INDIANAPOLIS – With the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Basketball Championship set to begin at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit this weekend, the conference unveiled its 2017-18 All-Horizon League teams and specialty award winners on Wednesday, Feb. 28. For the second consecutive year UIC's Tai Odiase has been named the Defensive Player of the Year, while Godwin Boahen is the first player in program history to earn recognition as the Sixth Man of the Year.
 
Odiase earned Defensive Player of the Year honors by remaining one of the nation's most aggressive shot blockers. This season the Glenwood, Ill., native averaged a League-best 3.4 blocks per game in conference play. In all contests, Odiase swatted 3.19 shots per game to rank in the top-five nationally for the third consecutive season. He has 99 blocks this season entering the conference tournament and is the NCAA's career active leader with 348 blocks, which ranks 44^th all-time. He ranks fourth with 2.78 blocks per game over his four seasons as a Flame.
 
The center blocked at least one shot in every conference game, and at least three shots in 13 of UIC's 18 Horizon League games. Three times he produced five or more. On one of those occasions, Jan. 18 at Youngstown State, Odiase blocked five shots to become the Horizon League's all-time leading shot blocker, passing former Penguin and the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year, Damian Eargle.
 
Odiase anchored one of the best defensive units in the conference. UIC ranks second in the nation to Michigan State with 7.0 blocks per game (6.8 in League contests). Head coach Steve McClain's squad is also in the top 100 (90^th) in the country with 6.9 steals per game. In #HLMBB play, that number jumped to 7.2, which ranked second behind only Youngstown State. The Flames are also one of the nation's best defensive rebounding teams, ranking 27^th overall with 28.0 boards per night on that end. UIC finished second in League play in field goal percentage defense (.403) and led the conference in that category in all games (.406).
 
In addition to becoming the third player in Horizon League history to earn multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards, and the first in UIC history, Odiase is just the eighth standout to be chosen on the conference's All-Defensive Team at least three times.
   
Boahen is the first-ever Flame to be named the Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year. Known for his instant offense and tenacious effort on the defensive end, the sophomore appeared in all 18 of UIC's Horizon League games, coming off the bench in 17 of them. Boahen averaged 9.2 points per game in conference play and was one of six Flames to average between 14.6 and 8.2 ppg in the League.
 
The Toronto, Ontario, native was without a doubt the League's top 3-point sniper. Boahen shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc in League play and 42.6 percent in all games to lead all Horizon League players in both instances. During one particularly prolific stretch from Jan. 15 – Feb. 8, the guard shot 73.3 percent (22-of-30) from downtown, while helping UIC to win seven of those eight games in that run.
 
Boahen scored in double figures for the Flames in seven of 18 conference games. He posted a team-high 18 points off the bench in a victory at Cleveland State on Jan. 10 and also netted 16 points in UIC's first-ever win at Oakland in a nationally-televised contest on Feb. 2.
   
Despite a third-place finish in the conference with 12 wins, the most in League play since 2004, UIC did not place anyone on the All-League first or second teams. It is only the second time since at least the 2002-03 season that a team finishing in third place or higher did not receive an All-League consideration. It also happened to third-place Wright State following the 2015-16 season.
 
UIC begins its run at the Horizon League Championship as the third seed on Sunday, March 4 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT, when the Flames will take on sixth-seeded Milwaukee. UIC won both games against the Panthers in the regular season, but that was also the case last season when Milwaukee eliminated the Flames in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
 
The complete list of 2018 Horizon League award winners and All-League teams is below. The honors are voted on by the Horizon League head coaches, sports information directors and three media voters per school.
 
Player of the Year: Kendrick Nunn, Oakland
Coach of the Year: Scott Nagy, Wright State
Freshman of the Year: Loudon Love, Wright State
Sixth Man of the Year: Godwin Boahen, UIC
Defensive Player of the Year: Tai Odiase, UIC
 
All-League First Team (alphabetical by school)
Khalil Small, Green Bay
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Kendrick Nunn, Oakland
Grant Benzinger, Wright State
 
All-League Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Kameron Chatman, Detroit Mercy
Jeremiah Bell, Milwaukee
Lavone Holland II, Northern Kentucky
Loudon Love, Wright State
Cameron Morse, Youngstown State
 
All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Tyree Appleby, Cleveland State
Jermaine Jackson Jr., Detroit Mercy
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Loudon Love, Wright State
Naz Bohannon, Youngstown State
 
All-Defensive Team (alphabetical by school)
Khalil Small, Green Bay
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Martez Walker, Oakland
Tai Odiase, UIC
Mark Hughes, Wright State