THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• This will be is the 31st meeting between UIC and Illinois State, with the Redbirds leading the in-state rivalry, 19-11 (UIC leads 7-6 in Chicago).

• The series has traditionally been a close one, with 20 of the previous 30 contests decided by 10 points or less, including the past six (and all five since UIC joined the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season).

• Of the 13 series games in Chicago, nine have been decided by 10 points or fewer, including the past two (both had margins of five points or fewer).

• This is the second meeting of the season between the Flames and Redbirds. Back on Dec. 29 in Normal, UIC posted a 73-67 victory at CEFCU Arena, rallying from a 12-point deficit to post their biggest comeback win in three years. Sophomore forward Saša Ciani led four Flames in double figures with a career-high 16 points.

• In their last encounter at Credit Union 1 Arena on Nov. 30, 2023, Illinois State pulled off its own comeback win over UIC, 69-64. Current senior forward Filip Škobalj scored a (then) season-high 17 points for the Flames, who led by 13 points in the first half before the visiting Redbirds rallied for the win.

MORE ON ILLINOIS STATE

• Illinois State has won four of its last five games and its last seven have been decided by single digits. Most recently, ISU posted an 86-78 home victory over Valparaiso last Saturday. 

• Sophomore forward Chase Walker (15.1 ppg., 5.9 rpg., .590 F%) leads the Redbirds and is in the top 10 in the Valley in all three categories. Classmate and guard Johnny Kinzinger is eighth in the MVC in scoring (15.0 ppg.).

• Head coach Ryan Pedon is in his third season at Illinois State with a 40-47 record, including a 22-30 record in MVC play. He is 2-3 all-time against UIC.

GAME #22 RECAP - INDIANA STATE

• Senior forward Filip Škobalj and sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II both scored a season-high 20 points, but UIC couldn't quite complete a second-half comeback, falling to Indiana State, 88-83, Saturday at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• The Flames came nearly all the way back from 18 points down, getting a look at a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:28 left that rattled out before the Sycamores made enough foul shots to hold on for the win.

• Graduate student guard Tyem Freeman added 12 points, while redshirt sophomore forward Modestas Kancleris delivered a balanced line with nine points and game highs of 10 rebounds, a career-high four steals and a career high-tying four blocks.

NOTING THE INDIANA STATE GAME

• The last two matchups between UIC and Indiana State at Credit Union 1 Arena have been decided by single digits — last year, the Sycamores prevailed by a nearly identical score (89-83) to Saturday's result. The 83 points scored by UIC the last two years in Chicago are the most by the Flames in the series, which Indiana State now leads 6-1.

• UIC had a season-high 10 blocks on Saturday, its highest total since Nov. 7, 2022, when it also had 10 rejections in a home win over Trinity Christian.

• This was the second consecutive game in which the Flames had two 20-point scorers — interestingly, it was four different players who scored 20 points across the two games (Javon Jackson had 25 points and Jordan Mason added 22 points in the Jan. 29 win at Bradley).

• Škobalj and Henderson are the fifth and sixth different UIC players to score 20 points in a game this season — the others are Freeman (21 vs. Murray State on Jan. 15) and Joshua Reaves (21 vs. Saint Mary's-Minn. on Nov. 16).

• Škobalj's 20 points were one off his career high, set on Feb. 11, 2024, in a home win over Northern Iowa. His season high this year had been 19 points on Nov. 22 against La Salle at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Fla.

• Henderson's 20 points surpassed his previous season high of 18 points at Belmont on Jan. 4.

• Kancleris' previous career high for steals was three vs. South Dakota on Dec. 19, 2023, when he played at Cal State Bakersfield. He has had four blocks on two other occasions prior to Saturday, most recently on Nov. 23 against East Carolina at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Fla.

• Reaves appeared in his 99th career game, putting him on the verge of becoming the fourth UIC player this year to play in 100 career games — the others are Koby Jeffries (118), Škobalj (114) and Freeman (106).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (8.8 rpg.; 41st in NCAA), as well as defensive rebounding (5.72 drpg.) and double-doubles (7; 43rd in NCAA).

• As a team, UIC is tops in the Valley in rebounding (37.7 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (11.18 orpg.), as well as second in the MVC in rebound margin (+4.9 rpg.).

• 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 (13.3 ppg.), Ahmad Henderson II (12.1), Saša Ciani (11.2), Jordan Mason (11.0) and Tyem Freeman (10.3) — with a sixth just outside double figures (Filip Škobalj at 9.8).

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

• UIC has had at least four double-digit scorers in 14 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 (11) of UIC's 22 games this season have been decided by single digits, including eight of 12 conference games.

• The Flames are 6-5 in games decided by single digits, with a 4-4 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 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 102, which is the second-highest 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 is 4-0 against current Quad 2  opponents this season — Nov. 13 vs. Yale, Dec. 29 at Illinois State, Jan. 1 vs. Drake, 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 15 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: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

• UIC is back on the road for a two-game MVC swing starting Saturday with a 1 p.m. (CT) matchup at Southern Illinois. The game will be televised live on The Valley on ESPN (and ESPN+) and the free Flames Network broadcast can be heard at UICFlames.com with Jonathan Hood and Kenny Williams on the call.

• Southern Illinois (10-13, 5-7 MVC) had won five of six prior to last Saturday's home loss to Drake. The Salukis will travel to Evansville on Wednesday before returning to host UIC this weekend.

• The Flames are 5-11 all-time against Southern Illinois, with the two squads set to meet for the second time in 14 days (SIU prevailed 89-85 on Jan. 25 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.