GAME NOTES: The Marquette Golden Eagles being their 98th season of men's basketball on Friday night, as they welcome the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks to the Bradley Center.

The Skyhawks are under new management after a disappointing 8-23 record a year ago. The team finished an ugly 3-13 in the Ohio Valley Conference, signaling the end of Jason James and ushering in the Heath Schroyer era. The new coach has three starters returning from last year, but just how well the newcomers mesh will determine whether or not UT Martin can find its way out of the OVC cellar in 2014-15.

The Golden Eagles are also facing change at the top, as long-time Duke assistant Steve Wojciechowski has been brought in to replace Buzz Williams, who ironically left Marquette for the ACC (new head coach at Virginia Tech). The team was 17-15 last season with a 9-9 mark in conference play, but Wojciechowski will have his hands full in replacing key components of last year's squad and keep Marquette relevant in the Big East this season.

This marks the first-ever meeting between these two teams.

Schroyer did a number on the roster in the offseason to infuse the Skyhawks with some young talent. Senior forward Myles Taylor however, is a strong leader and four-year starter who led the team in scoring last year (14.6 ppg). Taylor and senior guard Marshun Newell (10.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 assists) will be the go-to scorers and playmakers for the Skyhawks, as they try to set an example for the six freshmen on the roster. Among the recruits for UT Martin this season is 7-foot-2 freshman center Nick Detlev, who comes in from Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohio, and second-team junior college All-America point guard Alex Anderson. The 5-foot-11 guard could easily make an immediate impact for the Skyhawks as soon as he takes the court.

Wojciechowski has a no-nonsense approach that will serve well at Marquette as he begins his tenure with the team.He begins his stint with the Golden Eagles without Davante Gardner (14.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg), a two-time winner of the Big East Sixth Man of the Year award, not to mention Jamil Wilson (11.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Todd Mayo (11.3 ppg). That's the bad news. The good news is that the team does return senior guard Derrick Wilson, an experienced player who has seen action in 100 games during his career. BYU transfer Matt Carlino (13.7 ppg) should make an immediate impact since he is eligible to play right away. A member of the Big East All-Rookie Team, Deonte Burton (6.9 ppg) will be pressed into service after coming off the bench almost exclusively last year. What Marquette lacks is size. There is only one player on the roster taller than 6-foo-7 and that is Indiana transfer Luke Fisher (6-11), who won't be eligible until after Dec. 14.

The Golden Eagles will struggle against quality big men this season, but that shouldn't be the case in the opener. Both teams are in a bit of a transition period, but getting this one at home tips the scales heavily in Marquette's favor.