• '80s Day
• Faculty/Staff Appreciation (up to nine complimentary tickets for UIC faculty/staff who show their UIC ID at the arena box office on game day). 

• This will be the 15th all-time meeting between UIC and Drake, with the Bulldogs holding an 11-3 edge in the series (4-2 when the scene shifts to Chicago).
• Drake has won four of the five matchups since the Flames joined the MVC in 2022-23, although three of those five were decided by five points or fewer, including two in overtime.
• All told, 10 of the 14 prior meetings between UIC and Drake have been decided by single digits, including the last five series games in Chicago (with the sixth featuring an 11-point margin).
• Last year, the schools split their series, each successfully defending their home court. The Flames won 74-70 on New Year's Day 2025 at Credit Union 1 Arena, toppling the then-unbeaten (and No. 1-ranked mid-major) Bulldogs. Drake returned the favor in the teams' most recent meeting on Feb. 19, 2025, prevailing 74-57 in Des Moines.

• Drake is coming off a 31-win season and a sweep of the MVC regular-season and tournament titles. The Bulldogs went on to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament, posting the first win by a Valley school in the Big Dance since 2021.
• Featuring 11 newcomers, the Bulldogs are 9-9 this season under first-year head coach Eric Henderson and are coming off a 76-73 overtime win at Southern Illinois on Wednesday night.
• Former Loyola guard Jalen Quinn ranks third in the MVC in scoring (16.7 ppg.) and seventh in assists (3.5 apg.), while Jaehshon Thomas (11.9 ppg.) and Okku Federiko (11.6 ppg.) are also scoring in double figures — Federiko adds a team-high 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. In addition, Andrew Alia leads the Valley in three-point percentage (.491).
• Henderson came to Drake from South Dakota State where he spent six seasons and he has a 138-69 career record. This will be his first matchup against UIC.

NOTING THE FLAMES

• UIC stretched its current winning streak to three games with a 69-61 victory at No. 10 (Mid-Major) UNI on Tuesday night. The Flames not only defeated their second top-10 mid-major opponent in 72 hours, but they also claimed their first victory in Cedar Falls since the 2008 season.
• Tuesday's win was UIC's fifth against a ranked mid-major squad (and fourth against a top-10 program) in Ehsan's two seasons. Along with a Jan. 10 road win at No. 7 Illinois State, the Flames defeated No. 1 Drake, No. 4 Bradley and No. 13 Yale last year.
• Graduate student forward Abdul Momoh, the reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week, scored a career-high 21 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting at UNI. It was the best shooting night by a UIC player since at least the 2000-01 season, with further research ongoing. In his last six games, Momoh is averaging 14.7 points per game with a .787 field-goal percentage (37-of-47).
• Sophomore guard Elijah Crawford continues to shine in his return since missing almost all of the first two months of the season with a lower leg injury. In his last three games, Crawford is averaging 11.7 points and 5.0 assists per contest, including career highs of 14 points and nine assists in Tuesday's win at UNI.
• Seven different UIC players have led the team in scoring at least once, tying for the sixth-most unique game-high scorers of any team in the nation this season (only VCU with nine, and Creighton, Kentucky, Northeastern and Saint Louis with eight, have had more). Most recently, junior guard/forward Mekhi Lowery had a career-high 17 points and graduate student forward Abdul Momoh added 17 points in the a Dec. 29 win over Illinois Tech.
• Of the 12 players on UIC's roster who have seen playing time this year, 10 have scored in double figures at least once this season, led by junior guard Ahmad Henderson II (14 games) and freshman guard Andy Johnson (11). The 10 different double-digit scorers ties for second-most in the MVC behind Illinois State (11).
• UIC has gone very young with its lineup during the past seven games, starting three freshmen in guards Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr., along with redshirt forward Jayce Nathaniel. The Flames are one of only four schools in the nation (along with Arizona, Fairfield and UT Martin) to have three freshmen start at least seven times this year, while only one other school (New Mexico) having fielded a three-freshman lineup even once this year.
• To say UIC's schedule has been challenging this year is putting it mildly. Seven of the Flames' 16 Division I opponents have been ranked in the top 20 of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll at tipoff, including a stretch of three in a row from Dec. 7-17 — No. 6 High Point, No. 3 Yale, No. 5 Belmont, No. 10 UNI (twice) and No. 19 Murray State (Oregon State and Robert Morris were receiving votes when they faced UIC).
• The Flames have come oh-so-close to victory on several occasions this year, with eight losses by 10 points or fewer and/or in overtime, including four MVC games to date (average of 5.0 ppg. in losses to Belmont, UNI, Murray State and Valparaiso).
• UIC has also led at halftime in six of its seven conference games this season (the lone exception being Tuesday at UNI).
• Five of UIC's close losses have come against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major poll (OSU, HPU, BEL, UNI, MSU), and four close losses have come by three points or fewer and/or in overtime (OSU, UAPB, BEL, CHA). In those latter four "one-possession" games, UIC had the ball each time with a chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds, but despite a clean look each time, the Flames' shots did not fall.
• Since trailing 16-6 with 9:56 left in the first half on Dec. 17 vs. UNI, UIC has either led or trailed by just single digits for nearly the full 519+ minutes of game time in that span (all but the final 53 seconds of OT at Charlotte on Dec. 21). In this current stretch of 7 1/2 games, the Flames have led for 195:37 and only trailed for 86:56.
• UIC men's basketball has been hitting the books at a record-setting level this year. The Flames posted a 3.26 team GPA during the Fall 2025 semester, the program's highest semester GPA since at least 2010-11.
• 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: EVANSVILLE
The Flames remain at home next Tuesday to take on Evansville at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Credit Union 1 Arena. The game will be televised live on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+, with free live radio on the Flames Network. Early-arriving fans can also pick up a free UIC athletics t-shirt.
 

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