CHICAGO -- UIC opens up play in the 2021 Horizon League Basketball Championship on Thursday, Feb. 25, as the 11th-seeded Flames hit the road to take on sixth-seeded Youngstown State. Tipoff inside the Beeghly Center is slated for 8 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN

• Thursday will mark the second consecutive year in which the Flames and Penguins meet in the conference tournament.

• UIC and Youngstown State met in the quarterfinals of last year's tournament, with the Flames advancing to Indianapolis with a 67-61 decision.

• This will be the third game this season between the two schools, with all three meetings taking place in Youngstown. Michael Diggins' buzzer-beating tip-in lifted the Flames to a 67-66 win on Jan. 22 before the Penguins evened the season series with an 85-77 decision the following day.

• In the two regular season games, Teyvion Kirk averaged a team-leading 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and five assists per contest. He was one of five Flames to average double figures this season against the Penguins.

• UIC has dominated the series of late, winning eight of the last 11 meetings between the two schools, including a stretch of seven consecutive wins.

MESSED AROUND AND GOT A TRIPLE-DOUBLE

• Teyvion Kirk collected the third triple-double in UIC history in the Flames' win over Oakland on Dec. 20.

• The junior scored a career-high 22 points and brought in a career-best 11 rebounds to go along with 11 assists. He became the third player in program history to record a triple-double, joining Godwin Boahen (Dec. 22, 2016) and Tarkus Ferguson (Dec. 5, 2018).

• Kirk is one of 14 players in Division I basketball to record a triple-double this season and one of two Horizon League player to do so.