Feb. 17, 2012
UIC (7-18, 3-12 Horizon) at Eastern Illinois (12-14, 5-9 OVC)
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| Date | Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 |
| Time | 6:00 p.m. CST (25 minutes after conclusion of women's game) |
| Location | Charleston, Ill. | Lantz Arena |
| Audio | UICFlames.com: CLICK HERE (Justin Weiner/Kenny Williams) |
| Live Stats | CLICK HERE |
| Social Media | @UICFlamesSID  | @Howard_Moore | @UICFlamesLive |
Pre-Game Notes 
► UIC will take a brief break from Horizon League play Saturday, when the Flames travel to Charleston, Ill., to take on Eastern Illinois in a 2012 SEARS BracketBusters match-up at Lantz Arena beginning at 6:00 p.m. CST. The Flames are coming off a 74-65 loss at Valparaiso Tuesday night, while EIU defeated visiting SIU-Edwardsville, 73-66 on Wednesday.
► The Flames and Panthers will be going head-to-head for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign. Both schools were members of the Mid-Continent Conference from 1983-94.
► UIC dished out a season-best 17 team assists at Valparaiso Tuesday night. The Flames also built a season-high 10-point halftime lead, and decisively out-rebounded the first-place Crusaders, 29-20.
► UIC boasts a 7-1 all-time record in the BracketBusters series, including a 6-2 mark in BracketBusters return games. The Flames did not compete in the annual event last season, instead traveling to Butler on BracketBuster Saturday. UIC recorded an 82-80 win at Evansville in its last BracketBusters game (2/20/10).
► NEXT UP: UIC will play its final road game of the Horizon League regular season next Tuesday (Feb. 21), when the Flames travel to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to take on two-time national runner-up Butler beginning at 6:00 p.m. CST.
THE COACHES
UIC: Howard Moore(Wisconsin, `95) is in his second season as the head coach at UIC. He spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, helping the Badgers to five-straight NCAA tournament berths. The Chicago native also served assistant coaching stints at Loyola (2004-05), Ball State (2003-04) and Bradley (1999-2003). Moore picked up his 14th head coaching win on Feb. 2 against Youngstown State.
Eastern Illinois.: Mike Miller, a native of Monmouth, Ill., is in his seventh season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois. Miller was also the head coach at Texas State for six years, and served as the associate head coach at Kansas State for five seasons.
ABOUT EASTERN ILLINOIS
» Eastern Illinois was picked to finish ninth the preseason Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll -- the Panthers enter Saturday's game currently tied for eighth in the OVC standings.
» The Panthers have won three-straight conference games, and are 7-6 at Lantz Arena this season.
» Senior Jeremy Granger, a preseason All-OVC pick, is averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game. Joey Miller (10.6 ppg) and Alfonzo McKinnie (10.3) are also averaging double-digits in scoring. McKinnie is the Panthers' leading rebounder, averaging 7.2 boards per game.
» Eastern Illinois will honor its senior class, including starters Jeremy Granger and Zavier Sanders, prior to Saturday's contest. The Panthers will be playing their final home game of the season.
» During EIU's three-game winning streak, James Hollowell is averaging 12.7 points per game, including 17 points at Tennessee Tech (2/9/12). Hollowell is shooting 58 percent from the floor and 6-of-9 from 3-point range during the stretch.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC boasts two-of the Horizon League's top-15 scorers, in junior point guard Gary Talton (11.6 ppg; 12th) and junior guard Daniel Barnes (11.2; 13th) ... Senior center Darrin Williams ranks sixth in the League in rebounding (6.5 rpg), fourth in blocks (1.5 bpg) and fifth overall in field goal percentage (.554) ... Talton leads the Horizon League in free throw percentage (.852), and is sixth in assists (3.3 apg) ... Barnes is averaging 2.4 three-point field goals per game, the second-best mark in the League, and ranks sixth in the Horizon League in steals (1.5 spg) ... Sophomore forward Hayden Humesranks fourth in the League in three-point field goal percentage (.423) ... Talton is scoring a Horizon League sixth-best 13.9 points per League game ... The Flames enter Saturday's contest leading the Horizon League in offensive rebounding both overall (12.8 rpg) and in conference play (12.4 rpg) ... The Flames are 0-13 on the road this season, and have dropped 42-of their last 44 road decisions, dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.
THE SERIES
UIC holds a 16-15 all-time series lead over Eastern Illinois. As mentioned, both schools were members of the Mid-Continent Conference from 1983-94, and played twice on an annual basis during that span. The schools met in 1992 for the Mid-Continent Conference Championship game with EIU winning, 83-68, to advance to its first NCAA Division I Tournament.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
With a win over Eastern Illinois, UIC would...
» Eclipse its entire victory output from the 2010-11 campaign (7), and win its first road game of the season.
