THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Bradley will be playing for the 15th time on Wednesday, with the Braves holding a 12-2 series lead. The Flames are also seeking their first win in their eighth career visit to Peoria.

• Nine of the previous 14 games in the series between UIC and Bradley have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

• Bradley has won the past seven series meetings, including all six since UIC joined the MVC in 2022-23.

• UIC is seeking its first win over Bradley since Nov. 17, 2018 (a 71-70 victory at Credit Union 1 Arena).

• The Flames nearly got that elusive win over Bradley in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 11 in Chicago, as UIC led for nearly the final 36 minutes (and large stretches of it by double figures) before the Braves connected on a three-pointer with :02 left to take the 61-60 win.

MORE ON BRADLEY

• As was the case in its first meeting with UIC, Bradley (18-3, 9-1 MVC) is in the top five in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, currently standing at No. 4. The Braves also earned a vote in the Associated Press poll for the second week in a row.

• Bradley has won five in a row (starting with its Jan. 11 victory at UIC) and is coming off a 61-57 win over MVC rival Illinois State Saturday at Carver Arena. The Braves sit atop the MVC standings as the second half of conference play tips off this week.

• Fifth-year guard and Preseason MVC Player of the Year Duke Deen continues to lead Bradley in scoring (14.2 ppg.), just ahead of senior guard Zek Montgomery (13.6 ppg.), with Deen also second in the Valley at 3.0 made three-pointers per game. Fifth-year forward Darius Hannah leads Bradley in rebounding at 5.6 rpg.

• Head coach Brian Wardle is in his 10th season at Bradley with a 176-141 (.555) record. He's in his 15th season overall (five years at Green Bay) with a 271-206 (.568) career record.

GAME #20 RECAP - SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

• For the second game in a row, junior guard Jordan Mason posted a season scoring high, finishing with 23 points to pace five UIC players in double figures, but it wasn't quite enough to hold off a hot-shooting Southern Illinois squad, 89-85 Saturday at Credit Union 1 Arena. It was the fifth time in the last six matchups between the Flames and Salukis, all since UIC joined the MVC in 2022-23, that the result came down to the final minute.

• Mason added a season-high seven assists, while sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II scored 16 points off the bench for the second consecutive outing for UIC. Junior guard Javon Jackson missed a large part of the second half with foul trouble but had 14 points, while graduate student guard Tyem Freeman and senior forward Filip Škobalj each chipped in 11 points, with Freeman tallying a game-high six rebounds.

NOTING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS GAME

• No fewer than 12 of the past 13 games in the UIC-SIU series have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

• Mason is the fourth different UIC player to post a 20-point game this season, finishing two points shy of his career high (25 vs. Troy in the Sun Belt Tournament on March 9, 2024, when he was playing for Texas State). His previous season high was 19 points on Jan. 22 at Evansville.

• Mason also dished out a season-high seven assists after having five dimes in five different games, including last week at Evansville. His career high is eight assists against LeTourneau on Dec. 18, 2023, also while at Texas State.

• Henderson tied his career high by going 8-of-8 at the foul line, marks he previously set twice this season (Nov. 8 vs. Yale; Nov. 22 vs. La Salle).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (8.8 rpg.; 38th in NCAA), as well as defensive rebounding (5.72 drpg.) and double-doubles (7; 34th in NCAA).

• As a team, UIC is tops in the Valley in rebounding (38.3 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (11.45 orpg.), as well as second in the MVC in rebound margin (+6.0 rpg.; 33rd 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.

BALANCE IS KEY

• UIC currently has five players posting double-figure scoring averages this season — Javon Jackson (13.0 ppg.), Ahmad Henderson II (11.5), Saša Ciani (11.2), Jordan Mason (10.8) and Tyem Freeman (10.4) — with a sixth just outside double figures (Filip Škobalj at 9.6).

• No other school in the MVC has five double-figure scorers entering midweek action in the conference.

• UIC has had at least four double-digit scorers in 13 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.

HEART STOPPERS

• Following the advice of CBS college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Flames fans have been prepared to "grab their nitroglycerin pills" a lot this season.

• Half (10) of UIC's 20 games this season have been decided by single digits, including seven of 10 conference games.

• The Flames are 6-4 in games decided by single digits, with a 4-3 mark in MVC play.

• UIC is 3-0 in overtime games this year, the second-most OT wins in a season in program history (five in 2005-06).

• The Flames have now won their last four overtime games, dating back to last year's MVC Tournament (84-82 double-overtime win over Southern Illinois in the first round), with the 2005-06 season the last time UIC won four or more consecutive OT contests.

POTENT NOTABLES

• Entering Wednesday's game, UIC has an average opponent NET ranking of 104, which is the second-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 four wins over NET Top 80 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 two other Quad 2 victories — at Belmont on Jan. 4 (UIC's game-tying 3FG attempt with :07 left spun in and out; lost 92-87) and 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 knocked down at least 10 three-pointers in 10 games this year.

• The Flames have scored at least 80 points 10 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 14 games this year, and over 50 percent nine 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: INDIANA STATE

• UIC is back inside the friendly confines of Credit Union 1 Arena for its next two MVC games, beginning Saturday with a 2 p.m. (CT) matinee against Indiana State. ESPN+ will broadcast 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.

• Indiana State (9-12, 3-7 MVC) is in the midst of a six-game losing streak, although three of those losses have come by five points or fewer. The Sycamores are at home Wednesday to entertain Missouri State before venturing to the Windy City this weekend.

• The Flames are 1-5 all-time against Indiana State, although last year's matchup in Chicago was a back-and-forth affair before the Sycamores edged out UIC, 89-83.

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.