Feb. 7, 2015
UIC GAME NOTES
HEADLINES
The Opening Tip
The UIC men’s basketball team begins a three-game road swing on Sunday afternoon at Detroit with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. These two programs met earlier in the season on Jan. 14 as the Titans escaped Chicago with a 69-68 win. Sunday’s matchup will be the 44th all-time meeting as Detroit holds a 29-14 series advantage. The Titans are paced by senior Juwan Howard Jr. who averages 18.0 points per game, followed by freshman Paris Bass with 12.2. Detroit carries an overall record of 11-14 with a Horizon League mark of 4-6, sitting in a two-way tie for fifth place. They have dropped their last two outings by single digits on the road and have fallen in four of their past five contests. Sunday’s game can be seen live on ESPN3.
A Win vs. Detroit would…
…snap an eight-game losing streak for the Flames… give UIC six wins which would match its season total from last year … give UIC its first road win of the season … give the Flames its first win against Detroit since Dec. 29, 2011 … give UIC its first win at Detroit since Jan. 22, 2009.
Ah-Man Among Boys
Head coach Howard Moore recently stated that senior Ahman Fells has been “playing out of his mind” during the last three games and the stats prove it. Over the last three contests, Fells is one of the hottest players in the Horizon League averaging a conference-best 22.3 points per game, shooting 73.5 percent (25-of-34) from the floor and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from three-point range. His 11 made threes during that span is tied for the highest total in the league along with YSU’s Marcus Keene. Fells set a career-high 28 points against first-place Valparaiso last Saturday, shooting 11-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-7 from deep. His 11 made field goals not only set a new career-best, but also equaled the single-game high for a UIC player during the Howard Moore era. The last UIC player to record six threes in a game was Daniel Barnes on March 20, 2013 against Chicago State in the CIT. Fells is the only Flame to have posted back-to-back 20-point games this season as he netted 20 at UWM on Jan. 29.
Paris Burns Bright
Junior Paris Burns has scored 14 or more points in each of his last four games, including 20 points against Oakland this past Wednesday night. Burns also dished out a career-high nine assists which equaled the highest total by a UIC player during the Howard Moore era (Gary Talton, 2/10/13). Burns is averaging 16.5 points and 4.3 assists over the last four games, while shooting 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the field. The Chicago native is also shooting 40 percent from three-point range during the last four games after hitting just 17 percent in his previous 18 contests.
Last Time vs. Detroit
A sequence of unfortunate events during the final seconds of UIC’s first matchup against Detroit on Jan. 14 gave the Titans a 69-68 win in Chicago. The Flames led for more than 19 minutes in the second half, which included a 13-point advantage with 16:47 left to play. The Titans chiseled that lead down to three with under a minute to play and cut it to 68-67 with 3.7 seconds on the clock after a Chris Jenkins steal and dunk. UIC then turned the ball over on the ensuing in-bounds play and was immediately whistled for a foul which sent Detroit to the free throw line to shoot two. UDM’s Jarod Williams sank both foul shots to cement the one-point victory. Senior Jay Harris led the Flames with 22 points and eight assists on the day.
Fells Seizing his Opportunity
After owning just one career start, senior Ahman Fells was inserted into the starting lineup 11 games ago on Dec. 28 against Bradley and has been there ever since. In the last 11 games, Fells leads the team in scoring (13.2), rebounding (5.1), field-goal shooting (59.1%) and made threes (19). He is playing even better during conference action, averaging 14.2 points and 6.0 boards per contest, while shooting 58.5 percent from the field. The 145 points that Fells has scored in his last 11 games accounts for 58 percent of his career total of 250.
McGuire on Fire
Sophomore Markese McGuire drained a career-high four three-pointers against Oakland this past Wednesday and totaled a career-best 16 points. McGuire has started the last two games and is shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc on the season. The sharp-shooter from Elkhart, Ind. was named first-team All-State his senior year in high school and totaled 1,000 points during his prep career at Elkhart Memorial.
