THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• Wednesday will mark the ninth time UIC and Evansville have met on the hardwood, with the Flames owning a 7-1 series lead over the Purple Aces, including wins in the past six contests between the schools.

• Seven of the eight series games between UIC and Evansville have been decided by single digits, the lone exception being the Flames' 70-54 win on Nov. 21, 2003, in Evansville.

• Before their current shared membership in the Missouri Valley Conference, UIC and Evansville played three separate home-and-home series (2001-02, 2003-04 and 2010-11). The Flames won five of those six non-conference contests.

• During UIC's inaugural season in the MVC in 2022-23, the Flames swept both matchups with the Purple Aces, prevailing 70-61 on Feb. 4, 2023, at Credit Union 1 Arena, and 82-76 on Feb. 22, 2023, in Evansville.

• In the first meeting, UIC erased a one-point halftime deficit with a strong second half performance. Current sophomore guard Steven Clay came off the bench to score a (then) career-high 17 points in the win.

• Despite being down to seven players due to injury and COVID protocols, the Flames battled past Evansville in the teams' most recent meeting late last season. Current junior forward Filip Skobalj collected 16 points and six rebounds in the win.

• UIC and Evansville will play for a second time this season on Feb. 21 at Credit Union 1 Arena. That game will tip off at 7 p.m. (CT) and will be available on ESPN+ and the Flames Network.

MORE ON EVANSVILLE

• Evansville is 12-9 this season and has a 3-7 record in the MVC. The Purple Aces won 10 of their first 12 games and come into Wednesday's contest with UIC having split their last four games.

• In its last outing on Jan. 27, Evansville pulled out a 58-54 win at home over Illinois State behind 17 points from senior forward Yacine Toumi.

• Despite missing eight of the past nine games, senior forward/guard Ben Humrichous continues to lead Evansville in scoring (15.6 ppg.) and three-point percentage (.484), followed by Toumi, who is second in scoring (11.6 ppg.) and tops in rebounding (6.6 rpg.) with a team-high .575 field-goal percentage.

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 5.0 assists per game and 11th in The Valley with a 1.75 assist/turnover ratio.

• Jones has more than doubled his assist average from last year (2.1 apg.) and improved his assist/turnover ratio by almost 30 percent from a season ago (1.35). 

• Jones is also averaging 11.0 points per game this season (up more than 77 percent from last year's 6.2 ppg.) and is logging 3.6 rebounds per game (improving nearly 90 percent from last year's 1.9 rpg.).

• Jones has recorded 5+ assists in 12 games this season, including eight contests in which he registered at least seven 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 five games, averaging 17.6 points and 5.6 assists per contest while shooting .531 (34-of-64) 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.

RIVERA BRINGS THE HEAT FOR FLAMES

• Senior guard Isaiah Rivera has emerged as one of the Flames' top offensive threats this year, ranking 13th in the MVC in scoring with a team-high 14.2 points per game and sixth in the conference in three-point percentage (.414).

• Rivera has scored in double figures a team-best 14 times this season and has the first five 20-point games of his career, including a career-high 25 points on Nov. 10 in the Flames' home-opening win over Little Rock.

TOBY OKANI - SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

• As of Tuesday, senior guard Toby Okani ranks 23rd nationally in blocks per game (2.19), the only guard to rank among the NCAA Top 25 in that category.

• Okani leads the MVC in blocks, ranks fourth in double-doubles (3), fifth in defensive rebounds (5.76), sixth in overall rebounding (7.1) and ninth in steals (1.43).

• 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 a career-high 46 blocks this year, putting him just six 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 10 games and shooting better than 35 percent from deep 12 times.

• Seven different UIC players have made at least 10 three-pointers this year, including five with 20 treys (and Okani has 18 triples to date).

• For the season, the Flames are third in the MVC in three-pointers (8.9 per game) and fifth in three-point percentage (.368).

FLAMES THROWING A BLOCK PARTY

• As of Tuesday, UIC ranks seventh in the nation in blocks (5.8 bpg.) and 16th in three-point percentage defense (.291).

• 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).

• UIC is logging 4.3 blocks per game in MVC play, aiming to join five Valley teams that have posted 5.0 bpg. in a single conference season (Wichita State 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.

• Three Flames players — senior guard Isaiah Rivera, junior forward Filip Skobalj and sophomore guard Drew King — earned a 4.0 GPA last semester.

• The men's basketball team's performance was part of a larger academic success story for UIC athletics last fall, as the 300 Flames' student-athletes combined for a 3.34 department-wide GPA.

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 (12) of UIC's 21 games this year have been decided by 10 points or fewer, including seven away from home (road or neutral sites).

LAST TIME OUT: BELMONT

• Sophomore guard CJ Jones collected a team-high 16 points, including a career-best 3-of-5 three-pointers, and handed out a game-high eight assists, but Belmont used a 13-2 run late in the second half to finally pull clear of UIC and post a 74-65 MVC win over the Flames last Saturday in Nashville.

• Redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell came off the bench to score 12 points, grab a career high-tying six rebounds and block a game-high three shots, while junior guard Ethan Pickett contributed 11 points, highlighted by a career-high 3-of-4 three-pointers.

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

• UIC opens the month of February at home when it plays host to Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday at Credit Union 1 Arena. It will be Baum Family Fund Day, High School Band Day and Alumni Day at UIC.

• Saturday's game will air live on ESPN+ and the free live Flames Network radio feed will be available at UICFlames.com.

• SIU (14-7, 6-4 MVC) is tied for fourth in the MVC and has won its last two games entering Wednesday's home contest against Missouri State.

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.