Dec. 18, 2015
CHICAGO -- UIC will be on the away from home Saturday afternoon, but the Flames won't have to travel far as they make the short trip to Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood to face the Loyola Ramblers at 3 p.m. inside Gentile Arena.
The Flames and Ramblers are quite familiar with one and other. Not only are the campuses separated by only about 12 miles, but the two schools were members of the Midwestern City Conference, and later the Horizon League. Loyola departed the Horizon League for its current affiliation with the Missouri Valley Conference in July 2013. Saturday's game will be the 53rd meeting all-time between UIC and Loyola. The Flames lead the series, 30-22.
Below are a few headlines as UIC preps to renew its rivalry with Loyola Saturday afternoon:
MATTHEWS IGNITES FLAMES
Freshman Dominique Matthews has been a boon to the UIC offense of late. The Chicagoan scored his team's first 12 points of the game in a span of 1:49 to open vs. Illinois on Dec. 12. Within the first 13:32 of that contest, the guard had already posted a then-career-high 18 points. The guard then went off for eight of the squad's first 11 points over seven minutes against Illinois State on Wednesday. He led all scorers against the Redbirds with a career-high 20 points. In three games against in-state foes (DePaul, Illinois, Illinois State), Matthews is averaging 18.3 ppg.
BROTHERLY LOVE
Members of the UIC and Loyola coaching staffs are intimately familiar with one another, and not just because the schools are in close proximity on the map. UIC assistant coach Brendan Mullins will be going up against his younger brother, Bryan, a first-year aide for the Ramblers, Saturday. The pair helped Downers Grove South High School reach the Elite 8 in the 2003 IHSA State Tournament, and they went into their alma mater's Hall of Fame together in February. Their father, Mike Mullins, is the director of the Illinois Wolves AAU program.
LINEUP SHUFFLE
UIC head coach Steve McClain has used eight different starting lineups through the first eight games. Ten different Flames have received a nod, while Tai Odiase and Dikembe Dixson have opened all eight games. UIC began its last contest vs. Illinois State with a senior (Paris Burns), two sophomores (Odiase and Lance Whitaker) and two true freshmen (Dixson and Dominique Matthews). That group has collectively made 30 starts this season and 66 in their careers.
MINUTE MAN
Freshman Dikembe Dixson leads UIC in playing time this season with 244 minutes, or 30.5 minutes per game. He was on the floor for a career-high 39 minutes against Illinois State on Dec. 16, and for 36 minutes the outing before that against Illinois (Dec. 12). Twelve Flames are averaging at least 10.3 minutes per game this season, while five are playing an average of 22.0 minutes or more per ballgame.
VERSUS THE VALLEY
The Flames have played 132 games all-time against current members of the Missouri Valley Conference, including 52 against Saturday's opponent, Loyola. UIC has won 60 of those games, including 30 against the Ramblers. The program's last victory against an MVC team came on Jan. 16, 2013, when the Flames topped LUC, 61-59, at the UIC Pavilion. That came in Loyola's final season as a member of the Horizon League. UIC has faced two Valley squads already this season, taking on the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines, Iowa, back on Nov. 28, and the Illinois State Redbirds on Dec. 16.
For more information about Saturday's game, please click the Game Notes PDFs above.
The Flames will be back at the UIC Pavilion on Tuesday, Dec. 22 to host the Purdue-Calumet Peregrines at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421) or visiting Ticketmaster today.
