CHICAGO -- Seeking its first regular-season conference championship in 20 years, UIC welcomes the Horizon League's top two teams to the UIC Pavilion this weekend with a chance to raise the trophy when all is said and done. The Flames open the final weekend of League play on Friday, Feb. 23, when they will host the Northern Kentucky Norse at 7 p.m. CT.

With two games remaining for all teams, UIC (17-12, 12-4 Horizon League) begins the weekend one game behind both NKU (20-8, 13-3 Horizon League) and Wright State (21-8, 13-3 Horizon League) in the standings. The Raiders will come to Chicago to face UIC on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. In addition to meeting the Flames, both the Norse and Raiders will play at IUPUI (10-17, 7-9 Horizon League) this weekend. Several scenarios, ranging from an outright championship to a third-place finish, remain in place for UIC, Northern Kentucky and Wright State.

STARTING FIVE

• UIC enters the weekend with a chance to win the second regular season conference championship in program history, and the first since 1998, when the Horizon League was known as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
• The Flames have won 12 conference games for the first time since 2003-04 (12), UIC's last NCAA Tournament season.
• UIC has won at least 17 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2002-03 and 2003-04, when it combined for 45 victories.
• UIC has won 12 of its last 14 games since Jan. 4 at IUPUI.
• The Flames can be seeded as high as No. 1, and no lower than No. 3 in the upcoming Horizon League Championship in Detroit. In order for UIC to win an outright Horizon League title, the Flames and IUPUI must defeat both NKU and WSU this weekend.

A WIN VS. NKU WOULD GIVE UIC...

• Its 13^th victory of the year in conference play, most since 1993-94 (14 - Mid-Con).
• Eighteen wins for the first time since 2012-13 and for the 10^th time in the Division I era.

BLOCK PARTY

• UIC leads the Horizon League and ranks second nationally among 351 teams with 6.9 blocks per game. The Flames are averaging 8.5 per game over the last four outings.
• Michigan State is the NCAA leader through games of Feb. 21 with 7.6 blocks per game.
• Louisville (6.5 bpg) ranks just behind UIC.
• On Dec. 6 against UW-Parkside, the Flames matched a high in the Steve McClain era for the third time with 12 blocks.
• UIC blocked 11 shots on Jan. 18 at Youngstown State, marking the fourth time this year the Flames had double-digits.

CLOSING TIME

• UIC is 14-0 this season when leading at the half. The squad has three second-half comebacks, erasing halftime deficits to top IUPUI on Jan. 4 (7 pts) and Jan. 27 (5 pts), and Green Bay (4 pts) on Feb. 16.
• The Flames have shot 50.4 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from downtown and 75.3 percent from the free throw line in the second half of their 12 Horizon League wins.
• UIC's opponents in those games are shooting 39 percent overall and 31.9 percent from 3-point range in the same span.

INVOLVING EVERYONE

• In 11 of UIC's 29 games this season every player has scored at least one point, most recently against Detroit Mercy on Feb. 19.
• The game at Cleveland State on Jan. 20 marked the only time this season that every player on both teams found the scoring column (9 UIC, 8 CSU).
• Head coach Steve McClain used nine players in 10 of 11 instances, while 10 players saw time on Feb. 4 for the Flames at Detroit Mercy.
• UIC's leading scorer has come off the bench three different times when every player has scored. Marcus Ottey led the team against Fort Wayne and at Loyola, while Godwin Boahen paced the squad most recently with 18 points at Cleveland State.

SCOUTING THE NORSE

• Northern Kentucky enters Friday's meeting with a record of 20-8 and a 13-3 mark in Horizon League play. The Norse begin the weekend tied with Wright State for first place in the conference.
• The Norse have the top scoring margin in the Horizon League at +13.1. UIC is currently third at +3.2 entering the weekend.
• NKU has turned the ball over less than any other Horizon League club this season. The Norse has 344 total turnovers and an average of 12.3 per game.
• Junior forward Drew McDonald leads NKU in both scoring and rebounding with 17.1 and 9.4 rebounds per game, respectively. He leads the conference and ranks 11th nationally with 15 double-doubles this season.

UP NEXT

• UIC hosts Wright State at the UIC Pavilion to conclude the 2017-18 regular season on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. CT.
• The Flames will celebrate Senior Day for players Tai Odiase and Clint Robinson and head team manager Mike Kelly. The trio will be honored during an on-court ceremony prior to the start of the game.
• It is also #PackThePav. Tickets are available for only $5 and beer (pregame) and hot dogs available for $1 each while supplies last.
• UIC will travel to Detroit next week for the 2018 Litte Caesars Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship. If the Flames are the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, then they will play their first game on Saturday, March 3. If UIC is the No. 3 seed, it will open play against the No. 6 seed on Sunday, March 4 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT.

More notes, statistics and information for Friday's game can be found in the team game notes PDFs linked in the blue box above.