MORAGA, Calif. – After successfully defending its home court through the opening three games of the season, UIC hits the road for the first time in 2026-27 with a marquee test as the Flames travel to Moraga, Calif., on Friday for a 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT) matchup with four-time defending West Coast Conference champion Saint Mary's. The Flames and Gaels are both ranked in the top 10 of this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, with UIC at No. 5 and Saint Mary's at No. 9.
Friday's game can be seen live on ESPN+, with
Ryan Barnett calling the play-by-play and
Ashlee Jones adding color commentary.
GAME #4
UIC "Flames" (3-0, 0-0 MVC) at Saint Mary's "Gaels" (2-1, 0-0 WCC)
When: Friday, Nov. 13th | 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT)
Where: Moraga, Calif. | Â
University Credit Union Pavilion
TV:Â ESPN+ (Ryan Barnett, p-b-p/Ashlee Jones, color)
Live Stats:Â
SIDEARM
THE SERIES BREAKDOWN
- UIC and Saint Mary's will be meeting for the first time ever on Friday night. The Flames do have three prior matchups with Saint Mary's of Minnesota, the last coming in 2024 (a 117-59 UIC victory at Credit Union 1 Arena).
- Saint Mary's is the first of three new opponents on the Flames' schedule this year, along with Rice (Nov. 24 at the Scout Jacksonville Classic) and Calumet College of St. Joseph (Dec. 6 at Credit Union 1 Arena).
- UIC is seeking its first win against a new opponent since Dec. 20, 2024, when the Flames posted a 79-68 win at Seattle U. (which, coincidentally, is now a fellow member of the WCC along with Saint Mary's, but was not yet in the conference when UIC played the Redhawks in that 2024-25 season.
- UIC is 5-5 all-time against the current WCC alignment, with the Seattle U. game in 2024 being the most recent matchup (and win) against a present conference member. Last November 7th, the Flames traveled to Oregon State (which was a WCC affiliate member at the time) and dropped a narrow 76-73 decision.
MORE ON SAINT MARY'S
- Coming off their fourth consecutive WCC regular-season title and fifth straight NCAA Tournament appeareance, Saint Mary's has a solid core of six veterans returning while complementing them with 10 newcomers.
- The Gaels (2-1) have opened their season with three high-scoring affairs, two of which went to overtime. SMC defeated UIC's fellow Missouri Valley Conference school, Illinois State, 90-85 in the season opener on Nov. 2 and rolled over North Dakota State (105-64) at home two days later before a 96-95 OT loss to Nevada last Sunday at the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic in Stateline, Nev.
- Junior guard (and returning first-team all-conference selection) Joshua Dent leads SMC in scoring (18.0 ppg.) and is shooting .588 from the three-point line, while sophomore guard/forward Mantas Juzenas appears poised to continue the Gaels' tradition of success with international players, as the Lithuanian averages 17.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this year.
- Former Saint Mary's guard and assistant/associate head coach Mickey McConnell moved into the Big Chair for the first time in his coaching career this summer with the departure of longtime Gaels' coach Randy Bennett to Arizona State.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
- UIC graduate student guard Benny Gealer was a teammate at Stanford last season alongside Saint Mary's graduate student guard Jeremy Dent-Smith during the latter's lone season on The Farm.
- UIC is playing its second consecutive road game in the state of California, following its trip to Berkeley last March for the first round of the NIT at Cal (won by the Golden Bears, 91-73).
- The Flames are seeking the first win over a California school since Dec. 2, 2019 (89-83 vs. San Diego at the Boca Raton Beach Classic in Boca Raton, Fla.) and their first victory in the Golden State since Dec. 18, 1984 (a 59-58 win at Loyola Marymount).
GAME 3 RECAP: UNC GREENSBORO
- It was a balanced attack for UIC on Monday, as the Flames saw seven players score seven points, including four in double figures, in an 82-72 win over UNC Greensboro at Credit Union 1 Arena.
- Sophomore guard Rashund Washington Jr. paced UIC with a game-high 17 points, while redshirt junior guard Gabe Cupps tossed in a career-high 14 points and graduate student guard Benny Gealer also scored 14 points. Redshirt junior forward Lucas Scroggins added 11 points (one off his career high) and senior guard Mekhi Lowery stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of seven points and game highs of nine rebounds, seven assists (tying his career best) and three blocks.
