THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Northern Iowa will be squaring off for the 26th time in what has been a closely-contested series, with the Panthers holding a slim 13-12 edge all-time against the Flames. When the scene shifts to Credit Union 1 Arena, UIC is 9-2 all-time vs. UNI.

• Since UIC joined the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season, all three matchups between the schools have been single-digit margins. In their initial matchup on Jan. 21, 2023, in Chicago, Northern Iowa prevailed 78-72 (in a game the Flames led for the first 33 minutes of the contest). In last year's Jan. 10 encounter in Cedar Falls, UNI won 67-59 in a game that was a single-digit contest from start to finish. Most recently, UIC posted a 71-65 win on Feb. 11, 2024 (Super Bowl Sunday) at Credit Union 1 Arena, after the lead changed hands five times in the second half and the margin was in single digits throughout.

• In that most recent series game, current UIC senior forward Filip Škobalj poured in a career-high 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range.

• UIC and Northern Iowa previously shared membership in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities/Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summit League) from 1981-82 to 1990-91, meeting on average twice annually during that span. Between that conference affiliation and their current MVC membership, the schools have met 24 times under the same conference banner, with Northern Iowa holding a 13-10 series lead over UIC.

MORE ON NORTHERN IOWA

• Playing one of the most challenging schedules in the Valley thus far, UNI is 3-4 this season, with all four losses (in its last five games) to teams in the top 100 of the NCAA NET ratings as of Tuesday.

• The Panthers are coming off a pair of losses at the NIT Season Tip-Off last weekend in Kissimmee, Fla., falling to North Texas (68-48) and St. Bonaventure (68-56).

• Senior guard/forward Tytan Anderson leads the team in scoring (12.4 ppg.) and rebounding (5.9 rpg.) and is third in scoring (11.2 ppg.). Senior center Jacob Hutson is second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg.) while redshirt sophomore guard/forward Leon Bond III, a Virginia transfer, is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game.

• Now in his 19th season at UNI, head coach Ben Jacobson is the winningest coach in MVC history (195 conference victories). He is 3-3 all-time against UIC.

GAME #7 RECAP - EAST CAROLINA

• Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II and sophomore forward Saša Ciani each scored a team-high 10 points, with Ciani adding eight rebounds, but East Carolina pulled away in the final nine minutes to defeat UIC, 72-55, on Nov. 23 at the Boardwalk Battle inside the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.

• The Flames led for a large portion of the first half by as many as nine points, then retook the lead at 32-30 on Henderson's three-pointer 71 seconds into the second half. The Pirates went back in front, but UIC got within 52-46 with 9:05 left before ECU made its game-turning run.

NOTING THE EAST CAROLINA GAME

• Henderson and Ciani both posted their team-leading sixth double-digit scoring games this season.

• Redshirt senior forward Modestas Kancleris tied his career high with four blocked shots, matching his previous best that he set on Nov. 22, 2022, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

• Junior guard Javon Jackson dished out a game-high six assists, his second-highest total this season (he had 10 on Nov. 16 against Saint Mary's-Minn.).

• Senior forward Filip Škobalj played in his 99th career game (77th start).

POTENT NOTABLES

• With its Nov. 22 win over La Salle at the Boardwalk Battle, UIC collected its third victory over an Atlantic 10 Conference opponent in the past two seasons, following up last year's victories over Loyola and George Washington.

• UIC has had at least four double-digit scorers in five of its seven games this season. The Flames had a season-high five in their wins over Yale and La Salle (both of which are in the top 125 of the NCAA NET ratings as of Tuesday).

• UIC knocked down at least 10 three-pointers in five games this year.

• The Flames have scored at least 80 points five times this season and topped the 90-point mark on four occasions.

• This is the first time in the 78-year history of the UIC men's basketball program that it had four 90-point outings in its opening six games.

• The Flames lead the Missouri Valley Conference and rank 23rd in the nation in scoring offense (86.4 ppg.). UIC is posting its highest scoring average through seven games since the 1983-84 season (88.4 ppg.).

• UIC has shot 45 percent or better in six games this year, including 50 percent in four of those contests (season-high 60.0 percent on Nov. 16 against Saint Mary's-Minn.).

• The Flames went 30-of-34 (.882) at the free throw line in their win over La Salle, UIC's most made foul shots in a game since Nov. 16, 2016, when it went 34-of-47 at the stripe in a home win over UTSA.

CHART TOPPERS

• As of Tuesday, UIC leads the Missouri Valley Conference in five categories — scoring offense (86.4 ppg.; 23rd in NCAA), assists (19.4 apg.; 11th in NCAA), bench points (36.43 per game; 13th in NCAA), fastbreak points (15.43 per game; 39th in NCAA) and rebounding margin (+8.1 rpg.; 42nd in NCAA).

• The Flames also rank 15th in the country (third in the MVC) in field-goal percentage (.508) and 18th in the nation (fourth in the MVC) in effective field-goal percentage (.582).

• Individually, sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC and is 36th in the nation in rebounding (9.0 rpg.) and is tied for top honors with two double-doubles.

• Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II is eighth in the nation (second in the MVC) with a .960 free-throw percentage.

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES

• There are 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 has 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).

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.

UP NEXT: DARTMOUTH

• UIC plays its final home game before the holiday break Sunday when it welcomes Dartmouth at 4 p.m. (CT) at Credit Union 1 Arena. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ and free of charge on the Flames Radio Network via UICFlames.com.

• Sunday's game is the nightcap of a UIC basketball doubleheader at Credit Union 1 Arena. The UIC women's basketball team will entertain North Central in the opener at noon (CT).

• Coming off a win at Boston College last Friday, Dartmouth is 3-3 this season and welcomes in-state foe New Hampshire on Tuesday night before making the trip to Chicago this weekend.

• Sunday will mark just the second meeting all-time between UIC and Dartmouth. The Flames defeated the Big Green in their prior matchup, 76-60 on Dec. 15, 2017, also at Credit Union 1 Arena.

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 passes for the US Solar Courtside Club at Credit Union 1 Arena through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office or the arena box office.