PITTSBURGH -- UIC will finish up a three-game road trip Monday night with a contest against Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center in the Steel City. It is the third of four games that the Flames will play in the Gotham Classic and the first-ever meeting against the Dukes. The game will be available on ESPN+.

The Flames (0-2) opened the year at Notre Dame on Tuesday and continued the trip on Friday at Radford. UIC shot 50 percent from the floor against the defending Big South Conference champions, but despite a late surge against the Highlanders it fell 88-78. Tarkus Fergsuon led the visitors with 22 points and matched a career high with five 3-pointers. Michael Diggins chipped in with 11 points with three 3-pointers to also match a personal best.

The Dukes (1-0) began the season at home late Saturday afternoon against William & Mary. Freshman Austin Rotroff and sophomore Eric Williams Jr. scored 17 points each to lead Duquesne to an 84-70 victory. The Flames will welcome William & Mary in the season opener on Thursday, Nov. 15.

OPENING TIP

• The game against Duquesne is the first of two trips to the state of Pennsylvania to play an Atlantic 10 foe this month. UIC will also travel to Philadelphia to play at Saint Joseph's on November 28.
• UIC is opening a season with three straight true road games for the first time in the program's Division I history (1981-82).
• UIC head coach Steve McClain is seeking the 200^th win of his head coaching career.

ROAD WARRIORS

• This is the first season that UIC opens with three consecutive true road games in the Division I era (1981-82).
• The last time the Flames played at least three times before tipping off in Chicago came in 2005 when they played Montana State, San Diego State and Denver at the BP Top of the World Classic in Alaska.

RISE AND FIRE

• The Flames have put up 60 3-point attempts this season, an average of 30 per game. Last year UIC launched 19.4 shots per game from beyond the arc.
• 50 percent of the squad's field-goal attempts have come from downtown. That is tied for 28th in the country according to KenPom.com.
• Two Horizon League teams (Youngstown State - 7^th; Northern Kentucky - 14^th) rank ahead of the Flames in that category.
• At Radford the Flames made 13 of their 31 attempts, converting at a clip of 41.9 percent.
• UIC's 13 3-pointers at Radford were the most since hitting 14 in a win at Youngstown State (1/14/18).
• Tarkus Ferguson (5) and Michael Diggins (3) both matched career highs from 3-point range against the Highlanders.
• Ferguson made four triples in the final 1:10, and three in the last 31 seconds, Friday night.

FLAMES PICKED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL

• UIC received four first-place votes and was selected third in the Horizon League preseason poll as voted by the conference's coaches, media members and sports information directors.
• The Flames finished third in 2017-18 with 12 wins in Horizon League play, the most since the 2003-04 campaign.
• It was only the sixth time that UIC finished in the top three since joining the League in 1994.

TWO FLAMES EARN PRESEASON HONORS

• Junior guards Marcus Ottey (1^st) and Tarkus Ferguson (2^nd) were named to the Preseason All-Horizon League teams.
• Both finished their second season by earning a spot on the CollegeInsider.com All-Tournament Team.
• Ottey led UIC in scoring during League play last year with 14.6 ppg while shooting 53.6 percent from the field.
• Last season he was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in 3pt FG% (2^nd), FT% (6th) and FG% (8^th).
• Ferguson led the conference in assists during League games for the second time in as many seasons with 5.9 per game.
• He tied for the team lead with four double-doubles and averaged 10.6 points per game.
• The Flames were seven games above .500 with Ferguson available and three games below without him in the lineup.

A WIN VS. DUQUESNE WOULD GIVE UIC...

• Its first victory of the 2018-19 campaign.
• Ten wins in its last 13 true road games dating back to January 4, 2018 at IUPUI.
• A 5-7 record against opponents from the Atlantic 10. The Flames won three of their last four games against schools from the conference.

SCOUTING THE DUKES

• The Dukes roster features 12 newcomers, including five eligible Division I transfers. The 12 newcomers are the second-most of any NCAA Division I program behind another Horizon League program, Detroit Mercy.
• Duquesne opened the 2018-19 season on Saturday by knocking off William & Mary, 84-70.
• The Dukes knocked down 12 3-pointers and got 33 points off the bench to topple the Tribe, including 17 points in 20 minutes from Austin Rotroff.
• Sophomore swingman Eric Williams Jr. was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Preseason Second Team. He made 31 starts and averaged 14.3 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game last year.
• Williams Jr. matched Rotroff with 17 points Saturday.