CHICAGO (Dec. 7, 2023) -- Following an eight-day hiatus for final exams, UIC returns to action at 6 p.m. (CT) Friday, going on the road for a non-conference match-up against Jacksonville State at Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala. It will be the Flames' final non-conference road game of the regular season.

UIC (5-3, 0-1 MVC) at Jacksonville State (4-5, 0-0 C-USA)
Friday, Dec. 8, 2023
6:00 p.m. CT
Pete Mathews Coliseum | Jacksonville, Ala.
ESPN+
Flames Network
Live Stats

•    Friday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Mickey Shadrix handling the play-by-play and Logan Maddox providing analysis.
•    Fans can also tune into Friday's game live and free of charge on the Flames Network 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.

THE SERIES BREAKDOWN
•    UIC and Jacksonville State are meeting for just the second time, capping off a home-and-home series that began last year.
•    In that inaugural matchup on Nov. 14, 2022, at Credit Union 1 Arena, the Flames came away with a 67-60 win over the Gamecocks. UIC jumped out to a 14-4 lead in that contest and never trailed en route to the victory.
•    Current UIC redshirt sophomore Jaden Brownell came off the bench to score nine points (3-3 3FG) and senior guard Toby Okani added seven points in last year's win over Jacksonville State.

MORE ON JACKSONVILLE STATE
•    In its first season in Conference USA after moving from the Atlantic Sun Conference, Jacksonville State is 4-5 and had a three-game winning streak snapped on Dec. 3 with a 61-59 loss at home to East Tennessee State.
•    Five of the Gamecocks' nine games this year have been decided by two points or fewer, including one that went to overtime.
•    Friday's game with UIC is the last of a three-game homestand for Jacksonville State, which defeated in-state foe South Alabama, 70-52 on Nov. 30, prior to the ETSU contest.
•    A pair of transfer guards lead the Gamecocks in scoring this season. Graduate student (and Xavier transfer) KyKy Tandy averages a team-high 18.3 ppg., while junior guard Quincy Clark (formerly at Lipscomb) adds 11.1 points and a  team-high 3.7 assists per game.
•    Jacksonville State assistant coach Marcus Belcher is closely familiar with UIC's home, the Missouri Valley Conference, having graduated from Southern Illinois in 2002 and subsequently serving on the staffs at four MVC schools (SIU, Evansville, Indiana State and Illinois State).

POLL POSITION
•    UIC debuted at No. 52 in the first NCAA NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings released on Monday, and as of Thursday, the Flames currently stand at No. 60.
•    It's the highest NET ranking for UIC since the current metric was introduced prior to the 2018-19 season.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
•    UIC continues to rank among the national leaders in several major defensive categories. The Flames are second in the country in three-point percentage defense (.225), blocks per game (10th - 6.2 bpg.) and field goal percentage defense (17th - .374).
•    UIC also leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 26th in the nation in scoring defense this season (62.6 ppg.).
•    During their three games in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving, 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.
•    Senior guard Toby Okani ranks 11th nationally in blocks per game (2.62) and 20th in the land in defensive rebounds per game (7.0), 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.
•    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 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 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.

JONES GETS THE POINT
•    In his last six games, sophomore guard CJ Jones has dished out at least five assists each time, averaging 6.3 apg. with a 2.71 assist/turnover ratio in that span.
•    Jones handed out a career-high eight assists on two occasions (Nov. 19 vs. Aurora and Nov. 30 vs. Illinois State) and added seven assists (while also scoring a career-high 22 points) in the Flames' Nov. 25 win over George Washington in the Bahamas.

TRIPLE THREAT
•    Junior forward Filip Skobalj is UIC's career leader with 122 made three-pointers and has been steadily adding to that total of late.
•    In the Flames' last six games, Skobalj is shooting an even 45 percent (18-of-40) from beyond the arc, including a career high-tying four triples twice in a five-day span (Nov. 25 vs. George Washington; Nov. 30 vs. Illinois State).
•    Skobalj's prowess from deep headlines a strong three-point presence for UIC this season. The Flames rank third in the Missouri Valley Conference and 53rd in the nation with 73 three-pointers this season (9.1 per game), having made at least seven treys in all but one game to date, and 10+ triples on four occasions (including a season-high 14 at home against Aurora on Nov. 19).

THIS & THAT
•    Friday's game will mark just the second time UIC has ever played a game in the state of Alabama and the first in more than 25 years. On Nov. 30, 1998, the Flames traveled to the state capital of Montgomery and posted a 74-67 win over Alabama State.
•    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.

LAST TIME OUT: ILLINOIS STATE
•    Junior forward Filip Skobalj scored a season-high 17 points, but Illinois State rallied in the second half to defeat UIC, 69-64 in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams on Nov. 30 at Credit Union 1 Arena.
•    Senior guard Isaiah Rivera added 15 points and sophomore guard CJ Jones tied his career high with eight assists for the Flames, who led for the first 27 minutes of action before the Redbirds' second-half comeback.
•    UIC held ISU to a .300 three-point percentage and forced 19 Redbird turnovers (the second-highest mark by a Flames' opponent this season) during the contest.