UIC was picked to finish 10
th in the Horizon League preseason poll, which was released today.
The voting was done by conference head coaches. They predicted improvement for the Flames from last year, when they finished ahead of just one other school in the final standings. With 38 points in the voting, UIC was comfortably ahead of Purdue Fort Wayne and Detroit Mercy in the poll.
Tasha Pointer reflected the optimism of her peers heading into her fourth season. "We are excited about this season and looking forward to our breakthrough season this year," she said.
IUPUI, which made the championship game from the fifth seed in last season's tournament, was the near-unanimous choice to finish first in 2021-22. The Jaguars received 11 of 12 first-place votes. UIC will play IUPUI in back-to-back games January 21 and 23 in Indianapolis and Chicago, respectively.
Milwaukee and Green Bay were neck-and-neck in the second and third spots. Green Bay received the remaining first-place vote. Defending champion Wright State slipped into a tie for seventh.
IUPUI's Macee Williams was named the preseason Player of the Year.
Fans will get their first chance to see the Flames in action on November 4 in an exhibition game at Credit Union 1 Arena against Benedictine. The regular season starts November 10 at Northwestern.
#HLWBB Preseason Poll
| Place |
Team |
Points (First Place Votes) |
| 1. |
IUPUI |
139 (11) |
| 2. |
Milwaukee |
125 |
| 3. |
Green Bay |
120 (1) |
| 4. |
Northern Kentucky |
107 |
| 5. |
Oakland |
96 |
| 6. |
Cleveland State |
78 |
| T7. |
Wright State |
72 |
| T7. |
Youngstown State |
72 |
| 9. |
Robert Morris |
47 |
| 10. |
UIC |
38 |
| 11. |
Purdue Fort Wayne |
26 |
| 12. |
Detroit Mercy |
16 |
Â