» Win its third-straight game over the Panthers, dating back to the 1993-94 campaign.
» Improve to 5-2 versus opponents from the state of Illinois this season.
» Improve to 8-1 all-time in BracketBusters match-ups, dating back to the 2002-03 campaign.
REACHING THE HOME STRETCH
Including next Tuesday's game at Butler, UIC has three regular season Horizon League games remaining on the schedule. If the Horizon League Tournament started today, UIC would represent the No. 9 seed, and take on fourth-seeded Butler for the second time in seven days. The Bulldogs are currently tied for third (16-12, 10-6 Horizon) in the League standings, alongside Detroit, who owns the tiebreaker via a regular season sweep over Butler.
HUMES TRENDING FORWARD
Hayden Humes, a first-year transfer from Toledo, has become one of UIC's most reliable scoring and rebounding threats heading down the stretch of the regular season. Humes, who scored a team-high 15 points in making his return to his hometown of Valparaiso, Ind., last Tuesday, is averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game over the past five contests.
DOWN TO THE WIRE...
UIC's men's basketball team has seen no shortage of nail biters this season, playing a total of 11 games decided by five points or less -- only five Division I teams (Illinois, Delaware, Gardner-Webb, Louisiana Tech and Idaho) have played more games decided by five points or fewer this season. Notably, the Flames have held second-half leads in nine-of their 18 losses this season.
ONE OF THE LEAGUE'S FINEST
Junior point guard Gary Talton, in his first season in a Flames' uniform, has posted double-digit scoring outputs in 12-of UIC's 15 Horizon League games. During the non-conference portion of the season, Talton posted five double-digit scoring efforts. Of late, Talton's scoring has been bolstered by a much more efficient effort. Talton has shot at least 44 percent from the field in five-of the past six games -- over the past two contests, Talton is 13-of-28 (.464) from the floor.
ALL TOGETHER NOW
UIC's junior backcourt tandem of Gary Talton and Daniel Barnescontinues to represent the Flames' most consistent scoring tandem. The duo has teamed to post 32 of UIC's 65 double-digit scoring performances this season.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Senior center Darrin Williamsenters Saturday's game at Eastern Illinois as the Flames' career active leader in points (384), total rebounds (261) and blocks (45). Williams has posted 14 double-digit scoring outputs this season, including three double-doubles. Over the past six contests, Williams is averaging 10.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, with five double-digit scoring outputs.
SEEKING THE WINNING FORMULA
When comparing the Flames' stats in wins and losses, the differences on the boards and in their team defense are noteworthy. In victory, UIC is holding its opponents to only 39.1 percent shooting, while losses have seen the Flames' opponents shoot 47.9 percent from the field. In wins, UIC owns a +5.9 rebounding margin, but just a +0.4 margin in defeat. All seven of UIC's wins this season have taken place at the UIC Pavilion.
SHOOTING FROM DISTANCE
UIC is averaging 6.7 made three-point field goals per game during Horizon League play this season, the second-best mark in the conference. The Flames have converted at least five threes in 19 games, and their top-two three-point shooting performances (10, both games versus Detroit) have taken place during Horizon League play. In the Howard Mooreera, the Flames have drilled 308 threes, an average of 5.5 triples per game.
UIC BASKETBALL IN BRACKETBUSTERS SERIES (7-1)
UIC 83, Bowling Green 72
February 22, 2003 • UIC Pavilion
UIC 77, UNC-Wilmington 52
February 21, 2004 • UIC Pavilion
UIC 92, Georgia Southern 83
February 19, 2005 • UIC Pavilion
Murray State 72, UIC 68
February 18, 2006 • Regional Special Events Center
UIC 84, Central Michigan 62
February 17, 2007 • UIC Pavilion
UIC 70, Northern Iowa 58
February 23, 2008 • McLeod Center
UIC 74, Southern Illinois 67
February 21, 2009 • UIC Pavilion
UIC 82, Evansville 80
February 20, 2010 • Roberts Stadium
UIC BASKETBALL IN BRACKETBUSTERS RETURN GAMES (6-2)
Bowling Green 63, UIC 51
November 24, 2004 • Anderson Arena
UIC 76, UNC-Wilmington 67
December 12, 2004 • Trask Coliseum
UIC 89, Georgia Southern 69
November 28, 2005 • Hanner Fieldhouse
UIC 74, Murray State 68
November 28, 2006 • UIC Pavilion
UIC 84, Northern Iowa 77
November 19, 2008 • UIC Pavilion
UIC 65, Central Michigan 52
November 28, 2007 • UIC Pavilion
Southern Illinois 74, UIC 64
November 28, 2009 • SIU Arena
UIC 79, Evansville 75
November 23, 2011 • UIC Pavilion
