CHICAGO (March 18, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (18-15) will tip off its first appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in 17 years at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) Thursday when the Flames take on Ohio Valley Conference champion Southern Indiana (24-6) in a first-round game live on ESPN+, tournament officials announced Monday evening.
This announcement comes on the heels of the
Flames being selected to compete in the 48-team field Sunday evening, marking the first time in program history that UIC has earned back-to-back postseason tournament appearances.
With a victory on Thursday, UIC would advance to a WNIT second-round game at Wisconsin (13-16). That second-round matchup will take place between March 23-26 at a time to be determined.
GAME INFORMATION vs. Southern Indiana
Screaming Eagles Arena | Evansville, Ind.
Thursday, March 21 | 7 p.m. CT
Tournament Central
UIC Digital Yearbook
Live Stats
Tickets
ESPN+
SCOUTING SOUTHERN INDIANA
- Southern Indiana is in the second year of its transition period, reclassifying to NCAA Division I.
- The Screaming Eagles won their first Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships this year, but due to NCAA reclassification rules, they were ineligible to earn the OVC's bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a result, Southern Indiana was the conference's automatic qualifier to the WNIT.
- After starting its season with a 3-4 record, USI has won 21 of its last 23 games.
- UIC and Southern Indiana have played three common opponents (Murray State, Saint Louis, SEMO) this season. The Flames went 1-2 against those schools (87-74 home win over SEMO; 79-75 loss at Saint Louis; 83-63 home loss vs. Murray State), while the Screaming Eagles went 2-2 vs. that trio (93-73 home loss vs. Murray State; 89-53 loss at Saint Louis; sweep of OVC foe SEMO by 75-37 score on the road and 70-59 at home).
SERIES HISTORY
- Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between UIC and Southern Indiana.
FLAMES IN THE POSTSEASON
- This marks UIC's second consecutive postseason tournament berth after finishing seventh at the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) last year.
- The Flames won the WBI championship in 2014.
- UIC participated in the 2007 WNIT, falling to Minnesota in the first round.
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
- The 48-team field will compete in the 26th edition of the Postseason WNIT.
- The 2024 field features 11 automatic qualifiers and 37 teams at-large selections, chosen after consideration of a mix of criteria by WNIT officials.
- Some of the participating teams include Minnesota (16-15 Big Ten), Wisconsin (13-16 Big Ten), Northern Arizona (25-9 Big Sky) and Boise State (21-13 Mountain West).
- UIC is among four MVC schools competing in this year's WNIT, along with Illinois State (21-11), Murray State (20-11) and Northern Iowa (16-15).
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Round 1 - March 20-22
Round 2 - March 23-26
Round 3 - March 27-29
Quarterfinals - March 30-April 1
Semifinals - April 2-3
The 2024 Postseason WNIT championship game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network on Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. (ET). Additional details on the WNIT can be found on its official website at
womensnit.com.
For more information on UIC women's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wbb and @uicflames).
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