EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball team hits the road this week for critical Ohio Valley Conference games when it visits league-leading UT Martin Thursday and Southeast Missouri State Saturday. Tipoff Thursday for the USI-UTM game is set for 7:30 p.m., while the start time Saturday for USI-SEMO is slated for 3:45 p.m.
 
Both games are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+. All USI games are aired live on ESPN 97.7FM and The Spin 95.7FM.
 
Currently sitting in 10^th in the OVC, the Screaming Eagles (5-17, 2-10 OVC) are looking to snap a cold streak and attempt to climb back into position to make a trip to the OVC Championship. USI needs to make up a three-game deficit in the eight games remaining on the OVC calendar.
 
The Eagles lost a pair of games during Homecoming week, falling to Lindenwood, 73-60, and SIU Edwardsville, 58-46. USI junior guard/forward Amaree Brown led the Eagles last week with 13.5 points per contest, while junior forward Tolu Samuels posted a team-best 11.0 rebounds per game.
 
For the season, senior guard Ismail Habib has been posting 15.9 points per game to lead USI in scoring. Brown is second with 13.8 points per outing, while senior guard Cardell Bailey is third on the team in scoring with 13.5 points per contest this season.
 
UTM (17-5, 9-2 OVC) is the hottest team in the OVC by winning its last two games and nine of the last 10 games. The Skyhawks lead the all-time series with USI, 10-4, after taking the first meeting of the year with USI, 73-56, at Liberty Arena.
 
SEMO (13-8, 6-4 OVC), who hosts Morehead State Thursday before welcoming USI, has won its last four games and eight of the last 11. The Redhawks lead the all-time series with USI, 9-3, after winning the first matchup this season, 84-76, in Liberty.
 
Following the road trip, USI will host its final two regular-season games at Liberty Arena for 2025-26 with new start times for both games. The USI-Tennessee State game, slated for February 12, will tip off at 8 p.m. due to the live telecast on Gray Media (WFIE-14) and the USI-Tennessee Tech game will be moved back to 4 p.m. due to the USI-TTU women's basketball game on ESPNU. USI will celebrate Senior Day between games on February 14.