THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Missouri State will be meeting for the 23rd time, with the Bears holding a 17-5 edge in the series (7-3 in Chicago).

• Of note, 12 of the prior 22 series games have been decided by 10 points or fewer, including six of the last 10.

• In their first meeting this season on Jan. 7, UIC claimed its first win in nine career visits to Springfield, defeating Missouri State, 80-63, behind 18 points from Springfield native Tyem Freeman and 17 points (on 6-6 FG and 5-5 3FG) from Filip Škobalj.

• UIC's last win over Missouri State in Chicago came on Jan. 13, 1990, by a 66-61 margin.

• UIC and Missouri State are sharing conference membership for the second time, having also squared off under the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) banner from 1982-90. This latest conference partnership ends after this season when the Bears depart the Valley to join Conference USA.

MORE ON MISSOURI STATE

• Missouri State has split its last four games, following a 10-game losing streak that included two OT losses and four others decided by single digits. The Bears most recently dispatched Evansville, 71-54 on Wednesday night in Springfield.

• Sophomore guard Dez White ranks 10th in the MVC in scoring (14.8 ppg.), while junior guard Vincent Brady II is 15th in the conference in scoring (13.1 ppg.). The Bears also have two of the top seven rebounders in the Valley in junior forward Michael Osei-Bonsu (3rd - 7.2 rpg.) and junior guard Jalen Hampton (7th - 6.3 rpg.).

• Head coach Cuonzo Martin is in the first year of his second stint at Missouri State, owning a combined 70-58 (.547) record in his four seasons in Springfield. He has been a collegiate head coach for 15 years (with additional stops at Tennessee, California and Missouri) and maintains a 273-215 (.559) career record.

GAME #25 RECAP - MURRAY STATE

• Redshirt senior forward Modestas Kancleris collected his second double-double of the season with 12 points (on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting) and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Jordan Mason added 11 points, but UIC couldn't shake off its recent shooting woes, coming up on the short end of a 63-53 decision at Murray State on Tuesday night.

• On a night where defense reigned and the stat lines were virtually even across the box score, the one difference came in the rebounding column, where the Racers gathered 20 offensive rebounds and converted those into a 22-10 edge in second-chance points, proving to be almost the exact final margin on the scoreboard. 

NOTING THE MURRAY STATE GAME

• Kancleris' other double-double this season came in his UIC debut in the Nov. 4 opening night win over St. Francis (Ill.) at Credit Union 1 Arena, where he had 12 points and 11 rebounds. It was also Kancleris' fourth career double-double, the other two coming during his career at Cal State Bakersfield.

• UIC was held to a season-low 53 points (previous was 55 vs. East Carolina on Nov. 23) and a .320 field-goal percentage (previous was .322 vs. UNI on Dec. 4), as well as tying its second-lowest three-point percentage of the season (.214 - .087 vs. Bradley on Jan. 11).

• Conversely, the Flames held Murray State to a .350 field-goal percentage (lowest by a Division I opponent this year) and a .238 three-point percentage, the third-lowest by a Division I opponent this year.

• Murray State's 20 offensive rebounds were the most by a UIC opponent this season.

BALANCE IS KEY

• UIC has five players posting double-figure scoring averages this season — Javon Jackson (12.5 ppg.), Ahmad Henderson II (11.7), Jordan Mason (10.9), Tyem Freeman (10.6) and Saša Ciani (10.5) — with a sixth just outside double figures (Filip Škobalj at 9.3).

• No other school in the MVC has five double-figure scorers entering this weekend's action in the conference.

• UIC has had at least four double-digit scorers in 15 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.

• Nearly half (12) of UIC's 25 games this season have been decided by single digits, including nine of 15 MVC games.

• The Flames are 6-6 in games decided by single digits, with a 4-5 mark in MVC play.

• No less than 15 of UIC's last 17 games have been decided by 12 points or fewer (the exceptions both coming on the road - 80-63 at Missouri State on Jan. 7; 93-70 at Bradley on Jan. 29).

• Five of UIC's last seven losses have been by five points or fewer, and in each case, the Flames had a possession to tie or retake the lead inside the final 2:00.

• 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 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 this weekend, UIC has an average opponent NET ranking of 105, which is second-highest in the Valley.

• UIC is 7-4 on the road this year, tying for the second-most road wins in the MVC. In conference play, the Flames are 5-3, the third-most road wins in the Valley.

• The Flames are 2-0 against schools earning votes in the Associated Press poll with victories over Drake on Jan. 1 and at Bradley on Jan. 29.

• UIC is 3-2 this season against teams ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll (wins over No. 13 Yale on Nov. 18, No. 1 Drake on Jan. 1 and at No. 4 Bradley on Jan. 29; five-point loss at No. 20 Belmont on Jan. 4; one-point loss vs. No. 2 Bradley on Jan. 11).

• The Flames are 4-0 against current Quad 2 opponents this season — wins on Nov. 13 vs. Yale, Dec. 29 at Illinois State, Jan. 1 vs. Drake and Jan. 29 at Bradley.

• UIC nearly claimed a Quad 1 win at Northwestern on Nov. 12 (trailed 74-70 with 1:20 left; lost 83-74).

• 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 11 games this year, including a season-high 14 at Bradley on Jan. 29.

• The Flames have scored at least 80 points 12 times this season and topped the 90-point mark on six 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 16 games this year, and over 50 percent 10 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: DRAKE

• UIC makes the first of two trips to the state of Iowa in the final two weeks of the regular season when the Flames visit Drake on Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) matchup at the Knapp Center in Des Moines. The game will be televised as part of The Valley on ESPN package, which can also be seen on ESPN+. There will be no Flames Network radio broadcast due to scheduling conflicts.

• Drake (23-2, 13-2 MVC), which is ranked No. 2 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll and is receiving votes in the AP and coaches' polls this week, has a two-game lead atop the MVC standings and has won 11 in a row. The Bulldogs play host to Bradley Sunday before facing UIC next week.

• The Flames are 3-10 all-time against Drake, but are coming off a 74-70 win over the Bulldogs in their earlier meeting this season on New Year's Day at Credit Union 1 Arena.

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.