Jan. 18, 2015
UIC GAME NOTES
HEADLINES
The Opening Tip
The UIC men’s basketball team will begin a three-game road stint on Tuesday night at Horizon League preseason favorite Green Bay. The Phoenix tout a 4-1 conference record with an overall mark of 15-4 after winning six of their last seven games. Tuesday’s contest will be the 89th all-time meeting between the two programs as Green Bay stands as UIC’s most-played opponent in program history. They have played each other every year since their first matchup during the 1970-71 season. Green Bay holds a 51-37 all-time series advantage against the Flames. The Phoenix are paced by preseason HL Player of the Year Keifer Sykes who is averaging a league-best 19.7 points per game.
A Win vs. Green Bay would…
…snap a three-game losing streak for the Flames… give UIC six wins which would match its season total from last year … give UIC its first victory against Green Bay since Jan. 31, 2013 … give the Flames their first win at Green Bay since Jan. Feb. 18, 2004 … give UIC its first road win of the season … give the Flames a 2-3 Horizon League record.
Harris is a Scoring Machine
Fifth-year senior Jay Harris ranks as UIC’s leading scorer this season with an average of 14.3 points per game, which also ranks 10th in the Horizon League. Harris has scored in double-digits 10 times through his 15 games at UIC and 14 times over his last 19 outings, dating back to his final four games at Wagner last season. In league-games only, Harris is averaging 17.0 points per game which ranks tied-for-third among all conference players.
Fells Playing His Best Ball
Senior Ahman Fells has started six straight games for the Flames and is playing the best basketball of his career. Over the last five games, Fells is averaging 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 49 percent from the field (22-of-45). The Chicago native achieved his first career double-double on Jan. 4 versus CSU with career-bests of 13 points and 11 boards. The 56 points that Fells has scored over the last five games accounts for more than 34 percent of his 166 career points.
100 More Points
Senior guard Marc Brown needs 100 more points to reach 1,000 for his career as he hit the 900-mark during last week’s game against Detroit. Brown has at least 13 games remaining this season and would need to average 7.7 points per game to achieve the 1,000 plateau. The Dallas native would become the 21st player in program history to equal or surpass 1,000 career points as the last Flame to do so was current graduate manager Robo Kreps (2007-2011).
Harris Needs a Dozen
Jay Harris is 12 points shy of 900 career points as he currently sits at 888. The fifth-year senior totaled 458 points during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Valparaiso and then scored 217 at Wagner last year.
The Flames Are Right There
UIC has played in several close games so far this season including nine contests that have decided by single digits. Of those nine games, UIC owns a record of just 2-7. In games decided by five points or less, the Flames are 1-5 which include two league affairs.
Wiegand Improves Year After Year
Junior Jake Wiegand has made tremendous strides in each season with the Flames as the power forward is averaging 11.8 points and 7.3 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 19 games this season and was also named a team captain prior to the 2014-15 campaign, along with senior Marc Brown. Ten of this 18 career double-digit scoring efforts has happened this season.
Did You Know?
Did you know that the Mayor of Green Bay, Wis. is named Jim Schmitt and UIC’s Director of Athletics is named Jim Schmidt? Schmitt is the second-longest tenured mayor in Green Bay history, while Schmidt is longest serving AD in UIC Athletics history.
Harris and Brown From the Line
Seniors Jay Harris and Marc Brown are two of the top free throw shooters in the country this season. Harris ranks fifth in the nation (91.5%) and first in the Horizon League, while Brown (84.1%) is third in the HL and 75th in the country. Harris also ranks second in the NCAA among career-active free throw shooters with a four-year percentage of .908 (197-of-217). Through four league games, Harris has missed a mere two foul shots (33-of-35). Brown currently sits 10th on UIC’s career made free throw leaderboard with 284.
Bench Scoring
Over the last seven games, the Flames are averaging 25.9 points per game off the bench compared to 12.6 for their opponents. UIC has totaled 17 or more bench points in each of the last seven outings and owns an 97-59 advantage in four league games.
D’Juan With the Dish
Junior D'Juan Miller is averaging 3.9 assists per game which ranks third in the Horizon League. Miller also ranks second in the HL in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.1 (71 ASTs to 36 TOs).
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 74.9 percent (316-of-422). That figure currently ranks 18th in the country and tops in the Horizon League, while UIC’s 316 made free throws ranks 11th in the NCAA. UIC touts seven players that are shooting above 70 percent from the charity stripe.
Protecting the Rock
UIC committed a mere two turnovers against Judson on Dec. 30 which set a new program record. The Flames stand as one of two teams (Holy Cross) in the nation to have two or fewer turnovers in a single game this season. UIC is averaging 11.5 turnovers per contest, which ranks second in the Horizon League and 52ndin the country.
Snider From Downtown
Junior Gabe Snider has made nine three pointers over his last four games and is averaging 41% from behind the arc during that span. He ranks 10th in the HL in three-point shooting percentage (38.0%). Snider’s career percentage is .386 (44-of-114) and stands as UIC’s career-active leader in that category.
Cleaning Up the Glass
Jake Wiegand is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game which ranks fifth in the Horizon League. The last UIC player to finish a season with an average above seven boards per outing was Paul Carter (8.0 rpg) during the 2010-11 season. The power forward needs 20 more rebounds to equal his total from last year of 158.
Your Rebounding is Offensive
UIC ranks first in the Horizon League and 55th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds with an average of 12.7 boards per game. The Flames have out-rebounded its opponent on the offensive glass in 16 of 19 games this year. Junior Jake Wiegand ranks second in the HL in offensive rebounding (2.9).
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