- UIC found itself challenged in the early going, as UNCG made seven of its first eight shots and eventually moved out to a 24-13 lead. However, the Flames responded well, ending the half on a 20-8 run to take a one-point lead to the locker room. UIC then started the second half on an 18-5 spurt and opened up a lead as large as 20 points (65-45) with under nine minutes to play. The Spartans made a final push and briefly cut the margin to single digits (73-64) just before the last media timeout, but Washington converted a layup and Cupps added a steal and breakaway layup on the ensuing possession and the margin was back in double digits the rest of the way.
NOTING THE UNC GREENSBORO WIN
- UIC is 3-0 to start a season for the 10th time in the program's 80-year history and the fourth time in its 46-year NCAA Division I era (the others were 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2020-21).
- This marked the second game in a row UIC used a massive mid-game run to take control (38-13 on Monday; 27-4 on Nov. 6 against Robert Morris).
- UIC had a season-low five turnovers, the fewest for the Flames since last spring's MVC Tournament (Arch Madness) title game (5 in a loss to UNI in St. Louis).
- Cupps' previous career high was 12 points in the Nov. 2 season-opening win over St. Francis at Credit Union 1 Arena.
IN THE NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
- Through its first three games of the season, UIC has benefitted from an added defensive intensity that has the Flames ranked in the top 20 in the nation in turnover margin (7th; +10.7), steals (16th; 12.3 spg.) and turnovers forced per game (20th; 19.33). The Flames are also 27th in the land in scoring defense (58.3 ppg.).
- On the other side of the ball, UIC is 15th in the country in assist/turnover ratio (2.23) and 19th in fewest turnovers per game (8.7).
KENPOM-WONDERFUL
- Following its Nov. 6 win over Robert Morris, UIC moved up to No. 99 in the KenPom ratings (the Flames are currently just outside the top 100 at No. 105).
- Last week's ascension marked the first time the Flames appeared in the KenPom Top 100 since the end of the 2003-04 season, when UIC was rated No. 63. That '03-04 campaign culminated with the Flames' most recent conference title (Horizon League) and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
POLLING STATION
- UIC is ranked No. 5 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, holding steady from its preseason ranking (when the Flames also captured one first-place vote).
- No. 9 Saint Mary's is the second school either ranked or receiving votes in the CollegeInsider poll that UIC is facing in the early going this year (Robert Morris was receiving votes in the preseason).
- UIC moved into the rankings in the Mid-Major Madness Top 25 poll at No. 25, after leading all others receiving votes in the preseason balloting with 22 points (two back of then-No. 25 Memphis). Saint Mary's is No. 8 this week, the first Flames' opponent appearing in that poll this season.
AN EARLY LOOK AT 2026-27
- UIC was picked to finish third in the 2026-27 Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll (466 points, six first-place votes), according to a 50-person voting panel that includes the league's coaches, media members and communications directors. It was the highest preseason ranking for the Flames in their five seasons in the Valley.
- UIC was also a near-consensus top-three selection in the MVC according to preseason projections from all other major media outlets. That includes Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, which pegged the Flames to win the Valley title this season and had both senior Ahmad Henderson II and sophomore Andy Johnson earning all-conference honors.
- UIC topped all MVC schools in the 2026-27 Bart Torvik T-Rank preseason projections, starting the campaign at No. 102. The Flames were also the second-highest MVC team in the KenPom preseason ratings (No. 106).
- Four Flames appeared on the 2026-27 MVC Players to Watch list — seniors Ahmad Henderson II and Mekhi Lowery, and sophomores Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr.
- UIC has 59 percent of its minutes returning from last season, the most of any squad in the MVC. That includes five players who started at least 15 of the Flames' 35 games last year — the aforementioned four MVC Players to Watch, along with redshirt sophomore Jayce Nathaniel.
UP NEXT: CHICAGO STATE
- UIC returns home Wednesday for a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup with city rival Chicago State at Credit Union 1 Arena in the second installment of the Chicago Crosstown Challenge.
- Wednesday's game will mark the Cougars' first visit to the West Loop since the 2016-17 season and the 63rd all-time meeting between UIC and Chicago State, ranking seventh on the Flames' career charts for frequently-played series.
- Last year, the Flames and Cougars resumed a rivalry that had gone dormant for nearly a decade and produced a nail-biter, as UIC dug in to pull out a 67-63 win over Chicago State at the Jones Convocation Center on the South Side.
