THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• This will mark the 17th meeting between UIC and Southern Illinois (and second in two weeks), with the Salukis maintaining a 11-5 series lead. The Flames will be in search of their first win in their seventh visit to Carbondale.

• No fewer than 12 of the past 13 games in the UIC-Southern Illinois series have been decided by 10 points or less, with an average margin in those games of just 5.4 ppg.

• Since UIC joined the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season, five of its six matchups with SIU have been decided in the final minute, including the last three meetings.

• In the first matchup this year on Jan. 25, the Salukis shot 55 percent from the field and closed on a 9-3 run to edge UIC, 89-85 at Credit Union 1 Arena. Jordan Mason had season highs of 23 points and seven assists for the Flames in a game that saw 14 ties, 12 lead changes and neither side lead by more than eight points.

MORE ON SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

• Southern Illinois has won six of its last eight games following a 68-59 win at Evansville on Wednesday. The Salukis are in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Valley standings, one game behind UIC and Illinois State.

• Senior guard Ali Dibba leads four SIU players scoring in double figures at 16.7 ppg., while sophomore guard Kennard Davis Jr. adds 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, the latter trailing only graduate student forward Jarrett Hensley (5.3 rpg.) for the team lead. 

• Veteran head coach Scott Nagy is in his first season at SIU, but 30th on the sidelines following stops at South Dakota State and Wright State. He has a 588-345 (.630) career record.

GAME #23 RECAP - ILLINOIS STATE

• Graduate student guard Tyem Freeman scored a team-high 18 points and junior guard Jordan Mason added 15 points, but Mason's last-second game-winning three-point try was just off the mark and UIC came up a touch short to Illinois State, 81-79 on Wednesday at Credit Union 1 Arena. 

• The Flames battled through a great deal of adversity, including three players fouling out and an 11-point first-half deficit to take a five-point lead with three minutes left before the Redbirds used a 9-0 run to move back ahead for good. 

• Freeman and Mason were among four UIC players to score in double figures, with junior guard Javon Jackson tallying 12 points and sophomore forward Saša Ciani chipping in 10 points in his first significant action in two weeks after being sidelined with an illness. Senior guard Ethan Pickett added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench.

NOTING THE ILLINOIS STATE GAME

• The series between UIC and Illinois State (ISU now leads 20-11) has consistently featured close results, with Wednesday's game marking the 21st time in 31 series meetings between the Flames and Redbirds that the matchup was decided by 10 points or fewer. That includes the last seven series games, and all six contests since UIC joined the Valley in 2022-23.

• Of the 14 series games played in Chicago (series tied 7-7), 10 have been decided by 10 points or fewer, including the past three (each of which was decided by five points or fewer).

• Pickett's seven rebounds tied a season high he set twice before (Nov. 16 vs. Saint Mary's-Minn; Nov. 23 vs. East Carolina).

• Graduate student guard Joshua Reaves appeared in his 100th career game, making him the fourth current UIC player to reach that milestone — the others are Koby Jeffries (119), Filip Škobalj (115) and Freeman (107).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (8.5 rpg.; 48th in NCAA), as well as defensive rebounding (5.58 drpg.) and double-doubles (7; 47th in NCAA).

• As a team, UIC is tops in the Valley in rebounding (37.3 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (11.04 orpg.), as well as second in the MVC in rebound margin (+4.7 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 (11.9), Jordan Mason (11.2), Saša Ciani (11.2) and Tyem Freeman (10.7) — with a sixth just outside double figures (Filip Škobalj at 9.6).

• 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.

• More than half (12) of UIC's 23 games this season have been decided by single digits, including nine of 13 MVC games.

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

• No less than 13 of UIC's last 15 games have been decided by 11 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).

• UIC's last five losses have all 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 Saturday's game, UIC has an average opponent NET ranking of 100, which is the highest in the Valley.

• UIC is 7-2 on the road this year, tying for the most road wins in the MVC. In conference play, the Flames are 5-1, tied for second-most 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 is 4-1 against current Quad 2  opponents this season — wins over 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 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: MURRAY STATE

• UIC remains on the road early next week, heading over to Murray, Ky., on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. (CT) contest at Murray State. ESPN+ will broadcast the game live, while due to scheduling conflicts, there will not be a Flames Network radio broadcast.

• Murray State (11-13, 5-8 MVC) has dropped four in a row and six of seven as it travels to Valparaiso on Saturday before next week's home game against UIC.

• The Flames are 2-4 all-time against Murray State following a 97-93 double-overtime win over the Racers on Jan. 15 at Credit Union 1 Arena. UIC will be seeking its first win in four visits to Murray State.

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.