Dec. 29, 2014
UIC GAME NOTES
HEADLINES
The Opening Tip
The UIC men's basketball team will return home on Tuesday night after a three-game road trip to conclude its non-league schedule against Judson at 7 p.m. CT. Judson, located in Elgin, Ill., competes in the NAIA and is a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). The Eagles own a season record of 2-12 and are paced in scoring by sophomore guard Andrew Eck (12.9). Tuesday's contest will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Wiegand Collects Another 20-Point Game
Junior Jake Wiegand scored a game-high 21 points at Bradley this past Sunday and now has four 20-point efforts this season. Wiegand tallied his first career 20-point game earlier this season with 28 against Western Illinois (Nov. 17). He also recorded 26 points versus Kent State (Nov. 22) and netted 20 in a home win over Saint Xavier (Nov. 25). The power forward is averaging 13.1 points per game, which ranks second on the team and 12th in the Horizon League.
Tough Non-League Schedule
UIC's 2014-15 non-league schedule is highlighted by several quality opponents with winning records. The Flames' 13 Division-I non-conference opponents are a combined 97-60 (.618) this season as 10 of those 13 programs tout records of .500 or better. The following are UIC's D-I opponents and records: Loyola (10-2), Dayton (9-2), Kent State (8-3), Yale (9-4), SMU (8-3), Northwestern (9-4), UT-Martin (7-4), UCF (7-4), SIU (7-6), Grand Canyon (8-7), DePaul (6-7), Western Illinois (4-6) and Bradley (5-8).
Flames Seek Fourth Home Win
The UIC men's basketball team will look for its fourth home win of the season against Judson on Tuesday night as they own a 3-3 record when playing at the UIC Pavilion. The Flames have already surpassed their home win total from last season, finishing the 2013-14 home slate with a 2-12 mark.
Four Players in Double Figures
This past Sunday at Bradley, UIC had four players reach double figures in scoring for the first time since playing at UC-Riverside on Dec. 20, 2013. Wiegand paced the quartet at BU with a game-high 21 points as Paris Burns scored 12 and Lance Whitaker and Marc Brown added 11 apiece.
Cleaning Up the Glass
Jake Wiegand has tallied five double-digit rebounding efforts so far this season, standing as one of three Horizon League players to do so. He ranks third in the conference in boards per game (8.1) and tied-for-26th in the nation in total rebounds (113). Wiegand now owns 307 career boards and needs just 46 more to surpass his total from last season of 158. The power forward has also paced UIC on glass in 12 of 14 games this season.
What Can Brown Do For You?
Senior Marc Brown needs just 15 more free throws to crack UIC's top-10 career leaderboard as he owns 262 career made foul shots. Tim Anderson (1980-84) currently ranks 10th on that list with 277, while Greg Olsen (1967-71) tops the leaderboard with 559. Brown is 36-of-43 (.837) from the charity stripe this season, which ranks sixth in the Horizon League.
Wiegand Improves Year After Year
Junior Jake Wiegand has made tremendous strides in each season with the Flames as the power forward is averaging 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this year. Those numbers are drastic increases from his sophomore season when he averaged 7.5 points and 5.1 boards per game. During his freshman year, Wiegand averaged just 6.6 minutes per contest, recording 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per outing. Wiegand is the only player for UIC to start all 14 games this season and was also named a team captain prior to the 2014-15 campaign, along with senior Marc Brown.
Whitaker Heating Up
Redshirt freshman Lance Whitaker scored a career-high 11 points against Bradley this past Sunday in just his 13th collegiate game. Whitaker has been heating up as of late, shooting 8-of-14 in his last four outings as compared to 3-of-21 in the previous six. His minutes are also on the rise after recording a career-high 31 minutes at Bradley.
One of the Nation's Best
The Flames have been one of the nation's best free-throw shooting teams so far this season as UIC is averaging 73.9 percent (227-of-307). That figure currently ranks 35th in the country and tops in the Horizon League, while UIC's 227 made free throws ranks ninth in the NCAA. UIC touts six players that are shooting above 75 percent from the charity stripe.
Your Rebounding is Offensive
UIC ranks first in the Horizon League in offensive rebounds with an average of 12.5 boards per game. The Flames have out-rebounded its opponent on the offensive glass in 12 of 14 games this year. Junior Jake Wiegand ranks first in the HL in offensive rebounding (3.3), while freshman Tai Odiase ranks ninth (1.8).
Jay Harris Explodes for Career-High 32 Points vs. UCF
Fifth-year transfer Jay Harris was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday (Dec. 15) for his career-high 32-point performance against UCF on Dec.11. Harris guided the Flames to a 71-60 home win against the Knights and became the first UIC player to score 32 or more points in a home game since Dec. 8, 2007 (Josh Mayo, 32 pts.). The Aurora, Ill. native also notched career-bests with nine made field goals and 10 made free throws. His 32 points is tied for the highest single-game output in the conference this season with Cleveland State's Trey Lewis. The award marks the first for UIC this season and the first in Harris' career.
Tai in the Sky
Tai Odiase continues to be one of the nation's best new rim protectors as his 26 blocked shots ranks tied-for-sixth among all freshmen in the NCAA this season. That total also ranks tied-for-40th overall in the country and second in the Horizon League to Valparaiso's Vashil Fernandez (45). Odiase is already UIC's career-active leader with 26 swats and needs just 18 more to crack the Flames' top-10 single-season leaderboard.
D'Juan with the Dish
Junior D'Juan Miller notched a career-high seven assists against Northwestern last Monday. The 5-foot-8 point guard paces the team in assists with an average of 3.6 per contest, which ranks fifth in the Horizon League.
Marc Brown Eyes 1,000 Career Points
Senior guard Marc Brown needs 142 more points to reach 1,000 for his career as he currently owns 858 points. He would become the 21st player in program history to do so and the first since current graduate manager Robo Kreps (2007-11). The Dallas native tallied a season-high 23 points against UT-Martin on Dec. 15, his sixth career 20-point effort. Brown scored 349 points last season which nearly doubled his 188 total from his sophomore campaign.
Double-Double Machine
Jake Wiegand collected his fourth double-double of the season on Dec. 2 versus Grand Canyon with a 12-point and 10-rebound performance. Wiegand is one of three players in the Horizon League to have four or more double-doubles so far this season. The junior began the season with back-to-back double-doubles, becoming the first UIC player to start the year in such a manner since 1998 (Bryant Notree). Last season, then-senior Jordan Harks paced the Flames with three double-doubles for the entire year.
Former Flames Excel in NBA D-League
Former UIC men's basketball players Gary Talton (2011-13) and Kelsey Barlow (2013-14) are off to great starts in the NBA D-League this season. Talton was recently traded to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants after competing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He leads the league in assists per game (11.8) and averages 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing. Barlow is in his first professional season as a member of the Grand Rapids Drive. He is averaging 5.6 points per game and shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range.
2015 Signing Class
Head coach Howard Moore recently announced the addition of three signees to the 2015-16 UIC roster. Those players include junior college transfer Burak Eslik (G, 6-4, 185, Istanbul, Turkey/Lewis and Clark CC) and soon-to-be freshmen Drew Hackett (G, 6-2, 170, Munster, Ind./Munster HS) and Garrett Bye (F/C, 6-10, 210, Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs).
