• Certainly no strangers to one another, UIC and Valparaiso will be meeting for the 65th time on Sunday, with the Flames maintaining a 35-29 edge in the series, with wins in six of the last nine games.
• Valparaiso has the advantage when the scene shifts to northwest Indiana, holding a 19-12 advantage over UIC, including wins in 11 of the past 13 meetings.
• The Flames won both regular-season matchups with the Beacons last year (81-74 at Valparaiso on Jan. 18, 2025; 77-73 on March 2, 2025). Four days after that second game, Valparaiso defeated UIC, 67-50 in the first round of the MVC Tournament in St. Louis.
• UIC and Valparaiso have shared membership in three conferences for portions of the past 44 years, first in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities/Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) from 1981-82 to 1993-94, and in the Horizon League from 2007-08 through 2016-17. In that four-decade span, the schools have met 60 times in conference or postseason tournament play, with UIC owning a 33-27 record in those games.

• Valparaiso brings back four players and adds 13 newcomers (six freshmen, seven transfers) to a squad that posted 15 wins last season and advanced to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.
• The Beacons got off to a strong start this year, winning six of their first nine, but they come into Sunday's game having lost five in a row, most recently 75-70 at SIU on Jan. 1.
• UIC and Valparaiso have two common opponents to date this season — Southern Indiana and Murray State. Both teams lost at home to MSU (UIC 81-77 on Jan. 1; VU 85-79 on Dec. 21), while UIC defeated USI (84-73 on Nov. 22 in Daytona Beach) and Valpo lost to the Screaming Eagles (64-56 at home on Nov. 26).
• Owen Dease leads the Beacons in scoring (13.2 ppg.), while Rakim Cheney adds 10.2 ppg. and a team-high 3.1 apg., and Shon Tupuola grabs a team-best 6.9 rpg.
• Head coach Roger Powell Jr. is in his third season at Valparaiso with a 28-52 career record (2-3 against UIC).

NOTING THE FLAMES

• UIC ranks among the top 25 teams in the country in both offensive rebounding (18th; 14.4 orpg.) and free throw percentage (25th; .771), with the latter figure on pace to challenge the program record for a single season (.752 in 2012-13). Individually, freshman guard Andy Johnson ranks 12th nationally in foul shooting (.932).
• Through 14 games this season, seven different UIC players have led the team in scoring at least once. Most recently, junior guard/forward Mekhi Lowery had a career-high 17 points and graduate student forward Abdul Momoh added a season-best 17 points to pace last Monday's win over Illinois Tech.
• To say UIC's schedule has been challenging this year is putting it mildly. Five of the Flames' 12 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 and No. 19 Murray State (Oregon State and Robert Morris were receiving votes when they faced UIC).
• The Flames are also in the midst of a five-game stretch in which they will face three ranked opponents — No. 19 MSU at home this past Thursday (lost 81-77); No. 15 ISU on the road Jan. 10; now-No. 7 UNI on the road Jan. 13.
• The Flames have come oh-so-close to victory on several occasions this year, with seven losses by 10 points or fewer and/or in overtime, including all three MVC games to date (average of 4.3 ppg. vs. Belmont, UNI, Murray State).
• Five of those 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.
• UIC rang up 14 steals in its Dec. 17 matchup against UNI, the most thefts for the Flames against a Division I opponent in nearly 18 years (school-record 25 vs. Howard on Dec. 22, 2007, also at Credit Union 1 Arena).
• On Dec. 13 at Belmont, graduate student guard Josiah Hammons torched the nets for a career-high 31 points on 8-of-16 three-pointers, the most points by a UIC player in a regulation game since Nov. 23, 2016 (32 by Dikembe Dixson vs. Elon). Hammons' eight triples were one off the school record and his 16 attempts tied the UIC record set by Cedrick Banks vs. Wright State on Feb. 23, 2005.
• One of the brighter spots for UIC this season has been the growth of redshirt freshman forward Jayce Nathaniel. The Atlanta native has doubled his scoring from last year (4.3 to 8.6 ppg.) and nearly done the same with his rebounding (3.3 to 5.3 rpg.), ranking second in the MVC in offensive rebounds (3.0 orpg.). He has also scored in double figures five times this year (including a career-high 17 points against Murray State on Jan. 1), and posted his first career double-double on Dec. 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
• UIC's dynamic freshman guard duo of Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr. ranks second and third on the team in scoring this year, combining to average more than 22 points per game (Johnson - 13.3 ppg./tops among MVC freshmen and 11th overall; Washington - 9.1 ppg.).
• Graduate student Abdul Momoh has been a strong rim protector for the Flames this season, ranking fourth in the MVC in blocks (1.5 bpg.) and recording multiple blocked shots in six games, including a season-best four swats on Nov. 20 against High Point.
• 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).
• UIC has looked sharp against its fellow Chicagoland schools across all sports during the 2025-26 academic year. With Monday's win over Illinois Tech, Flames teams are now 12-0-2 head-to-head against Windy City opponents this year (3-0 men's basketball; 3-0 volleyball; 3-0-1 men's soccer; 2-0 women's basketball; 1-0-1 women's soccer), the best intracity record by any of Chicago's Division I schools.

UP NEXT: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
UIC returns home to Credit Union 1 Arena next Wednesday, Jan. 7, to take on Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. (CT). It will be '70s Night (so break out your bell bottoms, leisure suits, platform shoes and disco moves!) and free UIC Flames rollabanna signs will be given away to early-arriving fans, courtesy of the MVC and State Farm. Next Wednesday's game will be televised live on ESPN+ and can be heard free of charge around the world on the Flames Network at UICFlames.com (which will also offer live stats).

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
UIC basketball season and single-game tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster (Men's Basketball or Women's Basketball), UICFlames.com/Tickets or by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or athleticsticketing@uic.edu. UIC students are admitted free for all Flames' home games.

In addition, the US Solar Courtside Club is open for each game at Credit Union 1 Arena, with Club passes available for purchase through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office or at the Courtside Club entrance on game nights. Located just steps away from the action on the event level at Credit Union 1 Arena, the US Solar Courtside Club provides a premium experience for all UIC basketball fans, including enhanced food and beverage options. The Club also offers luxury seating and flat-screen televisions, and fans will have earlier access to the arena through a dedicated separate gate entrance, allowing them to get a quicker start on supporting their Flames each and every night.