THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Indiana State will tip off for only the fifth time in their history, with the Sycamores leading the all-time series with the Flames by a 3-1 count following wins in both MVC matchups last year (80-60 in Terre Haute; 79-60 in Chicago).

• Current junior forward Filip Skobalj led UIC with 12 points in the first meeting with Indiana State, while current sophomore guard CJ Jones dropped in 15 points in the second game with the Sycamores.

• The two schools also met in a home-and-home series in 2001 and 2002, splitting those two encounters with each side successfully defending its home court (UIC 70-54 on Nov. 18, 2001; ISU 73-54 on Dec. 23, 2002).

MORE ON INDIANA STATE

• At 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the MVC, Indiana State is currently tied with Drake atop the conference standings.  ISU is receiving votes in both major national polls this week and is No. 5 in the latest mid-major national poll, earning a first-place vote.

• The Sycamores have won their last three games, most recently on Sundat when they posted a 72-63 road win at Murray State.

• All five Indiana State starters currently average in double figures, led by junior guard Isaiah Swope (17.7 ppg.) and sophomore guard Ryan Conwell (15.9 ppg.). Junior guard Jayson Kent leads the Sycamores with 7.2 rpg., followed by sophomore center Robbie Avila, who adds 7.1 rpg. to his 15.6 ppg.

IT'S ALL GREEK TO US

• Along with Coaches vs. Cancer, UIC will also be celebrating Fraternity and Sorority Life Night before and during Wednesday's game against Indiana State.

• Eight UIC fraternities and sororities will be represented at the game, including at specific tables located around the main concourse at Credit Union 1 Arena.

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 4.74 assists per game and 11th in The Valley with a 1.80 assist/turnover ratio.

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

• Jones is also averaging 10.4 points per game this season (up more than 67 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.).

• Jones has recorded 5+ assists in 10 games this season, including six 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 been particularly effective in his last three games, averaging 18.3 points and 4.3 assists per contest while shooting .579 (22-of-38) from the field.

• On 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.

THEY CALL HIM MISTER KENNEDY

• After battling through some nagging injuries during the early part of the season, graduate student guard and Chicago native Marquise Kennedy has come alive lately, averaging 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in his last five outings (the past four as a member of the starting lineup). He is also shooting .609 (14-of-23) from the field in that span.

• Last Saturday, Kennedy tied his season high with 10 points at Valparaiso, having previously reached that total back on Nov. 14 in his UIC debut at his former school, Loyola.

TOBY OKANI - SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

• As of Tuesday, senior guard Toby Okani ranks 15th nationally in blocks per game (2.26), the only guard to rank among the NCAA Top 25 in that category.

• Okani leads the MVC in blocks, ranks second in defensive rebounds (5.95), while ranking third in The Valley in overall rebounding (7.21) and double-doubles (3), and placing ninth in steals (1.37).

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

TRIPLE SHOT POWER

• UIC has been particularly proficient beyond the arc this season, making at least 10 three-pointers in eight games and shooting better than 35 percent from deep 10 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 third in the MVC in three-pointers made (8.74 per game) and fifth in three-point percentage (.365).

WINNING WITH DEFENSE

• As of Tuesday, UIC ranks seventh in the nation in blocks (6.0 bpg.) and 15th 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.

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 (10) of UIC's 19 games this year have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Six of the 10 close games have taken place away from home, with UIC winning three of those six.

LAST TIME OUT: VALPARAISO

• Sophomore guard CJ Jones led four UIC players in double figures with 18 points and added a game-high eight assists, but Valparaiso found just enough of an edge in the final two minutes to pull out an 84-77 victory in MVC action last Saturday in Valparaiso, Ind.

• Junior forward Filip Skobalj scored 15 points – two off his season high – while collecting a team-high six rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Toby Okani chipped in with 11 points and graduate student guard Marquise Kennedy completed the Flames' double-figure quartet with 10 points.

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: BELMONT

• UIC opens a two-game MVC road swing at 4 p.m. (CT) Saturday when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to face Belmont. ESPN+ will carry the game live, while the free live Flames Network radio feed is always available at UICFlames.com.

• Belmont (11-9, 4-5 MVC) has lost four in a row heading into this weekend's game with UIC. The Bruins most recently fell at Illinois State, 77-67 on Tuesday.

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.