EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Interstat) — A surging Tennessee-Martin team will look to continue its strong start to Ohio Valley Conference play when it visits struggling Southern Indiana on Saturday.

The Skyhawks (12-4, 3-0 OVC) enter the Physical Activities Center riding a four-game winning streak, including a 76-68 road victory at Morehead State on Thursday. Southern Indiana (3-11, 0-3) has lost six straight, most recently an 84-76 home defeat to Southeast Missouri State the same night.

The matchup pits the conference’s early front-runner against a team still searching for its first league win. Tennessee-Martin has leveraged a balanced attack and stout defense, holding its last three opponents under 70 points. Southern Indiana has struggled to close games, with three of its conference losses coming by six points or fewer.

A key player to watch will be Tennessee-Martin’s Andrija Bukumirović. The guard is coming off an 18-point performance at Morehead State and has been a consistent scorer, including a 28-point outburst at Tennessee Tech last month. For the Screaming Eagles, guard Ismail Habib remains a bright spot, averaging 13.6 points over his last five games and dishing five assists in the loss to SEMO.

Southern Indiana will need a significant defensive effort to slow the Skyhawks’ momentum. Tennessee-Martin has won its OVC games by an average of 8.7 points, while Southern Indiana’s defense has allowed 80.3 points per game during its losing skid.

Saturday’s contest is the first of two regular-season meetings between the programs this season. They are scheduled to meet again in Martin on Feb. 5.

Tipoff is set for Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center.