Ozzie Stern

Men's Basketball Wraps Up Opening Homestand Monday vs. UNC Greensboro

Free postgame pizza party for all UIC students as Flames celebrate Academic Achievement Night.

11/8/2026 6:15:00 PM

CHICAGO – It's a quick turnaround for UIC, which will play the last of three consecutive home games within the opening week of the 2026-27 season on Monday night when it plays host to UNC Greensboro in a 6 p.m. (CT) tipoff at Credit Union 1 Arena.

Monday's game has been designated as Academic Achievement Night for UIC Athletics, with more than 200 Flames student-athletes to be recognized for their accomplishments in the classroom during a halftime ceremony. There will also be a free postgame pizza party for all UIC students in attendance.

Each UIC home basketball game this season is broadcast live, with Monday's matchup slated to air on ESPN+. Sam Brief will call the play-by-play, while Keno Davis adds color commentary.

GAME #3
UNC Greensboro "Spartans" (1-1, 0-0 SoCon) at UIC "Flames" (2-0, 0-0 MVC)
When: Monday, Nov. 9th | 6 p.m. CT
Where: Chicago, Ill. | Credit Union 1 Arena
TV: ESPN+ (Sam Brief, p-b-p/Keno Davis, color)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here (all UIC students admitted free for every home game - details HERE!)
Promotions/Giveaways:

• Academic Achievement Night

• Free postgame pizza party for all UIC students

THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

Monday will mark just the second all-time meeting between UIC and UNC Greensboro, as well as the first time they will play on campus.
The schools' only prior contest came on Nov. 26, 2023, in the title game of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, with the Spartans edging the Flames, 58-57.
In that contest, both teams had eight-point leads before it settled into a one-possession game down the stretch. UIC took the lead on a jumper with 7.8 seconds left, but after a timeout, UNC Greensboro was fouled while battling for a loose ball in the lane with 3.5 seconds to go. The Spartans hit both free throws before holding off the Flames' final shot attempt to take the win.

MORE ON UNC GREENSBORO

There's a great deal of turnover from top to bottom with the UNC Greensboro program, which not only has a new coaching staff, but also has 12 newcomers and just two letterwinners back from last year's squad that advanced to the SoCon Tournament semifinals (before falling to a Furman squad that included current UIC redshirt junior guard Asa Thomas).
The Spartans opened their season last Tuesday with a 96-43 home win over NAIA opponent Milligan. Three days later, UNCG tipped off a stretch that will see the Spartans play 10 of 13 games away from home with a 74-65 loss at Elon.
Sophomore guard (and Davidson transfer) RJ Greer is UNCG's leading scorer through those first two games with 16.5 points per game, while graduate student guard Cameron Grant (a Stanford transfer) is contributing a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game.
Head coach Jerod Haase is in his first season at UNC Greensboro and 13th on the sidelines, having previously led programs at UAB (2012-13 through 2015-16) and Stanford (2016-17 through 2023-24). He has a career record of 207-181 (.534).

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Despite UIC and UNC Greensboro having played just once before, there will be a great deal of familiarity between the programs on Monday night.
UIC head coach Rob Ehsan served as an assistant coach under UNCG head coach Jerod Haase at both UAB (2012-16) and Stanford (2021-24), in between taking the reins from Haase as UAB's head coach from 2016-20. With Ehsan and Haase on staff, UAB won the 2015 Conference USA Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Round of 32, before winning the C-USA regular-season crown and reaching the NIT the following year.
Two other members of the UIC staff previously worked with Ehsan and Haase at either UAB or Stanford — associate head coach Kevin Devitt (multiple roles at UAB from 2012-15) and assistant coach David Berkun (multiple roles at Stanford from 2018-24).
UIC graduate student guard Benny Gealer enrolled at Stanford as a priority walk-on in 2022, playing his first two seasons for a Cardinal staff that included Haase, Ehsan and Berkun. While at Stanford, Gealer was teammates with current UNCG guard Cameron Grant.
UNCG graduate student forward Ante Beljan played last season at UIC, appearing in 26 games and starting five times while averaging 3.5 points per game and shooting .629 from the field. He scored in double figures three times in his lone season at UIC, including a season-high 22 points against St. Francis on Nov. 11, 2025.

