CHICAGO (Aug. 14, 2025) – The UIC men's basketball program rolled out the first piece of its 2025-26 schedule on Thursday when the Flames announced they will face 2025 NCAA Tournament participant and reigning Big South Conference champion High Point to open the second annual Boardwalk Battle at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Nov. 20 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
UIW (which reached the semifinals of last spring's College Basketball Invitational) and Southern Indiana will square off in the other Boardwalk Battle first-round game, with the winners meeting at 7 p.m. (ET) Nov. 22, and the third-place game at 5 p.m. (ET) that same day. All four tournament games will be streamed live on subscription-based BallerTV.
 
Boardwalk Battle tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster or may be purchased on the day of competition at the Ocean Center box office. Additional information can be found on the official tournament website, boardwalkbattle.net, or through the event's official social media accounts on X (@boardwalkbattle) and Instagram (@boardwalk_battle).
 
This will mark UIC's second consecutive appearance in the Boardwalk Battle. Last November, the Flames defeated La Salle, 96-83 in the middle of a three-game tournament set, and had leads in their other two tournament games (vs. James Madison and East Carolina) before their opponents rallied late to secure their respective wins.
 
"We're excited to be back at the Boardwalk Battle for a second straight year," said UIC second-year head coach Rob Ehsan. "Last season's experience in Daytona Beach was a great test for our team and we know this year's field will be just as competitive. Opening against a quality opponent like High Point, fresh off an NCAA Tournament run, will challenge us early and give our guys the chance to measure themselves as we prepare for another challenging season in the Missouri Valley Conference."
 
UIC and High Point will be meeting for the first time on the hardwood, while the Flames could potentially meet UIW for the third time and Southern Indiana for the fifth time. UIC has split each of its prior matchups with both UIW (1-1) and Southern Indiana (2-2), most recently facing UIW two seasons ago at Credit Union 1 Arena (a 67-66 Cardinals win on Dec. 21, 2023) and last meeting the Screaming Eagles on Jan. 16, 1980, in Evansville (a 58-55 USI decision that came two seasons prior to the Flames elevating to the NCAA Division I level).
 
UIC showed strong improvement during Ehsan's inaugural season with the Flames in 2024-25, finishing with a 17-14 record and tying for fifth place in the MVC standings. Under Ehsan's leadership, UIC also had its best regular-season winning percentage (.567) since 2004 and picked up four Quad 1-2 wins (second-best in the Valley). What's more, the Flames posted five wins over teams that competed in the postseason, including victories over Drake, Yale, Bradley and Illinois State, and they produced UIC's second-highest scoring offense (76.0 ppg. – fourth in MVC) in the past 30 years.
 
Season tickets for the 2025-26 Flames' men's basketball campaign went on sale earlier this week and can be purchased through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312.413.8421; athleticsticketing@uic.edu).
 
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).