CHICAGO (Nov. 29, 2023) – UIC will look to build on its very successful trip to the Bahamas when it returns home Thursday to open the 2023-24 Missouri Valley Conference season with a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup against Illinois State at Credit Union 1 Arena. Fans can tune into Thursday's game live on ESPN+ and the Flames Network, with the radio broadcast live and free of charge through UICFlames.com. The Voice of the Flames, Jonathan Hood, is now in his 12th season calling the action, alongside UIC legend and the program's second all-time scorer, Kenny Williams.


ILLINOIS STATE (3-3, 0-0 MVC) at UIC (5-2, 0-0 MVC)
Thursday, Nov. 30 | 7 p.m. CT
Credit Union 1 Arena (8,000) | Chicago, Illinois
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THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• Thursday will mark the 28th meeting in the series between UIC and Illinois State, with the Redbirds holding an 18-9 series lead against the Flames.
• The schools split last year's two conference contests, each successfully defending its home floor.
• UIC toppled Illinois State, 55-51 on Dec. 28, 2022, at Credit Union 1 Arena, earning the Flames' first-ever MVC win. ISU came back with a 68-62 OT win on Feb. 1, 2023, in Normal.
• In UIC's home win over Illinois State last season, current senior guard Toby Okani piled up 18 points (8-10 FG), seven rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots.

MORE ON ILLINOIS STATE

• Illinois State is 3-3 this season, having most recently dropped two of three games at the Gulf Coast Showcase Nov. 20-22 in Estero, Fla. The Redbirds will be coming off an eight-day break prior to Thursday's MVC opener at UIC.
• ISU won its tournament opener in Florida over Long Beach State (61-52), but then dropped a nailbiter to High Point (74-72) before closing with a loss to Wright State (74-49).
• The Redbirds' other wins came against Eastern Illinois (69-61) and NAIA member Lourdes (75-56), along with a road loss at Saint Louis (80-71).
• ISU is led in scoring by senior guards Malachi Poindexter (10.7 ppg.) and Dalton Banks (10.5 ppg.), while senior forward Myles Foster averaged a team-high 6.5 rpg.
• Three members of the UIC coaching staff are Illinois State alums — head coach Luke Yaklich ('98), assistant coach Tony Wills ('17) and director of player personnel Madison Williams ('20). Yaklich also spent four seasons (2013-14 to 2016-17) as an assistant coach/associate head coach at ISU (Wills was a senior and Williams a freshman during Yaklich's final season at Illinois State in 2016-17).

POLL POSITION

• UIC is earning nine votes in this week's College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll that was released Monday. It would put UIC 48th if the poll were extended.
• Along with Sunday's one-point loss to UNCG (which is No. 5 this week), UIC earned a 70-40 win over Middle Tennessee (which is receiving votes) to open last weekend's Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship.

LAST TIME OUT: UNCG

• UIC came within seconds of capturing the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship and knocking off a top-10 opponent in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, but No. 7 UNCG hit two foul shots with 3.5 seconds left to escape with a 58-57 win on Sunday night in Nassau, Bahamas.
• The Flames led by as many as eight (32-24) early in the second half, and led 57-56 with 7.8 seconds left after redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell canned a fadeaway jumper from the right elbow as the shot clock expired.
• Senior guard Isaiah Rivera scored a team-high 14 points for UIC and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• As a team, the Flames outshot UNCG in all three categories — field goal percentage (.392 to .375), three-point percentage (.267 to .158) and free throw percentage (.692 to .619), owned a +10 rebounding edge (40-30) and held the Spartans more than 23 points below their season scoring average.

RIVERA COPS ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS

• Senior guard Isaiah Rivera represented the Flames on the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship All-Tournament Team last weekend.
• During his three games in the islands, Rivera averaged 14.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting .586 from the field (17-of-29) and .467 from the three-point line (7-of-15).
• Rivera scored a game-high 23 points (8-13 FG, career high-tying 4-7 3FG), two off his career best, in UIC's tournament semifinal win over previously-unbeaten George Washington before adding a team-high 14 points in Sunday's title game against UNCG.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE, PART I

• Through seven games this season, UIC ranks among the top five in the nation in three key defensive categories (as of Wednesday) — three-point percentage defense (3rd - .220), blocks per game (4th - 6.6 bpg.) and field goal percentage defense (5th - .354).
• During their three games in the Bahamas last weekend, the Flames held their three opponents (Middle Tennessee, George Washington, UNCG) to a combined 59.0 points per game, a .362 field goal percentage (63-of-174) and a .231 three-point percentage (15-of-65).
• In its Nov. 14 road win, UIC held Loyola to a .328 field-goal percentage in its Nov. 14 win, the best defensive performance by the Flames against Ramblers since Feb. 24, 2007, when UIC held Loyola to a .296 mark in a 52-51 win, also at Gentile Arena.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE, PART II

