Carolina Central Global Sports Invitational | W 74–57 | 1–2 | Skyhawk Arena (1,274) Martin, TN |
| November 18, 2017* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Akron | L 59–76 | 1–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,713) Akron, OH |
| November 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | at Southern Global Sports Invitational | L 66–69 | 1–4 | F. G. Clark Center (225) Baton Rouge, LA |
| November 26, 2017* 4:00 p.m., OVCDN | UMKC | L 55–65 | 1–5 | Skyhawk Arena (1,338) Martin, TN |
| November 29, 2017* 7:00 p.m., SECN | at LSU | L 60–84 | 1–6 | Maravich Center (7,396) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 2, 2017* 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Chattanooga | L 63–66 | 1–7 | McKenzie Arena (3,676) Chattanooga, TN |
| December 5, 2017* 7:30 p.m. | at Arkansas State | W 92–78 | 2–7 | First National Bank Arena (2,116) Jonesboro, AR |
| December 10, 2017* 2:00 p.m., OVCDN | UC Clermont | W 127–92 | 3–7 | Skyhawk Arena (1,014) Martin, TN |
| December 16, 2017* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | at Mississippi State | L 61–92 | 3–8 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,709) Starkville, MS |
| December 20, 2017* 7:00 p.m., OVCDN | Blue Mountain | W 84–76 | 4–8 | Skyhawk Arena (1,080) Martin, TN |
| December 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m., OVCDN | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 74–68 | 5–8 | Skyhawk Arena (814) Martin, TN |
| Ohio Valley Conference regular season |||||
| December 28, 2017 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | Tennessee State | W 63–60 $^{OT}$ | 6–8 (1–0) | Skyhawk Arena (2,009) Martin, TN |
| December 30, 2017 6:00 p.m., OVCDN | Belmont | L 58–65 | 6–9 (1–1) | Skyhawk Arena (1,347) Martin, TN |
| January 4, 2018 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | at Austin Peay | L 69–75 | 6–10 (1–2) | Dunn Center (1,737) Clarksville, TN |
| January 6, 2018 7:00 p.m., OVCDN | at Murray State | L 68–82 | 6–11 (1–3) | CFSB Center (4,781) Murray, KY |
| January 11, 2018 7:30 p.m., OVCDN | Eastern Kentucky | L 70–78 | 6–12 (1–4) | Skyhawk Arena (1,576) Martin, TN |
| January 13, 2018 7:30 p.m., OVCDN | Morehead State | L 67–71 | 6–13 (1–5) | Skyhawk Arena (1,013) Martin, TN |
| January 18, 2018 7:30 p.m., OVCDN | at Eastern Illinois | L 60–80 | 6–14 (1–6) | Lantz Arena (1,245) Charleston, IL |
| January 20, 2018 1:00 p.m., FSMW/OVCDN | at SIU Edwardsville | W 70–69 | 7–14 (2–6) | Vadalabene Center (1,234) Edwardsville, IL |
| January 25, 2018 7:30 p.m., OVCDN | at Jacksonville State | W 67–63 | 8–14 (3–6) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,482) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 27, 2018 7:30 p.m., OVCDN | at Tennessee Tech | L 55–63 | 8–15 (3–7) | Eblen Center (2,283) Cookeville, TN |
| February 1, 2018 7:30 p.m., OVCDN | Austin Peay | L 57–59 | 8–16 (3–8) | Skyhawk Arena (1,971) Martin, TN |
| February 3, 2018 6:00 p.m., OVCDN | Murray State | L 53–66 | 8–17 (3–9) | Skyhawk Arena (3,247) Martin, TN |
| February 8, 2018 7:00 p.m., OVCDN | at Eastern Kentucky | W 70–69 | 9–17 (4–9) | McBrayer Arena (1,120) Richmond, KY |
| February 10, 2018 6:00 p.m., OVCDN | Southeast Missouri State | L 77–81 $^{OT}$ | 9–18 (4–10) | Skyhawk Arena (1,897) Martin, TN |
| February 15, 2018 7:00 p.m., OVCDN | SIU Edwardsville | L 69–70 | 9–19 (4–11) | Skyhawk Arena (1,001) Martin, TN |
| February 17, 2018 6:00 p.m., OVCDN | Eastern Illinois | L 57–64 | 9–20 (4–12) | Skyhawk Arena (1,469) Martin, TN |
| February 22, 2018 6:30 p.m., OVCDN | at Morehead State | L 53–70 | 9–21 (4–13) | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,873) Morehead, KY |
| February 24, 2018 4:15 p.m., OVCDN | at Southeast Missouri State | W 72–66 | 10–21 (5–13) | Show Me Center (1,702) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||
Source: