CHICAGO -- The UIC men's basketball team opens up the 2022-23 season on Monday, Nov. 7, when the Flames play host to Trinity Christian in the regular-season opener. Tipoff inside Credit Union 1 Arena is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN3. Monday's game will mark the first of three consecutive home games to open the regular season. UIC will square off against Loyola on Nov. 11 and Jacksonville State on Nov. 14 before hitting the road for the first time in 2022-23.

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN
• Monday's matchup will be the 10th meeting all-time between the Flames and Trolls. UIC owns an 8-1 meeting in the series history.
• The two teams met a season ago in the regular-season home opener for the Flames, with UIC cruising to a 91-50 inside Credit Union 1 Arena. Five Flames scored in double figures, including then-freshman Filip Skobalj recording 10 points.
• Six of the nine prior meetings happened prior to 1980. The final three meetings have all come within the last 10 years, with UIC cruising in the three meetings since the turn of the century.
• Monday's game will be an exhibition contest for Trinity Christian, a NAIA institution located in Palos Heights, Illinois. The Trolls are currently 3-0 with wins over Cardinal Stritch and Moody Bible.

FLAMES TOP SCARLET HAWKS IN EXHIBITION
• Tre Anderson scored a game-high 22 points as the Flames took down Illinois Tech, 90-52, in the team's lone exhibition contest.
• Anderson was 1-of-4 Flames to score in double figures. Cameron Fens scored 13, Jace Carter added 12 and Filip Skobalj dropped 11.
• All 11 players on the UIC roster saw action against the Scarlet Hawks, with 10 of the 11 scoring at least two points. All 10 players who scored also brought in at least two rebounds as well, led by Carter and Jaden Brownell with seven each.
• UIC dominated the glass, outrebounding Illinois Tech by a 47-28 margin, including a 15-4 edge in offensive rebounds.
• The Flames picked up 21 assists on their 35 made field goals while forcing IIT into 23 turnovers.

FAMILIAR FACES
• Four players return from last year's squad, including three who saw action in games.
• Jace Carter is back for his sophomore season after earning All-Freshman Team honors a year ago. Carter started in 17 of the final 18 games of the season after missing nine games due to injury. The rising sophomore averaged 8.1 points per game while ranking second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per contest.
• Filip Skobalj appeared in 29 games during his rookie campaign, making 22 starts. The native of Belgrade, Serbia, finished the season averaging 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest while shooting 37.1% from the field.
• Griffin Yaklich, the son of head coach Luke Yaklich, appeared in 11 games off the bench in 2021-22 while Jaden Brownell will look to make his on-court debut this year after redshirting a season ago.

TRANSFER TIMES TWO
• The Flames welcomed a pair of talented transfers this season in Tre Anderson and Toby Okani.
• Anderson, a graduate student, spent last season at Idaho after playing at San Francisco his first three seasons.
• In his collegiate career, Anderson has averaged 7.3 points per game over 77 career games played, shooting 40.4% from the field.
• Okani appeared in 48 games over two seasons at Duquesne before joining UIC prior to the start of the 2022-23 season.
• In his two seasons at Duquesne, Okani averaged 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

FRESHMEN FIVE
• Five freshmen join the Flames this season and will look to make an immediate impact on the court.
• Steve Clay, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports and the No. 6 player in the state of Wisconsin, averaged 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
• Christian Jones was also rated as a three-star prospect from Rivals and 247Sports. A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Jones is the No. 8 player in Illinois and averaged 15.4 points, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals.
• Jalen Jackson was selected to compete on the 2022 IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars Team and ended his senior year at Northrop High School as the No. 2 scorer in the state (27.6ppg).
• Cameron Fens averaged a double-double at Hempstead High School with 18.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, leading the team to an appearance in the Iowa Class 4A Substate finals.
• Bessany Saragba, a native of France, graduated from Trinity Collegiate School in South Carolina. During his time there, he earned All-Region and All-State honors three consecutive years.