CHICAGO -- UIC begins a brief two-game stint away from home Saturday afternoon, Dec. 8, when the Flames invade the Rocky Mountain State to take on the Colorado Buffaloes inside the CU Events Center at 5 p.m. CT/4 p.m. MT.

It will be the first-ever matchup between the Flames (4-5) and Buffaloes (6-1). It's the sixth time in program history that UIC is facing a Pac-12 squad, having previously played against both Oregon and Oregon State. UIC has one win against current conference members, defeating the Beavers on Dec. 16, 2009, 63-61.

Saturday's game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network with Drew Goodman (PxP) and Ben Braun (analyst) on the call.

3-POINT PLAY

• UIC returns to the state where the 2017-18 season came to an end. The Flames played at Northern Colorado on March 30 in the championship of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, falling just short 76-71.
• UIC head coach Steve McClain was on staff at CU from 2007-10 under former head coach and UIC alumnus Jeff Bzdelik.
• The Flames are seeking their first road win of the season in their fifth attempt. UIC was 9-8 in true road games last season and won nine in a row between Jan. 4 at IUPUI and March 28 at Liberty.

TARKUS' TRIPLE-DOUBLE

• Guard Tarkus Ferguson posted only the second triple-double in program history on Wednesday against Illinois State, and the first against a Division I opponent.
• Ferguson tallied 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Flames win.
• The 12 boards matched a career high and the 11 dimes equaled a season high.
• He is one of 13 players in the NCAA to record a triple-double this season, and one of two in the Horizon League (Drew McDonald, NKU).
• Ferguson leads the Flames in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks this year.
• Godwin Boahen notched the first triple-double in UIC history on Dec. 22, 2016 against Roosevelt. He had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists vs. the NAIA foe.

BOAHEN'S BREAKOUT

• Guard Godwin Boahen exploded for a career-high 24 points on Nov. 15 against William & Mary. He made a personal-best seven field goals and eight free throws (in eight attempts) against the Tribe.
• He scored 22 points and was 6-for-6 from 3-point range Wednesday against ISU.
• The Canadian earned Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2017-18, becoming the first player in program history to do so.
• Boahen led the conference in 3-point shooting percentage in all games (50.8 percent) and conference games (42.6 percent) last year.
• He owns an active streak of at least one 3-pointer made in 27 consecutive games.
• Boahen has started all nine games this season and in 41 of 74 career games at UIC.

RISE AND FIRE

• The Flames rank 16^th in the NCAA with 93 3-pointers made and 19^th with 10.3 3-point field goals per game this season.
• Nine different players have converted at least one 3-pointer through nine games, and seven have made at least five.
• Tarkus Ferguson ranks 12^th nationally with 31 3-pointers made this season.
• He matched career highs from downtown with five at Radford, vs. William & Mary and at Saint Joseph's.
• Godwin Boahen is 35^th with 28 3-pointers made this year. He made a career-high six against Illinois State on six attempts.
• 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.
• The Flames made a season-low five shots from beyond the arc against Loyola, but responded with 11 against Illinois State.

JUNIORS JUST GET BUCKETS

• UIC's top five scorers by average are all juniors with three in their third season with the Flames, one in his second and one a newcomer.
• The top three scorers - Tarkus Ferguson (17.1), Marcus Ottey (16.1) and Godwin Boahen (15.9)  - account for 60.5 percent of the team's scoring output this season.
• That trio has combined to play 221 games and make 157 starts in a Flames uniform.
• All three rank in the top eight in the Horizon League in scoring, while only one other team, Oakland, has two in the top 10.

More statistics, notes and information can be found in the UIC Game Notes (PDF) linked in the blue box above.