CHICAGO -- UIC plays its final nonconference road game of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 18, as the Flames head to Normal to take on Illinois State in an in-state showdown. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. inside Redbird Arena.

SERIES STUFF
• Wednesday's meeting with be the 25th meeting in the series history and the third consecutive year the two teams have met.
• Illinois State leads the all-time series, 16-8. UIC won the last meeting, a 94-75 on Dec. 5 last year, breaking a streak of seven consecutive wins by the Redbirds.
• The Flames will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak inside Redbird Arena.
• Illinois State enters Wednesday's contest 4-6 overall following a 79-64 defeat to Horizon League foe Northern Kentucky last time out.
• Zach Copeland leads the Redbird offense, averaging a team-leading 15.2 points per game.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Braelen Bridges tallied UIC's third double-double of the season, and second in as many games, with 14 points and 14 rebounds against DePaul on Dec. 14.
• Bridges tied a season-high with the 14 points while setting a new high with the 14 rebounds. His 29 minutes played also set a new season/career best for the sophomore in his first year with the program.
• Godwin Boahen recorded UIC's second double-double of the year on Dec. 7 with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne.
• It was the second double-double of Boahen's career and the 12 rebounds matched a career-high for the senior.
• Junior Michael Diggins recorded his first-career double-double and the first double-double for UIC in 2019-20 on Nov. 16 against Bradley with a team-leading 13 points and 11 rebounds.

THE RETURN OF JUICE
• Senior Marcus Ottey made his season debut for the Flames in their game against DePaul on Dec. 14 after missing the first 10 games of the year due to injury.
• Ottey, UIC's active leader in career scoring, finished the game with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting while playing 24 minutes.