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Mark Black

Men's Basketball Opens MVC Slate Saturday at Belmont

Flames and Bruins will tip off at 3 p.m. (CT) at Curb Event Center in Nashville

12/12/2025 10:42:00 AM

NASHVILLE – UIC opens its fourth season in the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday when the Flames travel to Nashville for a 3 p.m. (CT) matchup against Belmont. The game will be televised live from the Curb Event Center on ESPN+, with Steve Layman on the play-by-play, Greg Sage on color commentary and Landen Secrest handling sideline reporting.

This will mark the first time in UIC's four seasons in the Valley that the Flames will begin conference play on the road. Their three prior MVC lidlifters all came at home inside Credit Union 1 Arena against now-departed member Missouri State (2022-23), Illinois State (2023-24) and UNI (2024-25). UIC is seeking its first victory in a conference opener since the COVID-modified 2020-21 season, when the Flames began Horizon League play with a 74-72 win over Oakland on Dec. 19, 2020, at Credit Union 1 Arena. UIC also last won a conference opener on the road on Dec. 28, 2018, at Wright State, claiming that Horizon League debut in overtime, 75-72.


GAME #10
UIC "Flames" (4-5, 0-0 MVC) at Belmont "Bruins" (9-1, 0-0 MVC)
When: Saturday, Dec. 13th  |  3 p.m. CT
Where: Nashville, Tenn.  |  Curb Event Center
TV: ESPN+ (Steve Layman, p-b-p/Greg Sage, color/Landen Secrest, sideline)
Radio: None
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

SERIES BREAKDOWN
  • UIC and Belmont had not met prior to both schools joining the Missouri Valley Conference in time for the 2022-23 season.
  • The Bruins have won each of the five series meetings with the Flames, including the three previous matchups at the Curb Event Center in Nashville.
  • Three of the five series games have been decided by single digits, including the schools' lone meeting last year, a 92-87 Belmont win on Jan. 4, 2025, in Nashville (the closest margin in the series to date).
  • In last year's matchup, current junior guard Ahmad Henderson II scored 18 points and had a look at a game-tying three-pointer with seven seconds left, but it did not fall and the Bruins then made two foul shots to seal the win. In total, there were seven ties and nine lead changes in the contest.
  • Saturday will be the first of two matchups between UIC and Belmont this season, with the teams also penciled in to square off Feb. 6 at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago.

MORE ON BELMONT
  • Projected to finish fifth in the MVC preseason poll, Belmont is off to a 9-1 start this year and has risen to No. 5 in this week's College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
  • The Bruins won their first eight games of the season, including victories away from home against Toledo and the College of Charleston before dropping their first game at home vs. Richmond on Dec. 3. Four days later, Belmont rebounded with a 21-point road win at Middle Tennessee.
  • Tyler Lundblade (15.8 ppg.) ranks fourth in the MVC in scoring and leads the Valley with 3.6 three-pointers per game.
  • Belmont players also lead the conference in field-goal percentage (Brigham Rogers - .733) and assists (Nic McClain - 6.5 apg.), and as a team, the Bruins are tops in the MVC in scoring margin (+18.9), field-goal percentage (.515), three-point percentage (.374) and assists (18.9 apg.).
  • Head coach Casey Alexander is in his seventh year at his alma mater and 15th season overall with a 286-175 record (149-55 at Belmont). He is 5-0 all-time against UIC.

