THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Bradley will meet for the 11th time in series history, with the Flames seeking to get back in the win column against the Braves for the first time since a 71-70 victory on Nov. 17, 2018, also at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• With UIC joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022-23, the Flames and Braves met twice on the hardwood last year, with Bradley prevailing both times, including a narrow 83-76 decision in the teams' most recent matchup on Jan. 29, 2023, at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• In last January's encounter in Chicago, current UIC junior forward Filip Skobalj scored 14 points and current senior guard Toby Okani added nine points and five assists for the Flames.

MORE ON BRADLEY

• Bradley (11-5, 3-2 MVC) carries a five-game winning streak in Saturday's contest at UIC. Most recently, the Braves picked up an 86-50 victory at home over Evansville on Wednesday night.

• UIC and Bradley are two of the top three teams in The Valley in scoring defense, with the Flames second (64.6 ppg.) and the Braves third (66.5 ppg.). The teams are also tied for second in the conference, each making 8.75 three-pointers per game.

• Despite missing four games with an injury, hunior guard Connor Hickman leads Bradley in scoring this season (14.3 ppg.) and ranks sixth in the MVC with a .437 three-point percentage. Graduate student forward Malevy Leons is second on the team in scoring (13.1 ppg.) and adds a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game, tying with UIC's Toby Okani for second in the MVC. Senior forward Darius Hannah chips in 11.6 ppg. and leads the conference with a .648 field-goal percentage.

TRIPLE SHOT POWER

• UIC has been particularly proficient beyond the arc this season, making at least 10 three-pointers in seven games and shooting better than 35 percent from deep eight times.

• Six different UIC players have made at least 10 three-pointers this year, including three with 20 treys (and a fourth — sophomore guard Steven Clay — with 18 triples).

• For the season, the Flames are tied with Bradley for second in the MVC in three-pointers made (8.75 per game) and fourth in the conference in three-point percentage (.363).

WINNING WITH DEFENSE

• As of Friday, UIC ranks sixth in the nation in blocks (6.3 bpg.) and ninth in three-point percentage defense (.273).

• Since blocks became an official NCAA statistic in 1985-86, only one MVC team has finished an entire season averaging better than 5.0 bpg. (Wichita State had 5.1 bpg. in 2013-14), and just five have done so in conference play (WSU holds the record with 5.6 bpg. in 2013-14).

• The UIC school record for blocks per game in one season is 6.7 bpg., set during the 2017-18 campaign.

• In the four-year Luke Yaklich era, 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.

TOBY OKANI - SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

• As of Friday, senior guard Toby Okani ranks eighth nationally in blocks per game (2.5), the only guard to rank among the NCAA Top 25 in that category.

• Okani leads the MVC in blocks and defensive rebounds (6.06), while tying for second in The Valley in overall rebounding (7.3) and double-doubles (3), and placing 10th in steals (1.5).

• Okani is one of just two players 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 eight games this season, including a season-high six rejections in the Nov. 6 opener at Cincinnati.

RIVERA BRINGS THE HEAT FOR FLAMES

• In his first season at UIC after transferring from Colorado State, senior guard Isaiah Rivera has emerged as one of the Flames' top offensive threats, ranking 13th in the MVC in scoring with a team-high 14.8 points per game.

• The Geneseo, Ill., native is also among the top 15 in the conference in three-point percentage (12th - .403) and field-goal percentage (14th - .480).

• Rivera has scored in double figures 12 times this season and has the first four 20-point games of his career, including a career-high 25 points on Nov. 10 in the Flames' home-opening victory over Little Rock.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES

• Among UIC's many second-year players who have shown significant development this season is sophomore guard CJ Jones, who ranks third in the MVC with 4.81 assists per game and 12th in The Valley with a 1.79 assist/turnover ratio.

• Jones has recorded 5+ assists in nine games this season, including five contests in which he registered at least eight assists. Leading the way was his career-high 11-assist day against Western Michigan on Dec. 16.

• Jones has more than doubled his assist average from last year (2.1 apg.) and improved his assist/turnover ratio by nearly 33 percent from a season ago (1.35). 

• Jones is also averaging 8.9 points per game this season (up more than 43 percent from last year's 6.2 ppg.) and is logging 3.5 rebounds per game (improving more than 84 percent from last year's 1.9 rpg.).

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 — 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.

THIS & THAT

• During the non-conference portion of its schedule, UIC banked several key wins away from home. The Flames captured victories over two 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.

• More than half (9) of UIC's 16 games this year have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Five of the nine close games have taken place away from home, with UIC winning three of those five.

LAST TIME OUT: NORTHERN IOWA

• Sophomore guard Steven Clay came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points for UIC, but Northern Iowa did just enough in the closing minutes to turn back a determined Flames squad, 67-59 on Wednesday night in Missouri Valley Conference action at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

• Redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell and sophomore guard CJ Jones each added nine points for UIC (8-8, 1-4 MVC), which shot 46.2 percent from the floor. The Flames also finished with a 30-25 rebounding edge for the night, with Northern Iowa's 25 boards the fewest by a UIC opponent in more than nine years (21 by Cleveland State on Jan. 4, 2015).

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: MURRAY STATE

• UIC is back on the home hardwood next Wednesday, Jan. 17, as the Flames welcome Murray State to Credit Union 1 Arena for a 7 p.m. (CT) conference contest. The game will be televised live on ESPN+, while the free live Flames Network radio feed can be heard at UICFlames.com.

• Murray State (7-9, 4-1 MVC) is among a five-team logjam tied for first place in the conference standings entering this weekend's action. The Racers play host to Northern Iowa Saturday afternoon before making the trip north to face UIC next 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 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.