CHICAGO (Nov. 7, 2024) — The UIC men's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 MVC) tips its second game of the 2024-25 season on Friday night when it plays host to Yale (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) in a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup with the Bulldogs at Credit Union 1 Arena. The game will be the start of Homecoming Week on the UIC campus, featuring a pregame tailgate for Flames fans from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday in Lot 1A across from the arena.

Friday's game will be carried live on ESPN+ and every UIC men's basketball game can also be heard around the world free of charge on the Flames Radio Network through UICFlames.com. The Voice of the Flames, Jonathan Hood, begins his 13th season calling the action, alongside UIC legend and the program's second all-time scorer, Kenny Williams.

Yale Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) at UIC Flames (1-0, 0-0 MVC)
Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 | 7 p.m. CT
Credit Union 1 Arena | Chicago, Ill.
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SCOUTING YALE
• This will be the 2nd meeting in the series between UIC and Yale, the first since 2014. The Bulldogs won the lone game between the two schools 70-58.
• The Bulldogs are coming off a 23-10 season that saw them make the second round of the NCAA tournament. They return 11 players from last year's team, headlined by two-time Ivy League defensive player of the year Bez Mbeng.
• Yale defeated Quinnipiac in its season opener 88-62, with senior guard John Poulakidas leading the Bulldogs in scoring with 19 points (8-18 FG). The Bulldogs out rebounded the Bobcats 50-27, snagging 21 offensive rebounds.
• This is head coach James Jones' 26th season at Yale, holding a 397-311 record over his tenure. Jones is the second winningest coach in Ivy League history.
• The Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the Ivy League this season after winning the conference last season.

SEASON OPENER RECAP - ST. FRANCIS (ILL.)
• UIC won its season opener over St. Francis (Ill.) 91-43, improving its record to 38-40 (.487) all-time in season openers, including a 23-21 (.523) record in its Division I era (1981-82 to present). The win was also the first in the UIC head coaching career of Rob Ehsan.
• The 48-point victory was the largest season-opening win for the Flames since 1977, it was also UIC's largest margin of victory in any game since Nov. 19, 2023, when the Flames downed Aurora, 99-48, at Credit Union 1 Arena (also the last time UIC scored 90 points in a regulation game).
• Junior guard Javon Jackson (Houston, Texas/C.E. King/Utah State) scored a game-high 21 points (8-12 FG) to lead four UIC players in double figures. Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Niagara) was not far behind, tallying 14 points along with a career-best five assists. Senior forward Modestas Kancleris (Kaunas, Lithuania/Varpas Gimnazija/Cal State Bakersfield) (12 points) and Saša Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia/Koder School/Xavier) (11 points) rounded out the Flames to score double-digits.
• The Flames shot a blistering 57.6 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent from beyond the three-point line. UIC also dished out 26 assists and came up with 14 steals. 

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
• There will be a lot of new faces in Sparky's camp this season, as UIC welcomes 11 newcomers to its roster, including eight transfers (all from Division I programs).
• Three of those arrivals bring with them playing experience in the NCAA Tournament from their prior stops — Javon Jackson (Utah State), Modestas Kancleris (Creighton) and Joshua Reaves (Mount St. Mary's).
• Among the new arrivals to Chicago's College Team are junior guard Jordan Mason (9.4 ppg. in two years at Texas State), graduate guard Joshua Reaves (7.5 ppg. and a .368 3FG% in four years at Mount St. Mary's), junior guard Javon Jackson (10.5 ppg. in two years at Southern Nazarene and Utah State) and sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II (11.2 ppg. in one year at Niagara).

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
• UIC's roster will have a distinct international flair this season with four student-athletes hailing from abroad (all from Europe).
• Senior forward Filip Škobalj is a native of Belgrade, Serbia, while redshirt senior forward Modestas Kancleris is originally from Kaunas, Lithuania.
• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani is from Nova Gorica, Slovenia, while UIC's youngest player, freshman Iker Garmendia, is a product of Barcelona, Spain.
• The last time UIC had four international players on its roster was the 2020-21 season — Škobalj (Serbia), graduate student guard Jamie Ahale (Australia), junior forward Marcus Larsson (Norway) and graduate student guard Jalen Warren (Canada).

IT'S GONNA BE CLOSE
• No fewer than 19 of UIC's 33 games last season were decided by 10 points or fewer, with the Flames going 8-11 in those contests.
• UIC was especially competitive in Missouri Valley Conference play. In fact, in their 20 regular-season conference games, the Flames either led, were tied or were within one possession of the lead in the second half of 17 games. 
• That included a six-point loss to MVC regular-season champion and NIT runner-up Indiana State on Jan. 24 (a game that was a one-point margin with less than two minutes to go) and a 107-105 triple-overtime loss to eventual MVC Tournament champion Drake on Feb. 28 (when the Flames led inside the final three minutes of regulation and had chances to win late in each OT period).

MAKING THE GRADE
• The UIC men's basketball team posted a 3.12 GPA during the 2023-24 academic year, spotlighting a trend that has seen the Flames post a record-setting GPA in three of the past five semesters.
• The men's basketball team's performance was part of a larger academic success story for UIC athletics last year, as the 300 Flames' student-athletes combined for a 3.35 department-wide GPA.

THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN
• Tickets 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 purchase single-game passes for the US Solar Courtside Club at Credit Union 1 Arena through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office or the arena box office.

UP NEXT: NORTHWESTERN
• UIC will make the quick trip to Evanston, Ill. to face Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup.
• Northwestern won its season opener 90-46 against Lehigh. The Wildcats had an impressive defensive display, limiting Lehigh to its lowest offensive output since the 2021-2022 season. The Wildcats return to action Saturday night when they travel to Dayton before coming home to host the Flames in a mid-week matchup.
• Northwestern is coming off a 22-win season and a trip to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament following a first-round win over Florida Atlantic. The Wildcats posted a 15-2 record at home last season.

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Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC scholar-athletes through contributions to The Chicago Collective.
 
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