THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• This will mark the sixth all-time matchup between UIC and Murray State in a series led by the Racers, 4-1.

• The two schools have split their two prior series games in Chicago, with UIC winning 74-68 on Nov. 28, 2006, and Murray State prevailing last season (73-58 on Jan. 17, 2024).

• Current senior guard Ethan Pickett averaged 10.0 points in two games against Murray State last year, including 12 points in the Jan. 17 contest at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• The Flames and Racers will play a second time this season on Feb. 11 in Murray, Ky.

• UIC and Murray State were two of the three new additions (along with Belmont) to join the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022-23.

MORE ON MURRAY STATE

• Murray State (10-7, 4-2 MVC) is one of the hotter teams in the Valley, having won three in a row and four of five, including a road sweep of the MVC's Iowa schools earlier this month (66-59 at Drake; 71-68 at UNI).

• The Racers last stepped on the hardwood Saturday, claiming a 58-47 home win over Valparaiso.

• Four senior guards lead a balanced Murray State attack. JaCobi Wood scores a team-high 13.2 points per game, while ranking second in the MVC in assists (5.1 apg.). Kylen Milton and Terence Harcum each add 12.1 ppg., while AJ Ferguson is logging 11.4 points and team-highs of 5.4 rebounds per game and a .463 three-point percentage.

• Head coach Steve Prohm is in the third season of his second stint at Murray State. He is 143-71 (.668) in seven years at MSU, and has a 13-year career mark of 240-166 (.591).

GAME #16 RECAP - BRADLEY

• UIC led Missouri Valley Conference front-runner Bradley for nearly the entire final 35 minutes, and by as many as 13 points, in Saturday's matchup before the Braves (ranked No. 2 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll) rallied to barely squeak out a last-second 61-60 win over the Flames at Credit Union 1 Arena. It was only the second loss in the past eight games for UIC, with both defeats coming down to the final seconds.

• The Flames were paced by junior guard Jordan Mason, who scored a game-high 15 points. UIC also picked up double-doubles from a pair of sophomores, as guard Ahmad Henderson II had 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while forward Saša Ciani collected 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. It was Henderson's first career double-double, while Ciani posted his conference-leading fifth of the season.

• As a team, the Flames held Bradley to 35.3 percent shooting, including 30.4 percent from three-point range, but one game after its best three-point shooting of the season, UIC was uncharacteristically undone by its lowest percentage from beyond the arc this year (.087).

NOTING THE BRADLEY GAME

• Four of the Flames' five MVC games since the Christmas holiday break have been decided by six points or fewer.

• On Saturday, UIC took the lead with 15:33 left in the first half and did not trail again until Bradley made a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds to play.

• UIC had two players record double-doubles in the same game for the first time since Feb. 28, 2024, in a triple-overtime loss to Drake at Credit Union 1 Arena (Isaiah Rivera - 19 points/12 rebounds; CJ Jones - 16 points/14 assists).

• UIC's eight turnovers tied for second-fewest this season and fewest vs. a Division I opponent (6 vs. Saint Mary's-Minn. on Nov. 16; 8 vs. Drake on Jan. 1).

• The Flames were whistled for 23 fouls, their second-highest total this year (25 at Northwestern on Nov. 12). In addition, Bradley's 27 free throw attempts tied for the second-most by a UIC opponent this year (33 by Northwestern on Nov. 12; 27 by James Madison on Nov. 21 in Daytona Beach, Fla.).

• Saturday's game was the closest between UIC and Bradley since the Flames' last series win (71-70 on Nov. 17, 2018, in Chicago).

• Graduate student guard Tyem Freeman played in his 100th career game, the third current UIC player to reach that milestone (Koby Jeffries, Filip Škobalj). Fellow graduate student guard Joshua Reaves is on the verge of joining this group with 95 career games played.

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (8.9 rpg.; 30th in NCAA), as well as offensive rebounding (3.13 orpg.; 42nd in NCAA) and double-doubles (5; 50th in NCAA).

• As a team, UIC is tops in the Valley in rebounding (38.4 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (11.88 orpg.), as well as second in the MVC in rebound margin (+6.8 rpg.; 35th in NCAA).

• UIC grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in the Dec. 15 win at Little Rock, its highest total on the offensive glass since Jan. 8, 2017, when the Flames had 24 offensive boards in a 58-57 home loss to Oakland.

FILLING IT UP

• Senior forward Filip Škobalj ranks fifth in the MVC with a .452 three-point percentage and is eighth in school history with 201 career three-pointers.

• Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II continues to lead the MVC and ranks 14th in the nation with a .917 free throw percentage this season.

POTENT NOTABLES

• Entering Wednesday's game, UIC has an average opponent NET ranking of 64, which is the highest in the Valley.

• UIC is 2-2 this season against teams ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll (wins over No. 13 Yale on Nov. 18 and No. 1 Drake on Jan. 1; five-point loss at No. 20 Belmont on Jan. 4; one-point loss vs. No. 2 Bradley on Jan. 11).

• The Flames have three wins over NET Top 100 teams under their belt (Nov. 13 vs. Yale, Dec. 29 at Illinois State, Jan. 1 vs. Drake), with the Illinois State and Drake wins also Quad 2 victories. UIC nearly claimed a Quad 1 win at Northwestern on Nov. 12, falling 83-74 after leading for much of the first half and closing to 74-70 with under 1:20 left before NU salted the game away at the foul line.

• 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 nine games this season. The Flames had a season-high six in their Dec. 20 road win at Seattle U., the  most for UIC in a single game since March 2018.

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

• The Flames have scored at least 80 points seven 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 11 games this year, and over 50 percent seven times (season-high 60.0 percent on Nov. 16 against Saint Mary's-Minn.).

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).

• UIC's roster has a distinct international flair with four European student-athletes — senior forward Filip Škobalj (Belgrade, Serbia), Kancleris (Kaunas, Lithuania), sophomore forward Saša Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia) and freshman Iker Garmendia (Barcelona, Spain).

• The last time UIC had four international players on its roster was the 2020-21 season — Škobalj (Serbia), Jamie Ahale (Australia), Marcus Larsson (Norway) and Jalen Warren (Canada).

UP NEXT: VALPARAISO

• UIC returns to the open road for three of its next four Missouri Valley Conference games, starting Saturday with a 3 p.m. (CT) matinee at Valparaiso. ESPN+ will carry the game live, while fans are encouraged to tune into the free Flames Network broadcast at UICFlames.com with Jonathan Hood and Kenny Williams describing the action.

• Like UIC, Valparaiso (10-7, 3-3 MVC) is one of the more improved teams in the Valley this season, having already surpassed its overall win total and tied its conference victory count from 2023-24. The Beacons, who had their three-game winning streak snapped Saturday at Murray State, visited Belmont Tuesday night before returning home to face UIC this weekend.

• UIC is 33-28 all-time against Valparaiso and has won four of the past six meetings. However, the Beacons are 19-12 all-time at home against the Flames and have won 11 of the last 12 times the teams have played in northwest Indiana.

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.