GAME 2 RECAP: ROBERT MORRIS

Sophomore guard Rashund Washington Jr. rang up a game-high 19 points and a career high-tying 12 rebounds and UIC rode a dominant defensive effort in the second half to a 79-56 win over Robert Morris Friday night on Homecoming at Credit Union 1 Arena. The Flames locked down the Colonials over the final 20 minutes, holding the visitors to just 24 points while forcing 13 RMU turnovers (10 coming on UIC steals).
Senior guard Ahmad Henderson II scored 16 points and both he and Washington connected on 3-of-4 three-pointers. Washington also came up with back-to-back dunks, including a massive putback slam, early in the second half, that brought the crowd to its feet and highlighted a 27-4 Flames run that crossed over halftime.
Graduate student guard Benny Gealer chipped in 11 points and a game-high six assists while redshirt junior forward Lucas Scroggins added 10 points for UIC.

NOTING THE ROBERT MORRIS WIN

UIC improves to 6-1 all-time against Robert Morris, including a 5-0 record at Credit Union 1 Arena.
Friday's margin was the largest for either team in the abbreviated series — both teams had previously won by 14 points, including UIC's 67-53 win on Jan. 15, 2021, in Chicago.
With Gealer and Scroggins reaching double figures, seven different UIC players have topped the 10-point mark in the Flames' first two games this year.
UIC is 12-0 in the Rob Ehsan era when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points, including both games this season.

DEFENSIVE INTENSITY

Through its first two 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 four key categories — steals (11th, 14.0 spg.), turnovers forced (14th, 21.0 topg.), turnover margin (16th, +10.5) and scoring defense (17th, 51.5 ppg.).

KENPOM-WONDERFUL

Following Friday's win over Robert Morris, UIC moved up to No. 99 in the KenPom ratings.
This 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.

CHICAGO STATE GAME TIME SET

The tipoff time for UIC's Nov. 18 home game vs. Chicago State has been set for 6 p.m. (CT) at Credit Union 1 Arena. The second edition of the Chicago Crosstown Challenge (aka "The Battle of the Dan Ryan") will mark the Cougars' first visit to the West Loop since the 2016-17 season.

POLLING STATION

UIC is ranked No. 5 in the preseason CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, with the Flames capturing one first-place vote to start the campaign.
UIC is slated to face four schools that are ranked in the College Insider preseason poll — No. 1 Miami (Ohio), No. 3 Illinois State, No. 10 Saint Mary's and No. 22 Belmont — along with four other teams receiving votes (Murray State, Drake, Robert Morris and Milwaukee).
UIC is also just outside the rankings in the Mid-Major Madness Top 25 preseason poll, leading all others receiving votes with 22 points (two back of No. 25 Memphis).
UIC will play four teams appearing in the Mid-Major Madness Top 25 — No. 5 Saint Mary's, No. 12 Miami (Ohio), No. 17 Murray State and No. 21 Belmont — as well as two others receiving votes in Illinois State and Charlotte.

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's the highest preseason ranking for the Flames in their five seasons in the Valley.
UIC is 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 tops all MVC schools in the 2026-27 Bart Torvik T-Rank preseason projections, starting the campaign at No. 102. The Flames are 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: SAINT MARY'S

UIC heads out on the road for the first time this season when the Flames travel to the West Coast next Friday, Nov. 13, for a 9 p.m. CT matchup at four-time West Coast Conference champion Saint Mary's. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ from University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.
The Flames and Gaels will be squaring off for the first time since the 1980-81 season and meeting at SMC for the first time ever. UIC is also playing its second consecutive road game in northern California, having traveled to Berkeley last March for its NIT opener at Cal.

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).

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