THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• Having shared membership in several different conferences since 1982, UIC and Valparaiso are no strangers to one another, with Saturday's game marking the 61st meeting in the series between the Flames and Beacons.

• UIC holds a 33-27 series edge over Valparaiso and has won four of the past five matchups.

• This is the second meeting this season between the Flames and Beacons, with UIC come out on top, 70-64 in their first encounter on Jan. 6 at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• In that matchup two weeks ago, the Flames got a game-high 24 points from senior guard Isaiah Rivera and held Valparaiso without a field goal (and two points total) during the final 8:20 to secure the win.

• Last year, the schools split their two MVC games, with each side successfully defending its home court. Valparaiso won 76-66 on Jan. 16, 2023, before UIC prevailed 74-73 on Feb. 19, 2023.

• UIC and Valparaiso have shared membership in three conferences for portions of the past 40 years, first in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities/Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summit League) from 1981-82 to 1993-94, and in the Horizon League from 2007-08 through 2016-17 (prior to their current MVC affiliation). In that four-decade span (and counting this year's first meeting), the schools have met 56 times in conference or postseason tournament play, with UIC owning a 31-25 advantage against Valparaiso in those games.

MORE ON VALPARAISO

• Valparaiso is 5-13 this season and 1-6 in the MVC following a 78-75 loss at Evansville on Wednesday night. The Beacons have lost 11 of their last 12, snapping a 10-game losing streak last Sunday (Jan. 14) with a 59-50 win on the road at Illinois State.

• Junior guard Isaiah Stafford leads Valparaiso in scoring (17.1 ppg.), including a career-high 31 points in the Beacons' narrow loss at Evansville on Wednesday. Freshman forward Cooper Schweiger is second in scoring (10.7 ppg.) and sophomore guard/Murray State transfer Jaxon Edwards is tops in rebounding (5.8 rpg.).

• UIC head coach Luke Yaklich and Valparaiso head coach Roger Powell Jr. both have ties to Joliet West High School in Joliet, Ill. Yaklich coached there for six seasons (2007-08 through 2012-13) while Powell is a 2001 graduate of the school.

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 fourth in the MVC with 4.56 assists per game and 13th in The Valley with a 1.71 assist/turnover ratio.

• Jones is also averaging 9.9 points per game this season (up almost 60 percent from last year's 6.2 ppg.) and is logging 3.4 rebounds per game (improving nearly 79 percent from last year's 1.9 rpg.).

• Last Saturday (Jan. 13) against Bradley, Jones poured in a career-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, his second career 20-point outing after a 22-point performance in a win over George Washington on Nov. 25 in the Bahamas.

• Jones has more than doubled his assist average from last year (2.1 apg.) and improved his assist/turnover ratio by close to 27 percent from a season ago (1.35). 

• 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.

TOBY OKANI - SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

• As of Friday, senior guard Toby Okani ranks 13th nationally in blocks per game (2.33), 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 third in The Valley in double-doubles (3), ranking third in overall rebounding (7.39) and placing ninth in steals (1.44).

• Okani is one of just three 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.

• Okani has 42 total blocks this year, putting him 10 shy of moving into the top 10 on the UIC single-season list (Sherell Ford is 10th with 52 swats in 1994-95).

RIVERA BRINGS THE HEAT FOR FLAMES

• In his first season at UIC, senior guard Isaiah Rivera has emerged as one of the Flames' top offensive threats, ranking 16th in the MVC in scoring with a team-high 14.3 points per game and 11th in the conference in three-point percentage (.415).

• Rivera has scored in double figures a team-best 13 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 win over Little Rock.

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 nine times.

• Seven different UIC players have made at least 10 three-pointers this year, including four with 20 treys (and two others with at least 16 triples to date).

• For the season, the Flames are tied for second in the MVC in three-pointers made (8.67 per game) and sixth in three-point percentage (.363).

WINNING WITH DEFENSE

• As of Friday, UIC ranks seventh in the nation in blocks (6.1 bpg.) and eighth in three-point percentage defense (.276).

• 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.

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.

• Half (9) of UIC's 18 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: MURRAY STATE

• Senior guard Isaiah Rivera scored a team-high 16 points to lead three UIC players in double figures, but Murray State used an early second-half run to pull away for a 73-58 victory in MVC action Wednesday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Sophomore guard CJ Jones and junior forward Ethan Pickett each scored 12 points for UIC, with Jones also dishing out four assists. Senior guard Toby Okani chipped in with game highs of eight rebounds and five assists.

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: INDIANA STATE

• UIC is back at Credit Union 1 Arena next Wednesday, Jan. 24, when the Flames welcome Indiana State for a 7 p.m. (CT) conference contest. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ and the free live Flames Network radio feed can be heard on UICFlames.com.

• Indiana State (15-3, 6-1 MVC) is tied with Drake atop the MVC standings. The Sycamores embark on a two-game road trip that starts Saturday at Murray State before continuing next week at UIC.

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.