NOTING THE FLAMES
  • To say UIC's schedule has been challenging this year would be putting it mildly. Belmont will be the third UIC opponent ranked in the top 10 of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll at tipoff and second in a row, along with No. 6 High Point and No. 3 Yale (Oregon State and Robert Morris were also receiving votes when they faced UIC). The Flames will play a third consecutive ranked mid-major squad (and fourth overall) next Wednesday when they open their home MVC schedule against UNI (currently No. 11).
  • Three other UIC opponents (all in the Valley) are currently appearing in the College Insider poll — No. 14 Illinois State and two receiving votes (Murray State, Bradley).
  • Along with the strength of its opponents, UIC is also being tested by playing eight of its first 12 contests away from home. In fact, the Flames do not play back-to-back home games at Credit Union 1 Arena until the season is nearly two months old (Dec. 29 vs. Illinois Tech; Jan. 1 vs. Murray State).
  • Through the first month of the season, one of the brighter spots for UIC has been the growth of redshirt freshman forward Jayce Nathaniel. After averaging 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in three games last season, the Atlanta native has nearly doubled his scoring output (8.4 ppg.) and rebounding production (5.6 rpg.). He has also scored in double figures four times this year, including a career-high 16 points at Oregon State on Nov. 7, and posted his first career double-double on Dec. 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
  • UIC's dynamic freshman guard duo of Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr. ranks second and fourth on the team in scoring this year, combining to average 23 points per game (Johnson - 14.0 ppg./tops among all Missouri Valley Conference freshmen and seventh overall; Washington 9.0 ppg.).
  • Graduate student Abdul Momoh has been a strong rim protector for the Flames this season, ranking second in the MVC in blocks (1.67 bpg.) and recording multiple blocked shots in five games, including four of his last six (highlighted by a season-best four swats on Nov. 20 against High Point).
  • UIC has looked sharp against its fellow Chicagoland schools across all sports during the 2025-26 academic year. Thus far, Flames teams are 10-0-2 head-to-head against Windy City opponents this year (3-0 volleyball; 3-0-1 men's soccer; 2-0 men's basketball; 1-0-1 women's soccer; 1-0 women's basketball), the best intracity record by any of Chicago's Division I schools.
  • On Nov. 11 against St. Francis, the Flames shot a sizzling 65.1 percent from the floor (its best since Jan. 29, 2005 - .667 at Butler) and 66.7 percent from three-point range (best since Nov. 23, 2011 - .692 vs. Evansville), assisting on 29 of their 41 field goals. UIC was equally prolific at the defensive end, coming up with 17 steals, the most for a Flames' squad in nearly 11 years (also 17 steals on Dec. 30, 2014, vs. Judson).
  • UIC's 13 steals at Oregon State were the most against a Division I opponent since Nov. 16, 2016, when it also had 13 thefts in an 86-78 win over UTSA at Credit Union 1 Arena.
  • Ahmad Henderson's career-high seven steals at OSU were the most by a UIC player since Jan. 9, 2013, when Daniel Barnes had eight steals against Valparaiso.
  • On Nov. 13, UIC announced the signing of Dikembe Shaw, a 6-7 forward from Crown Point, Ind. for 2026-27. Shaw was an all-state selection and Indiana Junior All-Star pick last year while attending Crown Point High School, averaging 16.2 ppg., 6.7 rpg., 3.4 apg. and 1.3 spg., while helping the Bulldogs to a 24-2 record and a berth in the Indiana Class 4A semistate final. He also averaged 12.9 ppg. and 5.9 rpg. during the summer 2025 club season while competing for Indiana Elite 3SSB (3Stripes Select Basketball).

UP NEXT: UNI
UIC will host UNI next Wednesday at 4 p.m. (CT) in the opener of a doubleheader. The game (as well as the following UIC women's basketball game vs. DePaul at 7 p.m. CT) will be televised live on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+, and can also be heard worldwide free of charge on the Flames Network at UICFlames.com. It will be the program's annual Ugly Sweater Night and Teddy Bear Toss, with fans invited to bring a stuffed animal to the game for either a discounted men's basketball ticket ($10 each) or a free women's basketball ticket (general admission). The stuffed animals will then be tossed onto the court at halftime and collected for donation to local charities — fans may also purchase a pre-wrapped stuffed animal that will be donated directly to pediatric patients through UI Health.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
UIC basketball season and single-game tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster (Men's Basketball or Women's Basketball), UICFlames.com/Tickets or by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or athleticsticketing@uic.edu. UIC students are admitted free for all Flames' home games.

In addition, the US Solar Courtside Club is open for each game at Credit Union 1 Arena, with Club passes available for purchase through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office or at the Courtside Club entrance on game nights. Located just steps away from the action on the event level at Credit Union 1 Arena, the US Solar Courtside Club provides a premium experience for all UIC basketball fans, including enhanced food and beverage options. The Club also offers luxury seating and flat-screen televisions, and fans will have earlier access to the arena through a dedicated separate gate entrance, allowing them to get a quicker start on supporting their Flames each and every night.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information on UIC men's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_mbb and @uicflames).

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