CHICAGO -- The UIC men's basketball team opens the 2019-20 regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as the Flames play host to Olivet Nazarene. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Credit Union 1 Arena, with Tuesday's game being broadcast on ESPN3. Jonathan Hood and Chris Bleck will have the call of the action.

3 POINT PLAY
• The UIC men's basketball program opens up its 72nd season of competition on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as the Flames play host to Olivet Nazarene in the regular-season opener. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Credit Union 1 Arena.
• UIC was picked to finish third in the Horizon League preseason poll and received one first-place vote.
• The Flames were represented on the Preseason All-Horizon League Team by Tarkus Ferguson (First Team) and Marcus Ottey (Second Team).

SERIES STUFF
• Tuesday's meeting is just the second regular-season meeting in program history between the Flames and the Tigers.
• UIC and Olivet Nazarene met on Nov. 29, 1995, with UIC picking up a 99-78 decision.
• The two teams did face each other recently, meeting for an exhibition contest on Nov. 22, 2017. UIC picked up a 107-83 victory inside the then-UIC Pavilion.
• Marcus Ottey scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Ottey was one of four Flames in double figures, joined by Tai Odiase (21 pts), Michael Diggins (13 pts) and Dominique Matthews (13 pts).
• UIC was shot 69.4 percent from the field in the game, including 26-of-37 (70.3%) in the opening half.
• The Flames shared the ball, assisting on 33 of the 43 made baskets. Tarkus Ferguson alone had 13 assists while Diggins added six. 
• UIC controlled the glass, owning a 35-21 advantage in rebounds.

BACKCOURT VETS
• UIC returns a trio of senior guards to its backcourt in 2019-20 in Tarkus Ferguson, Marcus Ottey and Godwin Boahen.
• UIC is just one of three Division I programs to return at least two 1,000-point guards this year, with all three Flames guards eclipsing the 1,000-point mark last year.
• The duo of Ottey (1,287) and Ferguson (1,182) enter the season with a combined 2,469 career points, making them the top returning guard combination of the three Division I programs that feature two 1,000-point scorers.
• Ferguson's numbers could be replaced with Boahen's productivity (1,064 pts), and the Flames would still rank first nationally.
• UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace rank second with 2,241 combined points entering 2019-20 while Bowling Green's Justin Turner and Dylan Frye have combined to score 2,211 points in their career.
• Ferguson and Ottey, as well as Ferguson and Boahen, combined to average 30.3 points per game last year, tied for the fifth-highest point per game average among returning backcourt duos.

TARKUS DOES IT ALL
• A year ago, Tarkus Ferguson led the Flames in every major statistical category: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes.
• Heading into the 2019-20 season, Ferguson is the only active Division I player to lead their team in all six categories.
• It is believed that Green Bay's recently graduated Sandy Cohen III was the only other player to accomplish the feat last year.