McClellan Heats Up
Junior Jason McClellan is hitting his stride as of late after being hampered by early- and mid-season injuries. The 6-foot-9 forward scored a career-high 19 points at YSU on Jan. 24 and shot 4-of-4 from behind the arc. McClellan has started in the last four games and is averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing. He is also shooting 36 percent from three-point range during that span.
Harris is a Scoring Machine
Fifth-year senior Jay Harris ranks as UIC’s leading scorer this season with an average of 13.5 points per game, which also ranks 10th in the Horizon League. Harris has scored in double-digits 14 times through his 20 games at UIC and 18 times over his last 24 outings, dating back to his final four games at Wagner last season. On Dec. 11 against UCF, Harris exploded for a career-high 32 points and was later named the Horizon League Player of the Week. His 32-point outburst is tied for the third highest total in the conference this season.
Flames Lighting the Arc on Fire
Over the last games, UIC has been lethal from three-point range shooting 44.4 percent (24-of-54). The Flames shot a season-best 11-of-19 (57.9%) from downtown against the Golden Grizzlies this past Wednesday night. That percentage serves as the program’s best performance since Nov. 23, 2011 when UIC shot 9-of-13 (69.2%) versus Evansville.
Excelling in the Classroom
The UIC men’s basketball team had a tremendous fall semester in the classroom as seven players recorded GPAs of 3.0 or better. Topping that list was freshman David Ramon who totaled a perfect 4.0. Following close behind was sophomore Hans-Christian Lauer with a GPA of 3.81 and junior Jason McClellan with a mark of 3.69.
The Flames Are Right There
UIC has played in several close games so far this season including 11 contests that have been decided by single digits. Of those 10 games UIC owns a record of 2-9. In outcomes decided by six points or less, the Flames are 1-7 which include four league affairs.
The Final Countdown
Senior Jay Harris is closing in on 1,000 career points as he currently owns 943. Harris needs to average 6.8 points over the next eight games to hit the coveted milestone. The fifth-year transfer totaled 458 points during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Valparaiso and then scored 217 at Wagner last year.
Miller Leaves Program
Junior D’Juan Miller has left the UIC men’s basketball program due to personal reasons. He competed in 20 games for UIC and averaged 4.7 points and 4.0 assists per contest.
Harris From the Foul Line
Senior Jay Harris is one of the top free throw shooters in the country this season. He ranks 13th in the nation and first in the Horizon League with a mark of 89.3 percent (100-of-112). Harris also ranks third in the NCAA among career-active free throw shooters with a four-year percentage of .898 (222-of-247). Harris has the opportunity to break UIC’s single-season free throw shooting record, which currently sits at 88.6 percent held by Josh Mayo.
Odiase Still Ranks Second in Blocks
Freshman Tai Odiase missed six games and has played limited minutes in his last five outings due to a lower leg injury suffered in late December. Despite his lack of playing time, Odiase still ranks second in the Horizon League in blocks per game with an average of 1.7. Fronting the conference is Valpo’s Vashil Fernandez with an average of 3.0. Odiase has 30 swats on the season and needs just 15 more to crack UIC’s single-season top-10 leaderboard.
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 73.2 percent (387-of-529). That figure currently ranks 38th in the country and second in the Horizon League, while UIC’s 379 made free throws ranks 11th in the NCAA. UIC touts seven players that are shooting above 70 percent from the charity stripe. The 2012-13 team currently holds the all-time record for free throw shooting with a single-season mark of .752.
Wiegand Improves Year After Year
Junior Jake Wiegand has made tremendous strides in each season with the Flames as the power forward is averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this year. Those numbers are 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 has already surpassed his scoring total from last season by three points (246 to 234).
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 four teams (Wisconsin, Holy Cross and Bryant) in the nation to have two or fewer turnovers in a single game this season. The Flames rank first in the HL with an average of 11.6 turnovers per game which also ranks 58th in the country.