• Senior guard Toby Okani ranks 13th nationally in blocks per game (2.71) and 20th in the land in defensive rebounds per game (7.29), leading the MVC in both categories.
• Okani has recorded at least three blocks in four games this season, including a season-high six rejections in the Nov. 6 opener at Cincinnati.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE, PART III

• UIC head coach Luke Yaklich has developed a deserved reputation for building tough, defensive-minded clubs throughout his career on the sidelines.
• In his three-plus seasons with the Flames, UIC is 13-1 when holding opponents to 60 points or fewer, the lone loss coming Sunday night in the Flames' 58-57 last-second defeat to UNCG.
• The 40 points UIC allowed to Middle Tennessee on Nov. 24 in the Bahamas were the fewest yielded by the Flames since Dec. 30, 2014, in a 79-38 win over Judson at Credit Union 1 Arena.
• It was also the fewest points UIC has given up to a Division I opponent since Nov. 17, 2012, in a 62-36 win over Mercer at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

FINDING THE RANGE

• Senior guard Isaiah Rivera ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Missouri Valley Conference (as of Wednesday) with a .529 three-point percentage.
• Rivera has made more than half his three-point attempts in four of seven games this season, including both of UIC's home contests this season. In fact, the Geneseo, Ill., native is 7-of-8 from beyond the arc in the Flames' two games at Credit Union 1 Arena (4-of-5 vs. Little Rock on Nov. 10; 3-of-3 vs. Aurora on Nov. 19).

JONES GETS THE POINT

• In his last five games, sophomore guard CJ Jones has dished out at least five assists each time, averaging 6.0 apg. with a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio in that span.
• Jones handed out a career-high eight assists in UIC's Nov. 19 win over Aurora and added seven assists (while also scoring a career-high 22 points) in the Flames' Nov. 25 win over George Washington in the Bahamas.

THIS & THAT

• Senior guard Isaiah Rivera is expected to play in the 100th game of his career on Thursday night against Illinois State. Rivera played his first 92 games at Colorado State before he transferred to UIC this past summer.
• UIC's 5-1 start this year was its best opening to a campaign since the 2012-13 season, when the Flames started off 9-1.
• UIC has a pair of wins this season over Atlantic 10 Conference schools, both away from home (at Loyola on Nov. 14; vs. George Washington in the Bahamas on Nov. 25). It's believed to be the first time in program history the Flames have defeated two A-10 teams in the same season.

THE REIGN IN SPAIN

• UIC got an early jump on the 2023-24 season with a nine-day tour of Spain, winning all three games it played against local club teams in Barcelona and Madrid.
• The Flames also enjoyed a number of the famous local attractions during their trip, including Barcelona's legendary church, La Sagrada Familia, and popular shopping district, Las Ramblas.

CARLOS HARRIS SIGNS WITH UIC

• On Nov. 9, UIC announced point guard Carlos Harris (6-2, 180) has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Flames beginning in 2024-25.
• One of the top players in the Chicago Public League for Curie Metropolitan High School, Harris averaged 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals per game last season in helping the Condors to a 20-11 record.
• Harris is a three-star athlete who is the No. 35 point guard in the country and the No. 13 player in the state of Illinois in the Class of 2024.

UP NEXT: JACKSONVILLE STATE

• UIC heads into its final exam break for the next week before returning to the hardwood Dec. 8 for a 6 p.m. (CT) road contest at Jacksonville State. That game will be streamed live on ESPN+ from Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala., with a free live radio broadcast on the Flames Network at UICFlames.com.
• The Gamecocks, in their first season in Conference USA after moving from the Atlantic Sun Conference, are 3-4 this season after winning twice at the UTSA Roadrunner Classic last weekend in San Antonio. JSU will play host to South Alabama (Thursday) and East Tennessee State (Dec. 3) before UIC comes calling later in the week.

THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN

• Season and single-game tickets, as well as mini-plans and flex ticket plans for all UIC basketball home games may be purchased online through Ticketmaster and UICFlames.com/Tickets, by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312-413-UIC1; athleticsticketing@uic.edu) or visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game night.
• Fans can also learn more about the benefits associated with purchasing season or single-game passes for the Courtside Club at Credit Union 1 Arena through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office or the arena box office.