Feb. 4, 2016
CHICAGO -- UIC welcomes the Horizon League's first-place team Saturday, Feb.6, when the Valparaiso Crusaders come calling for a 3 p.m. clash at the UIC Pavilion. It is the second matchup of the regular season between the two foes after Valparaiso took the conference opener on Jan. 2 at the Athletics-Recreation Center on its campus.
The game will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and the Flames are hosting a WHITE OUT at the UIC Pavilion Saturday. All fans in attendance are strongly encouraged to wear white to the arena. To make things even easier, the first 1,000 UIC students in attendance will receive a free a Whiteout long sleeved t-shirt.
For more information about Saturday's White Out game, please click the Game Notes PDFs above.
DIXSON DOES IT AGAIN
For the second consecutive week, the fourth time in six weeks and the sixth time during the 2015-16 season, UIC's Dikembe Dixson was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Monday, Feb. 1. The newcomer posted a career-high 32 points on Jan. 28 vs. Youngstown State, while matching a personal best with 15 rebounds against the Penguins to secure his fourth career double-double. Dixson also led the Flames with 24 points, including 17 in the second half, in an overtime win against Cleveland State on Jan. 30. He currently leads the Flames and ranks in the top six in the Horizon League with 17.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season.
NAJEAL'S NIFTY WEEKEND
Dikembe Dixson (Freshman of the Week) was not the only Flame to garner consideration for an award from the Horizon League office this week. Najeal Young was strongly considered for Player of the Week plaudits after he averaged 14.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals against Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Young hauled in a career-high 16 rebounds vs. the Penguins, marking the highest output for any Horizon League player in a conference game this season. Two days later, Young scored a career-high 17 points against the Vikings, including the game-winner with two seconds left in overtime.
THESE KIDS CAN PLAY
UIC's roster features eight underclassmen, including six freshmen, one sophomore and one redshirt sophomore. That group has combined to play 2,907 minutes through 21 games, or 68.4 percent of the entire team's total. Underclassmen have scored 966 of 1,398 points (69.1 percent) for the Flames, while grabbing 492 of 843 rebounds (58.4 percent). Freshman Dikembe Dixson leads UIC, and ranks in the Horizon League's top six, in all three categories in his first collegiate season.
FINISHING STRONG
Statistically speaking, UIC has been a more productive team in the second half of games this season. The Flames have scored an average of 7.6 more points per game in the final period, while shooting better percentages from the floor (+3.9%), the free-throw line (+1.9%) and beyond the arc (+4.4%). In games against Youngstown State and Cleveland State last weekend, UIC shot 13.6 percent better from the field in the second half, and 24.7 percent higher from downtown. Individually, sophomore Tai Odiase has had a significant impact down the stretch as he averages 5.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in the second half this season compared to 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in the first. Freshman Dikembe Dixson has also provided late contributions with an average of 10.4 points in the final 20 minutes. He has also made 21 of his 30 3-pointers on the season in the second half this year.
RAISE IT TO THE RAFTERS
On Feb. 2, UIC announced that legendary guard Kenny Williams will have his No. 11 retired in a pregame ceremony when the Flames take on the Detroit Titans on Friday, Feb. 19. By the time the final buzzer sounded on his collegiate career in 1994, Williams had become the first player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points, finishing with 2,025. He was also the second player to register more than 200 career steals, and he remains UIC's all-time leader in that category to this day with 237 thefts. He remains in the top three in program history in points, steals, assists, field-goal attempts, field-goals made, free-throw attempts and free-throws made.
UP NEXT
UIC will remain home to host Wright State on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the fourth game of a five-game homestand. The stint concludes on Saturday, Feb. 13, when the Flames tangle with Horizon League newcomer Northern Kentucky at 3 p.m. Tickets are available for both matchups and can be obtained by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421) or visiting Ticketmaster today.
