THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• This will be just the second all-time meeting between UIC and Dartmouth on the basketball court.

• The Flames won their first-ever meeting with the Big Green, 76-60 on Dec. 15, 2017, at Credit Union 1 Arena. Dikembe Dixson scored a game-high 19 points for UIC, while Dominique Matthews added 18  points and Marcus Ottey came off the bench to chip in 13 points. The Flames took the lead for good late in the first half, then steadily pulled away in the second half to secure the victory.

• Dartmouth is the second Ivy League opponent on UIC's schedule this season. The Flames dispatched reigning Ivy League Tournament champion Yale, 91-79 on Nov. 8 at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• UIC is 6-3 all-time against Ivy League schools, having faced five of the eight members of that loop to date — Brown (1-0), Dartmouth (1-0), Penn (3-1), Princeton (0-1) and Yale (1-1).

MORE ON DARTMOUTH

• Dartmouth comes to Chicago riding a two-game winning streak with victories at Boston College (88-83 on Nov. 29) and New Hampshire (69-65 on Tuesday).

• Sunday's game at UIC is the fifth stop on a seven-game road swing for Dartmouth, and the first of two in the Midwest (the Big Green will visit Notre Dame next Wednesday).

• The win at BC on Nov. 29 is Dartmouth's marquee victory to date this season. It was the Big Green's first win over their New England rival since the 1988-89 season and it was fueled by a 17-of-31 (.548) performance from the three-point line.

• Senior forward Cade Haskins leads Dartmouth in scoring (14.7 ppg.) and three-point percentage (.429), just ahead of classmate and guard Ryan Cornish (14.1 ppg.). Junior forward Brandon Mitchell-Day is also scoring in double figures (10.0 ppg.), while another junior forward, Jackson Munro (a native of Wilmette, Ill., and 2022 New Trier High School graduate) adds a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game.

• Head coach David McLaughlin is in his ninth year at Dartmouth and eighth season (the 2020-21 campaign was cancelled due to COVID). He is 66-134 (.330) with the Big Green (0-1 vs. UIC) and has an 18-year coaching record of 255-233 (.523), including 10 seasons at Stonehill.

GAME #8 RECAP - NORTHERN IOWA

• Junior guard Javon Jackson scored a team-high 14 points and sophomore forward Saša Ciani posted his third career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, but Northern Iowa pulled away down the stretch for an 83-56 Missouri Valley Conference win over UIC in the conference opener for both teams on Wednesday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Redshirt senior forward Modestas Kancleris added 11 points (on 5-of-7 shooting) and six rebounds for the Flames, who led by five in the first half, then battled back within seven points five minutes into the second half, but that would be as close as UIC would get.

NOTING THE NORTHERN IOWA GAME

• Ciani's 17 rebounds were the most for a UIC player since Jan. 24, 2008, when Scott VanderMeer grabbed 21 boards against Valparaiso.

• Ciani was the first Flame with at least 15 rebounds in a game since Feb. 16, 2018, when Jordan Blount had 15 rebounds at Green Bay.

• Ciani had 11 rebounds in the second half alone, two shy of the arena record for rebounds in a half (13 by UIC's Sherell Ford vs. Coppin State on Jan. 3, 1995).

• All three of Ciani's career double-doubles have come this season.

• Kancleris registered his second double-digit scoring game of the year, following his 12 points in the season opener vs. St. Francis on Nov. 4 at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Senior forward Filip Škobalj played in his 100th career game on Wednesday. He has started 78 times in his UIC career.

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 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 150 of the NCAA NET ratings as of Saturday).

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

• 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 Saturday, UIC leads the Missouri Valley Conference in four categories — assists (18.5 apg.; 15th in NCAA), bench points (33.38 ppg.; 23rd in NCAA), fastbreak points (14.75 ppg.; 50th in NCAA) and offensive rebounds (12.5 orpg.).

• Individually, sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (10.1 rpg.; 14th in NCAA), offensive rebounding (4.14 orpg.; 8th in NCAA) and double-doubles (3; 32nd in NCAA). He is also second in the conference in defensive rebounds (6.0 drpg.).

• Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II is second in the MVC (23rd in the nation) with a .931 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: LITTLE ROCK

• UIC will have the next week off for the University's final exam period before returning to the hardwood Dec. 15 for a 1 p.m. (CT) road contest at Little Rock. ESPN+ will carry the game live from the Jack Stephens Center, although there will not be a live Flames Radio Network broadcast for this game (nor the following matchup on Dec. 20 at Seattle).

• The reigning Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion, Little Rock is 5-4 this season, most recently defeating Central Arkansas, 63-57 at home on Wednesday night. The Trojans, who are in the midst of a six-game homestand, will welcome Ouachita Baptist to down next Tuesday (Dec. 10) before UIC comes calling next weekend.

• This is the return contest in a home-and-home series between UIC and Little Rock. The Flames prevailed in last year's inaugural series matchup, 86-71 on Nov. 10, 2023, 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.