CHICAGO -- The UIC Flames are set to celebrate a highly-anticipated weekend with the grand opening of Credit Union 1 Arena and a visit from crosstown rival Loyola Chicago on Saturday, Dec. 1. The Flames and Ramblers will square off at 3:12 p.m., and prior to the game beginning at 1 p.m. there will be a FREE Credit Union 1 tailgate in the surface lot across the street from the facility. The UIC women's basketball team will host Miami (Ohio) at 11 a.m. Saturday to begin the festivities.

The Flames (3-4) are unbeaten in three home games this season and the group is averaging over 88 points per game in victories against William & Mary, Bradley and Parkside. The Ramblers (4-3) will be playing their first true road game of the young season. Loyola Chicago is 3-2 at Gentile Arena in Rogers Park and the Ramblers split a pair of games in southwest Florida at the Fort Myers Tip-Off prior to Thanksgiving.

Saturday's game will be televised locally on NBC Sports Chicago with Jordan Bernfield and Jonathan Hood on the call. It will also be carried on ESPN+ around the country.

3-POINT PLAY

• UIC opens the month of December with a visit from crosstown rival Loyola Chicago.
• It is the first time that the Flames have hosted a program coming off a Final Four appearance since Jan. 19, 2012, when Butler visited Chicago as a member of the Horizon League.
• Loyola Chicago is the second of three non-conference matchups against Missouri Valley Conference foes. UIC topped Bradley on Nov. 17 and will host Illinois State on Wednesday night. Those are three of the top four squads in the MVC preseason poll.

A WIN VS. LOYOLA WOULD GIVE UIC...

• An unbeaten record of 4-0 at Credit Union 1 Arena this season and four straight home wins to open the slate for the first time since the 2012-13 season, when the team won its first six home games.
• The first win against the Ramblers since Jan. 13, 2013, when LUC was a member of the Horizon League.

NOTHING BUT NET

• The first NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings were announced Monday and UIC checked in at No. 73 on the initial list.
• The Flames moved to No. 123 on Nov. 29 following the game at Saint Joseph's.
• UIC remains the highest-ranked Horizon League program and the second-highest-ranked four-loss team in the country behind St. Mary's (CA) [No. 104].
• NET relies on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.

RISE AND FIRE

• The Flames rank 16^th in the NCAA with 11.0 3-point field goals per game this season and 19^th with 77 3-pointers made.
• Nine different players have converted at least one 3-pointer through seven games, and seven have made at least five.
• Tarkus Ferguson ranks 13^th nationally with 27 3-pointers made this season.
• Ferguson matched career highs from downtown at Radford, vs. William & Mary and at Saint Joseph's with five.
• Godwin Boahen is also in the top 75 (73^rd) with 20 3-pointers made this year. He made a career-high five vs. Parkside.
• UIC made 40 3-pointers in three games against Radford, Duquesne and William & Mary, including a season-high 14 at Duquesne. That was one shy of the best total in the Steve McClain era.

DOUBLING UP

• Tarkus Ferguson leads UIC and ranks 24^th in the NCAA with three double-doubles.
• He has done it twice ths year with points and assists (at Duquesne [18pts/11ast]; vs. Bradley [22pts/10ast]) and once with points and rebounds (at Saint Joseph's [23pts/10reb]).
• He also added eight boards against Bradley, the closest he's been to a triple-double.
• Ferguson has 10 career double-doubles with points and rebounds; three with points and assists; and one with assists and rebounds.

MINUTE MEN

• Through Nov. 28, two UIC players rank in the NCAA's top 65 in minutes per game this season. Junior Tarkus Ferguson is 21st (36:54) and classmate Godwin Boahen is 63rd (35:12).
• Ferguson played a career-high 43 minutes in an overtime game at Duquesne on Nov. 12. It was the second time in his career he played 40+ minutes (41 at Milwaukee - Feb. 2, 2017).
• Boahen (42), Marcus Ottey (41) and Michael Diggins (31) each played career-high minutes in an overtime game against William & Mary on Nov. 15.

MEET THE GLOBETROTTERS

• UIC is one of 11 teams in the NCAA to begin the season with players from at least four different continents.
• The current Flames come from North America (11), Europe (1), Africa (1) and Australia (1)
• Eight North Americans are from the United States and three are of Canadian descent.
• Junior Jordan Blount is from Cork, Ireland
• Sophomore Jamie Ahale is from Montrose, Australia, which is a suburb of Melbourne.
• Freshman Abraham Makumator originally hails from Accra, Ghana. He attended high school in Florida.