THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Incarnate Word will tangle on the hardwood for only the second time ever when Thursday's game tips off.

• The Flames earned a 63-57 victory over the Cardinals in the inaugural series matchup on Dec. 17, 2018, also at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Michael Diggins led three UIC players in double figures that night, scoring a game-high 15 points while also earning game-best honors with seven rebounds and three blocks.

• The Flames took the lead for good less than five minutes into the game and opened up a double-digit margin for much of the contest before the Cardinals closed to within two possessions late in the contest.

• Thursday's game will mark the second consecutive year UIC has played host to a school from Texas. On Dec. 13, 2022, the Flames picked up a 70-61 win over Prairie View A&M behind a well-balanced line from current senior guard Toby Okani — 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.

MORE ON INCARNATE WORD

• Located in San Antonio, Incarnate Word has been a member of the Southland Conference since 2013, when the Cardinals moved up to the NCAA Division I level.

• UIW comes to town with a 3-7 record and has lost its last five games. 

• The Cardinals have not played since Dec. 13, when they dropped an 80-57 decision at in-state foe Rice despite being tied with the Owls early in the second half and trailing by only nine points with under eight minutes left.

• UIC and Incarnate Word have one common opponent this season — Jacksonville State. The Flames posted a 55-49 road win on Dec. 8, while UIW and Jax State split two close games last month. Incarnate Word won 67-66 on Nov. 22 and JSU prevailed 67-65 four days later at an MTE (multi-team event) hosted by UTSA.

• Junior guard Sky Wicks leads Incarnate Word in scoring (18.6 ppg.) and rebounding (6.7 rpg.). Wicks started his college career at Missouri State in 2020-21 before redshirting the following year and transferring to State College of Florida before last year.

• Incarnate Word has three Chicago natives on its roster — graduate student forward Shon Robinson, junior guard Josiah Hammons and sophomore forward/center Marcus Glover. The Cardinals' first-year head coach Shane Heirman is also originally from Chicagoland (McHenry, Ill.) and spent four seasons on the staff at DePaul (2018-21).

MAKING THE GRADE

• The UIC men's basketball team posted a program-record 3.18 Fall 2023 GPA, the third time in four semesters the Flames have finished with a record-setting GPA.

• In addition, three Flames players — senior guard Isaiah Rivera, junior forward Filip Skobalj and sophomore guard Drew King — posted earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the Fall 2023 semester.

• The men's basketball team's performance was part of a larger success story in the classroom for UIC athletics, as the 300 Flames' student-athletes combined to register a 3.34 department-wide GPA this past semester.

POLL POSITION

• UIC has been ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings all season long, standing No. 98 as of Wednesday's report.

• The Flames have risen as high as No. 52 in the NET rankings this season (Dec. 4 report), the highest for UIC since the current metric was introduced prior to the 2018-19 season.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE, PART I

• For much of the season, UIC has ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation in several major defensive categories. As of Wednesday, the Flames lead the nation in three-point percentage defense (.221), while ranking second in blocks (6.9 bpg.), 11th in field goal percentage defense (.375) and 20th in scoring defense (62.5 ppg.).

• During its Dec. 8 win at Jacksonville State, UIC held the Gamecocks to a 1-of-12 (.083) performance from three-point range. It marked the first time the Flames allowed just one triple on an opponent's home floor since Feb. 21, 2012, when UIC limited Butler to a 1-of-11 night from beyond the arc at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

• In its Nov. 14 road win, UIC held Loyola to a .328 field-goal percentage, 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

• 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 14-1 when holding opponents to 60 points or fewer, the lone loss coming back on Nov. 26 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 gave 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.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

• As of Wednesday, senior guard Toby Okani ranks fifth nationally in blocks per game (2.82) and 23rd in the land in defensive rebounds per game (6.91).

• Okani not only leads the MVC in blocks and defensive rebounds, but is also tops in The Valley in overall rebounding (8.3) and shares the lead in double-doubles (3), while ranking 10th in steals (1.4).

• Okani is the only player in the MVC to lead the conference in four statistical categories (no other Valley player leads in more than two areas).

• Okani is also the only player in the MVC to rank in the top 10 in the conference in the three primary defensive categories (rebounding, steals and blocks).

• Okani has recorded at least three blocks in six games this season, including a season-high six rejections in the Nov. 6 opener at Cincinnati.

THIS & THAT

• UIC has found quite a bit of success away from home this season. The Flames are a combined 4-2 in road/neutral games, including two wins over Atlantic 10 Conference opponents (Loyola and George Washington), as well as a 30-point victory over Conference USA preseason co-favorite Middle Tennessee.

• The Flames' dual wins over A-10 schools, both away from home (at Loyola on Nov. 14; vs. George Washington in the Bahamas on Nov. 25), marked the first time in program history UIC defeated two A-10 teams in the same season.

• Six of UIC's 11 games this year have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with the Flames going 3-3 in those contests. Four of the six close games took place away from home, with UIC winning three of those four.

LAST TIME OUT: WESTERN MICHIGAN

• Redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell set or tied career highs in five categories, including a personal-best 22 points, as the UIC men's basketball team returned to its winning ways last Saturday with an 89-68 victory over Western Michigan at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Brownell also set career highs with six rebounds, five blocked shots, four assists and 4-of-6 three-pointers in 28 minutes of action off the bench. Senior guard Toby Okani chipped in 19 points, sophomore guard Steven Clay scored 10 points and sophomore guard CJ Jones handed out a career-high 11 assists along with eight points.

• As a team, UIC shot 56.5 percent from the floor, including a season high-tying 14-of-28 from three-point range. The Flames also registered a season-best 30 assists on 35 baskets, the most assists by any MVC team this year and just one assist shy of the program record.

THE REIGN IN SPAIN

• UIC got an early jump on the 2023-24 season with a nine-day tour of Spain back in August, 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: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

• After the holiday break, UIC dives right back into Missouri Valley Conference play with a two-game road trip that begins Dec. 30 with a 6 p.m. (CT) contest at Southern Illinois. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the free live Flames Network radio feed can be heard at UICFlames.com.

• Southern Illinois is 7-4 this season (0-1 in the MVC) and most recently posted a 76-63 win over North Dakota State on Dec. 19 in Carbondale. The Salukis will entertain Southern Indiana on Friday before heading home for the holidays.

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 or 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.