CHICAGO -- UIC will lift the lid on the 2018-19 season and begin a three-game road trip on Tuesday, Nov. 6, when the Flames visit Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish in the first game of the Gotham Classic. Not only is it the first game of the four-game tournament, but it the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Head coach Steve McClain and UIC are opening the season with three consecutive road games for the first time in program history. The last time the Flames played three times outside of Chicago before hosting a game at home came at the start of the 2005-06 season, when UIC participated in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, against the likes of Montana State, San Diego State and Denver. This is also the second time in four seasons under McClain that the Flames are playing at least their first game away from home.

UIC welcomes back four starters and seven letterwinners to the mix this season. The group includes Preseason All-Horizon League First Team selection Marcus Ottey, Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team honoree Tarkus Ferguson, the 2018 Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year Godwin Boahen, and one of two players to start all 36 games last season in Jordan Blount. All four players scored in double figures during the team's exhibition victory over Illinois Wesleyan on Nov. 1, with Blount pouring in a game-high 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Notre Dame returns only two starters from last season's squad that played in the NIT (Rex Pflueger and T.J. Gibbs), matching the low in the head coach Mike Brey era. The Fighting Irish do boast a recruiting class that was ranked No. 10 in the country by ESPN, which was the highest under Brey's watch.

OPENING TIP

• UIC begins the 2018-19 season on Tuesday, Nov. 6, when it travels to Notre Dame to open the Gotham Classic.
• It will be the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between the Flames and the Fighting Irish.
• It is the first of two road games this season against Power 5 foes (Dec. 8 at Colorado) and the first of two in the state of Indiana (Feb. 9 at IUPUI).
• UIC is opening a season on the road for the second time in four seasons under head coach Steve McClain.

A WIN VS. NOTRE DAME WOULD GIVE UIC...

• The second opening-night victory in four seasons under head coach Steve McClain.
• Ten wins in its last 11 true road games dating back to January 4, 2018 at IUPUI.
• Three wins all-time against current ACC schools, and the first since Dec. 14, 2008 at Georgia Tech.
• The 200^th win of McClain's head coaching career.

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 and sports information directors.
• The Flames finished third in 2017-18 with 12 wins in Horizon League play, the most since 2003-04.
• 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 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 FG% (8th), 3pt FG% (2nd) and FT% (6th).
• 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 over .500 with Ferguson healthy (17-10) and three games below without him in the lineup (3-6).

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• UIC recorded 20 wins last season, the most since the 2003-04 campaign.
• After winning only five games during the 2015-16 season, the Flames have won at least 17 games in back-to-back seasons.
• The 37 wins over two seasons are the most in a similar span since the 2002-2004 teams won 45 times. UIC went to the NIT in 2003 and the NCAA Tournament in 2004.
• The team's 12 Horizon League wins were the most since the 2003-04 season. That year the Flames earned their most recent NCAA Tournament bid.
• The Flames finished third in the Horizon League last season for the sixth time since joining the conference in 1994. It was the first occurrence since 2004.

ROAD WARRIORS

• UIC won nine consecutive true road games last season before losing in the championship of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on March 30 at Northern Colorado.
• The Flames won their final seven Horizon League tilts and CIT road games at Austin Peay and Liberty in March.
• Only three times during the streak did UIC trail at the half (IUPUI, Green Bay, Austin Peay).
• The team's conference road record of 7-2 was the best since joining the conference in 1994.

CLOSING TIME

• UIC was 16-1 last season with a haltime lead.
• The squad had four second-half comebacks, erasing halftime deficits at IUPUI on Jan. 4 (7 pts) and Jan. 27 (5 pts), Green Bay (4 pts) on Feb. 16 and Austin Peay (5 pts) on March 21.
• The lone loss came on Feb. 25 against NCAA Tournament participant Wright State (+8 pts).

BLOCK PARTY

• Last season UIC ranked second in the NCAA with 6.7 blocks per game (Michigan State).
• The Flames set a program record with 242 rejections, breaking the previous high by 58 blocks (2016-17).
• 112 blocks came from Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, UIC alum Tai Odiase.
• He set the school and conference records with 361 and graduated as the NCAA's active leader.

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, just outside Melbourne.
• Freshman Abraham Makumator hails from Accra, Ghana.
• Virginia and Bradley each have players from five continents to lead the country. UIC hosts Bradley on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

FRESH FACES

• The Flames welcome six newcomers to the roster this season, including two transfers from the junior college ranks.
• Forward Rob Howard arrives at UIC with two years of eligibility after playing two seasons at Shawnee Community College in downstate Illinois.
• Sharpshooter Jamie Ahale joins the Flames after playing one year at Mineral Area Community College.
• Ahale ranked 17^th in the NJCAA with 100 3-pointers made in 31 games last season.
• The freshmen class includes plenty of height. Travell Washington stands at 6'9", while Abraham Makumator is 7'0".
• Another freshman, Deon Ejim, will miss the 2018-19 season after sustaining a torn ACL and undergoing successful surgery in July.
• Ejim's fellow Canadian Brandon John is also part of the class, but he will not compete and has retired due to a chronic knee condition.
• Muhammed Edunjobi is a preferred walk-on from nearby Crete-Monee High School.

Check out the video below to get to know four of the new players in the UIC program:



More news, statistics and information can be found in the UIC Game Notes (PDF) linked in the blue box above. The Flames will continue the road trip on Friday, Nov. 9 at 2018 Big South Conference champion Radford.