CHICAGO -- After spending the holiday weekend away from home, the Flames return to the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 30, when they host the Chicago State Cougars at 7 p.m. for the first half of a two-game homestand.

UIC (3-3) finished the NIU Thanksgiving Classic with a tournament record of 2-2. After scoring 102 points and torching Trinity Christian in a preliminary game at the UIC Pavilion on Nov. 19, the Flames went 1-2 in DeKalb, Ill., with a convincing victory over Cal Poly sandwiched between tough battles with Elon and Northern Illinois.

The story this season has been the offensive outburst by UIC. After averaging just over 68 points per game in the first season under head coach Steve McClain a year ago, the Flames lead the Horizon League and rank 32^nd nationally with 85.5 points per game as the week begins. UIC concluded the 2015-16 season ranked last in the Horizon League in field goal percentage with a mark below 40 percent, but the Flames have flipped the script in year two under McClain. Through the first two-plus weeks of the season, the squad is shooting a robust 48.1 percent, which is the best mark in the League to date.

Sophomore standout Dikembe Dixson leads the Horizon League and ranks third in the NCAA as of Nov. 28 with 25.2 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all six games, while netting at least 20 points in four of six contests. The Matewan, W. Va., native has poured in at least 31 points in half of UIC's six games this season, including twice in the team's last three outings. Dixson also ranks second nationally in free throw attempts and fourth in free throws made. Against the Huskies on Saturday, Dixson made a career-best 14 attempts from the charity stripe.

Chicago State (2-3) will make the short trek to the UIC Pavilion in search of its first win away from the Jones Convocation Center this season. The Cougars have defeated Illinois Tech and East-West at home, while falling to Wisconsin, Oakland and Notre Dame on the road. Fred Sims, Jr. has been CSU's leading scorer with 18.8 points per game, while Trayvon Palmer has been the leader on the glass with 7.0 rebounds this season. Now in his seventh season at the helm for CSU, head coach Tracy Dildy is a UIC alum, having graduated in 1991. Dildy also served as an assistant coach for the Flames from 1992-94, and as the program's associate head coach under Jimmy Collins from 2007-10.

More notes, statistics and information about Wednesday's game can be found in the UIC Game Notes PDF linked above. Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling 312-413-UIC1 or visiting the UIC Ticket Office online. The first 1,000 UIC students in attendance will receive a 2016 replica jersey, and as alwaysm, admission is FREE with a valid i-Card.