CHICAGO (Oct. 13, 2026) – UIC has been projected to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference according to the 2026-27 MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll that was released Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Flames picked up 466 total points, including six first-place votes, from a panel of 50 coaches, communications directors and media members from across the Valley. Murray State was tabbed first (517 points, 32 first-place votes), while Illinois State just edged out UIC for the runner-up spot (471 points, seven first-place votes). The conference revealed the top six placeholders in the poll, as follows:
 
2026-27 MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)

 
The announcement of the preseason poll comes on the eve of MVC Basketball Media Day, set for Wednesday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, site of the MVC Tournament known as Arch Madness that will, for the first time, featured both the men's and women's conference tournaments under one roof during the same week. Representatives of both the UIC men's and women's basketball teams, including head coaches Rob Ehsan and Ashleen Bracey, will meet with conference media members as all 11 Valley schools continue preparations for the 2026-27 campaign.
 
UIC welcomes back four starters and a fifth part-time starter (accounting for a league-high 59 percent of minutes returning) and adds 10 newcomers (five transfers/five freshmen) to a squad that won 19 games last year and earned a third-place finish in the MVC, capped off by the school's first NIT berth since 2003, and the Flames' first-ever appearance in the Arch Madness championship game. UIC also posted its highest overall KenPom rating since 2004 (No. 110) and highest defensive efficiency mark since 2008 (No. 91), along with its highest-ever NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking at No. 115.
 
What's more, during Ehsan's first two years at UIC, the Flames have collected eight Quad 1 & 2 wins, the second-most in the MVC, as well as six wins over teams ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll (four against top-10 squads).
 
UIC will tip off its 2026-27 season with an Oct. 28 exhibition game at Illinois (7 p.m. CT on B1G+) before opening the regular season the following Monday, Nov. 2, by playing host to St. Francis (Ill.) at 4 p.m. CT at Credit Union 1 Arena. Four days later, the Flames will welcome Robert Morris to town for their annual Homecoming Game, which will tip off at 7 p.m. (CT), preceded by the UIC Homecoming Tailgate in Lot 1 (across Harrison Street from Credit Union 1 Arena).
 
Tipoff times for all Flames' home games, as well as TV coverage, will be announced within the next week.
 
Season and single-game ticket packages for the 2026-27 Flames' men's basketball campaign are now on sale through Ticketmaster or the UIC Athletics Ticket Office, which can be reached by phone (312.413.8421) or e-mail (athleticsticketing@uic.edu). Once again this season, all UIC students are admitted FREE to all home games with their student ID.
 
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).