PRINCETON, N.J. – Following the program's first 20-win season in 14 years, the UIC Flames will open the 2018-19 season by participating in the seventh annual Gotham Classic.

In the round-robin event, the Flames will play on the road at Notre Dame, at Radford and at Duquesne, while taking on William & Mary at the UIC Pavilion. UIC won a program-record nine consecutive road games during the 2017-18 season between Jan. 4 – March 28. The streak was halted in the championship game of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at Northern Colorado on March 30.

Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the NIT last season and won at least 20 games (21) for the 14^th time under head coach Mike Brey. The Fighting Irish expect to return two starters from last year's squad, while welcoming in the nation's 10^th-ranked recruiting class according to ESPN.com.

Radford represented the Big South Conference in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and topped LIU Brooklyn in the First Four game before falling to eventual national champion Villanova. Three starters are expected to return from a group that won a school-record 23 games last season.

Duquesne went 16-16 last season, a six-win improvement under first-year head coach Keith Dambrot. The Dukes will evolve once again in the fall with the addition of five Division I transfers and the tallest recruiting class in program history with five players standing 6'9" or taller.

William & Mary won 19 games a year ago and led the NCAA in both 3-point field goal percentage (.434) and free throw percentage (.810). Nathan Knight, who led the Tribe in scoring (18.5 ppg) and blocked shots (61) returns along with two other starters from last season.

Over the past two seasons under head coach Steve McClain's guidance UIC has won 37 games and made back-to-back postseason appearances. There have been only three prior instances in program history that the Flames have won at least as many games in back-to-back seasons including: 1996-98 (37), 2001-03 (41) and 2002-04 (45). UIC advanced to postseason play in consecutive seasons for only the third time since 2001.

The Flames will return seven letterwinners in 2018-19, including Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year Godwin Boahen and CIT All-Tournament selections Tarkus Ferguson and Marcus Ottey. Boahen led the Horizon League in 3-point field goal percentage last season, while Ferguson paced the conference in assists for the second consecutive season. Ottey led the Flames in scoring during League play with 14.6 points per game and ranked second behind Boahen in 3-point field goal percentage.

Dates and times for the Gotham Classic, as well as UIC's complete 2018-19 schedule will be announced when available.

The Gotham Classic is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the Legends Classic, and the College Basketball Invitational. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.