CHICAGO (Nov. 20, 2023) – UIC senior guard Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. Rivera is the first Flames' men's basketball player to earn that award since the program joined the MVC prior to last season, and the first to receive a conference's top weekly accolade since Jan. 17, 2022, when Kevin Johnson was the Horizon League Player of the Week.
 
"The award is well-deserved for Isaiah," said head coach Luke Yaklich. "He has put in a lot of time and effort, like a lot of players on our team. He shot the ball really well this week, guarded (well) and finished at a high level around the rim. We are appreciative of The Valley for recognizing our student-athletes and Isaiah, in particular, for this award. We look forward to having several more down the road."
 
Rivera averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last week with a 3.00 assist/turnover ratio, a .591 field-goal percentage (13-of-22) and a razor-sharp .600 three-point percentage (6-of-10) as UIC improved to 3-1 this season with victories on the road at crosstown rival Loyola and at home vs. Aurora.
 
Rivera scored a game-high 23 points (8-15 FG, 3-7 3FG), including 13 in the second half, in a Nov. 14 win at Loyola. He then turned in a near-perfect shooting performance with 13 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 3FG) and four rebounds in Sunday's victory over Aurora.
 
For the season, Rivera is averaging a team-high 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while shooting .558 from the field and .579 from the three-point line.
 
UIC is back on the hardwood at 3:30 p.m. (CT) Friday when it takes on Middle Tennessee in the opening round of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in Nassau, Bahamas. The game will be streamed live on FloSports and live stats will be available at UICFlames.com.
 
The Flames will play a total of three games in the Bahamas before returning home to open MVC play on Thursday, Nov. 30, welcoming Illinois State to Credit Union 1 Arena for a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup. Tickets for that game, and all UIC home basketball games, can be purchased online through Ticketmaster or UICFlames.com/Tickets, contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421), or visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game nights.
 
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through Twitter (@UIC_MBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_mbb and @uicflames).