CHICAGO -- UIC will play the first of seven games against in-state foes Tuesday night when the Flames travel to Macomb, Ill., to face off against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Western Hall. The game is set for 7 p.m.

Tuesday's contest marks the second game of the young season and the first road trip for head coach Steve McClain's squad. UIC opened the 2015-16 season at home on Friday, Nov. 13, when it came up short in a three-point game against the San Francisco Dons. It will be the third game for the Leathernecks, who kicked off the campaign Friday night with an upset victory on the road over No. 17 Wisconsin. WIU welcomed Hannibal-LaGrange to Macomb on Sunday afternoon, and it posted a 94-57 victory.

Below are a few headlines as the Flames prepare to invade Western Hall on Tuesday at 7 p.m.:

McClain Takes the Reins
On March 23 UIC Athletic Director Jim Schmidt announced Steve McClain as the 11th head men's basketball coach in program history. The veteran leader owns 33 years of collegiate coaching experience, including nine seasons as a NCAA Division I head coach at Wyoming. He most recently served for five seasons at Indiana University, where he was an associate head coach under Tom Crean.

Local Flavor
Eight of the 15 players on UIC's roster are native to the state of Illinois, and seven of those Flames hail from the Chicagoland area. Seniors Paris Burns (Proviso East) and Gabe Snider (Whitney Young) are from Chicago, as is junior Josh Joiner (Willowbrook) and freshman Dominique Matthews (St. Rita). Sophomores Lance Whitaker (Bartlett) and Tai Odiase (Homewood-Flossmor), plus freshman Julian Torres (Bolingbrook) call suburban Chicagoland home. Finally, freshman Dikembe Dixson is originally from Freeport, Ill., a town about 114 miles northwest of the Windy City.

In-State Slate
Tuesday's game at Western Illinois is the first of seven non-conference contests against teams from Illinois. UIC will host Roosevelt on Nov. 24 before welcoming DePaul on Dec. 2. The Flames will welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini to the United Center on Dec. 12 before taking on Illinois State at the UIC Pavilion on Dec. 16. UIC will be at Loyola on Dec. 19 before closing non-conference play against Northern Illinois at home on Dec. 29.

Block Party
Sophomore Tai Odiase wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the nation's leading shot blockers. Odiase sent back a career-high five shots against San Francisco in the season opener (Nov. 13), including three in the first 1:39 of the contest. The team blocked a total of nine shots in the game, the most for a UIC squad since Feb. 5, 2009, vs. Cleveland State. Scott VanderMeer, the all-time leading shot blocker in program history, registered eight rejections that night.

Protecting the Rock
UIC consistently took care of the basketball a year ago. The squad's 11.0 turnovers per game ranked as the fewest by any Horizon League team during the 2014-15 campaign; the Flames ranked tied for 44th nationally in that category. UIC had only 10 turnovers in the opener vs. San Francisco, and no player had more than two. The Flames lead the Horizon League with a turnover margin of +6.

Windex Men
The Flames lead the Horizon League with 48.0 rebounds per game. Five different UIC players registered at least four rebounds in the season opener, including Jake Wiegand, who led the way with nine rebounds vs. USF (Nov. 13). Guard Gabe Snider also hauled down a career-high five caroms against the Dons.

Follow Along
Tuesday's game will be streamed live on ESPN3. It will also be the first ESPN1000 Chicago radio broadcast of the season. Jonathan Hood, the Voice of the Flames, will handle the play-by-play with UIC legend Kenny Williams providing his analysis. A new member of the UIC radio team, Chris Bleck, will set the scene during the pregame show and handle halftime duties and score updates throughout the night.

For more notes and information about Tuesday's game and the upcoming 2015-16 season, please click the Game Notes PDF above.

The regular season resumes at home on Tuesday, Nov. 24, when UIC hosts the Roosevelt Lakers at the UIC Pavilion at 7 p.m. For tickets to that non-conference clash, please visit Ticketmaster or call 312-413-UIC1.