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 60th meeting in the series between the Flames and Beacons.

• UIC holds a 32-27 series edge over Valparaiso and has won three of the past four matchups.

• 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.

• In the first meeting, current senior guard Toby Okani posted career highs of 29 points (10-13 FG) and 11 rebounds and UIC was within three points with under two minutes left before Valparaiso made nine consecutive free throws to secure the win.

• In the return encounter, Okani had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Flames got a go-ahead basket with 30 seconds left and then stopped the Beacons on three potential game-winning shots in the final 19 seconds for the victory.

• 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, the schools have met 55 times in conference or postseason tournament play, with UIC owning a 30-25 advantage against Valparaiso in those games.

MORE ON VALPARAISO

• Valparaiso is 4-10 this season and 0-3 in the MVC following an 86-61 loss at home to Bradley on Wednesday night, the Beacons' eighth consecutive loss.

• Along with Bradley, Valparaiso has also fallen at home to Drake (83-65) and at Belmont (77-68) during MVC play.

• Junior guard Isaiah Stafford leads Valparaiso in scoring (16.2 ppg.) and steals (1.8 spg.), while freshman forward Cooper Schweiger is second in scoring (10.8 ppg.) and sophomore guard/Murray State transfer Jaxon Edwards is tops in rebounding (5.9 rpg.).

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

TRIPLE SHOT POWER

• UIC has been particularly proficient beyond the arc this season, making at least 10 three-pointers in half (7) of its 14 games to date and shooting better than 35 percent from deep eight times.

• For the season, the Flames rank second in the MVC in three-pointers made (9.0 per game) and third in the conference in three-point percentage (.375).

WINNING WITH DEFENSE

• As of Friday, the Flames lead the nation in blocks (6.9 bpg.) and rank fifth in three-point percentage defense (.258).

• 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.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

• As of Friday, senior guard Toby Okani ranks sixth nationally in blocks per game (2.71).

• Okani leads the MVC in blocks, defensive rebounds (6.50) and double-doubles (tied-3), while ranking second in The Valley in overall rebounding (7.79) and eighth in steals (1.64).

• Okani is the only player in the MVC to lead the conference in three statistical categories (no other player leads in more than two).

• Okani is also the only player in the MVC to rank in the top eight 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.

WHAT CAN BROWN(ELL) DO FOR U(IC)

• Redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell has elevated his performance during the past five games, averaging 12.8 points while shooting .550 (22-40) from the field and .600 (15-25) from three-point range.

• Brownell is also averaging 2.4 blocks per game in that span, moving into a tie for sixth in the MVC in that category as of Friday (1.29 bpg.).

• The highlight of Brownell's recent surge came in a Dec. 16 home win over Western Michigan, when the Sandy, Utah, native set or tied career highs in five categories — 22 points, six rebounds, five blocks, four assists and four three-pointers.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES

• Another of UIC's second-year players who has shown remarkable development this season is sophomore guard CJ Jones, who ranks third in the MVC with 5.14 assists per game and ninth in The Valley with a 1.95 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 over 44 percent from a season ago (1.35). 

• Jones is also averaging 9.1 points per game this season (up more than 46 percent from last year's 6.2 ppg.) and is logging 3.4 rebounds per game (improving almost 80 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

• UIC has found added success away from home this season. The Flames are a combined 4-4 in road/neutral games, including two wins over 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 of UIC's 14 games this year have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Four of the seven close games have taken place away from home, with UIC winning three of those four.

LAST TIME OUT: MURRAY STATE

• Senior guard Toby Okani tied his season high with a game-best 20 points and added six rebounds and three blocks for UIC, but the Flames could not douse a hot-shooting Murray State squad as the Racers prevailed, 85-73 on Tuesday night in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.

• Junior forward Filip Skobalj tallied 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, while senior guard Isaiah Rivera registered 13 points.

• The Flames shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 12-of-32 from three-point range. Murray State posted a .566 field-goal percentage (30-53), including 7-of-15 from beyond the arc.

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: NORTHERN IOWA

• It's back on the road for UIC as the Flames head west to take on Northern Iowa next Wednesday (Jan. 10) at 7 p.m. (CT) inside the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. ESPN+ will televise the game live, while the free live Flames Network radio feed can be heard at UICFlames.com.

• Winners of four in a row, the Panthers (7-7, 1-2 MVC) will play host to Indiana State Saturday afternoon before UIC comes to town 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.