THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• Separated by less than 60 miles, UIC and Valparaiso are no strangers to one another, with Saturday's game marking the 62nd meeting between the Flames and Beacons.

• UIC holds a 33-28 series edge over Valparaiso and has won four of the past six matchups. However, the Beacons hold a 19-12 series edge on their home floor and have won 11 of their last 12 games against UIC at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

• UIC and Valparaiso have shared membership in three conferences for portions of the past 43 years, first in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities/Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summit League) from 1981-82 to 1993-94, and in the Horizon League from 2007-08 through 2016-17 (prior to their current MVC affiliation). In that four-decade span, the schools have met 57 times in conference or postseason tournament play, with UIC owning a 31-26 advantage against Valparaiso in those games.

• Last year, the schools split their two MVC games, with each side successfully defending its home court in a pair of single-digit results. UIC earned a 70-64 win on Jan. 6 in Chicago before Valparaiso posted an 84-77 home victory two weeks later.

• This is the first of two meetings this season between the Flames and Beacons. The two squads will reconnect March 2 in the regular-season finale at Credit Union 1 Arena.

MORE ON VALPARAISO

• One of the most improved teams in the Valley this year, Valparaiso (10-8, 3-4 MVC) has already exceeded its overall win total and tied its conference victory mark from last season.

• The Beacons had won six of eight since mid-December prior to their current two-game losing streak. Most recently, they fell 71-64 at Belmont on Tuesday.

• Sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger averages team highs of 14.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game (the latter second in the MVC), while fifth-year guard Tyler Schmidt adds 12.1 ppg. with a .415 three-point percentage (seventh in the MVC).

• Roger Powell Jr. is in his second season as head coach at Valparaiso, where he has compiled a 17-33 (.340) record.

GAME #17 RECAP - MURRAY STATE

• Junior guard Javon Jackson scored a career-high 30 points, capped by a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:02 left in the second overtime as UIC outlasted Murray State, 97-93 on Wednesday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Jackson scored 26 points after halftime, including 19 in the second half for the Flames, who shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent from three-point range. Graduate student guard Tyem Freeman narrowly missed his own career scoring high, finishing with a season-best 21 points. Senior forward Filip Škobalj tallied 15 points, while sophomore forward Saša Ciani collected his second consecutive double-double and MVC-leading sixth of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

NOTING THE MURRAY STATE GAME

• Dating back to last season, UIC has now won its last four overtime games — 84-82 in double overtime over Southern Illinois in the 2024 MVC Tournament opening round, as well as this year's victories over Dartmouth (69-68 at home on Dec. 8), Little Rock (77-69 on the road on Dec. 15) and Wednesday's win over Murray State.

• UIC's three OT wins this season are second-most in program history, topped only by the 2005-06 Flames' squad that went 5-1 in overtime games.

• That 2005-06 season also marked the last time UIC won four or more consecutive overtime games — that year, the Flames won their last five OT contests, then added a sixth OT win the following season (2006-07).

• This was UIC's first multiple-overtime win at home in almost exactly 17 years — Jan. 12, 2008, when the Flames defeated Loyola, 78-68 in two overtimes.

• Jackson's 30 points were the most by a UIC player since Feb. 28, 2024, when Toby Okani scored 31 points in a 3OT loss to Drake at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Jackson set a new career scoring high, topping his previous best of 25 points at Arkansas Tech on Jan. 12, 2023, when he was playing for Southern Nazarene.

• Freeman scored a season-high 21 points (previous was 19 vs. Yale on Nov. 8) and just missed his career high of 22 points at Tulane on Jan. 14, 2023, when he was playing for UCF.

• This marked the first time UIC had two 20-point scorers in a game since Feb. 11, 2024, against Northern Iowa, when CJ Jones (24) and Skobalj (21) led the Flames to a 71-65 win over the Panthers at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• UIC improves to 2-4 all-time against Murray State, capturing its first win over the Racers since Nov. 28, 2006 (74-68 in Chicago).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (8.9 rpg.; 32nd in NCAA), as well as offensive rebounding (3.00 orpg.; 52nd in NCAA), defensive rebounding (5.94 drpg.; 52nd in NCAA) and double-doubles (6; 34th in NCAA).

• As a team, UIC is tops in the Valley in rebounding (38.4 rpg.), as well as second in the MVC in offensive rebounds (11.53 orpg.) and rebound margin (+6.2 rpg.; 40th 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 .451 three-point percentage and is eighth in school history with 204 career three-pointers.

• Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II continues to lead the MVC and ranks 20th in the nation with a .907 free throw percentage this season.

POTENT NOTABLES

• Entering Saturday's game, UIC has an average opponent NET ranking of 62, 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 (trailed 74-70 with 1:20 left; lost 83-74) and another Quad 2 victory at home vs. Bradley on Jan. 11 (led for nearly all of final 36 minutes before a last-second three-pointer; lost 61-60).

• 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 10 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 eight times this season and topped the 90-point mark on five 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 12 games this year, and over 50 percent eight 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: EVANSVILLE

• UIC heads south for its second consecutive Valley matchup in the state of Indiana when the Flames visit Evansville at 7 p.m. (CT) Wednesday. The game will air live on ESPN+, while fans are encouraged to tune into the free Flames Network broadcast at UICFlames.com with Jonathan Hood and Kenny Williams describing the action.

• Evansville (6-12, 3-4 MVC) is among the logjam of teams in the middle of the MVC standings. The Purple Aces have lost their last two games as they return home Saturday to entertain Belmont before UIC comes to town next week.

• The Flames are 8-2 all-time against Evansville (3-2 on the road), although the two sides split last year's two meetings, each winning on their home floor (UE 77-60 in Evansville; UIC 88-79 in Chicago).

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.