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Malik Moore

Men's Basketball Back to Work Thursday at Drake

Flames and Bulldogs tip off at 6:30 p.m. (CT) from the Knapp Center in Des Moines.

2/11/2026 10:15:00 PM

DES MOINES – UIC returns to the hardwood on Thursday after a six-day hiatus as the Flames venture to Des Moines, Iowa, for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) Missouri Valley Conference matchup at Drake. Thursday's game will be televised live from the Knapp Center as part of The Valley on ESPN package, which includes coverage on ESPN+. Larry Morgan will handle the play-by-play, while Adam Emmenecker will provide color commentary.

The Flames come into Thursday's game in a three-way tie for fourth place in the MVC standings with Illinois State and UNI. The top five teams at the end of the regular season will earn a bye into the quarterfinal round of the MVC Tournament (aka Arch Madness) that will take place March 5-8 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

This will be UIC's fourth road game in its last six outings, Following Thursday's game, the Flames will close out the regular season by playing three of their last five at home inside Credit Union 1 Arena.

GAME #26
UIC "Flames" (13-12, 8-6 MVC) at Drake "Bulldogs" (12-14, 6-9 MVC) 
When: Thursday, Feb. 12th  |  6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Des Moines, Iowa  |  Knapp Center
TV: The Valley on ESPN/ESPN+ (Larry Morgan, p-b-p/Adam Emmenecker, color)
Radio: None
Live Stats: StatBroadcast


SERIES BREAKDOWN
  • UIC and Drake will be squaring off for the 16th time in series history on Thursday. The Bulldogs hold an 11-4 edge over the Flames, including a 7-1 margin in Des Moines.
  • Since UIC joined the MVC in 2022-23, the series has been close, with Drake holding a 4-2 advantage.
  • Eleven of the prior 15 matchups between the two schools have been decided by single digits, including four of six since the Flames joined the Valley four seasons ago (two of the Bulldogs' wins coming in overtime).
  • UIC has won two of the past three meetings with Drake, with both victories coming in Chicago (74-70 on Jan. 1, 2025; 74-67 earlier this season on Jan. 17, 2026).
  • In that first matchup this season, UIC led virtually from wire-to-wire and by as many as 15 points early in the second half. Drake cut the deficit to 56-53 at the final media timeout, but the Flames iced the win by making 12-of-16 free throws down the stretch.
  • UIC's only victory in eight previous visits to Drake came in the first-ever game between the schools on Dec. 28, 1978 (an 84-82 win).

MORE ON DRAKE
  • Drake has had an up-and-down season thus far, including non-conference wins over the College of Charleston and Georgia Tech and a pair of stretches that saw the Bulldogs win four out of five games (the second coming in January, with the only loss in that span coming at UIC on Jan. 17).
  • Drake has lost its last four games, including the past two by 10 points or fewer. Most recently, the Bulldogs dropped an 81-76 decision at home to Valparaiso on Monday evening at the Knapp Center.
  • Jalen Quinn leads the MVC in scoring this year (20.0 ppg.), while ranking sixth in the conference in assists (3.3 apg.). Andrew Alia is second in the Valley in three-point percentage (.432), while Eli Shetlar is fourth in three-pointers per game (2.15).
  • Eric Henderson is in his first season as the head coach at Drake with a 12-14 record, following six years at South Dakota State, and he has a 141-74 career record. He is 0-1 all-time against UIC.


NOTING THE FLAMES
  • UIC dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the opening week of the 2026 calendar year with its 68-62 loss at home to No. 4 (Mid-Major) Belmont last Friday. It was the Flames' second consecutive single-digit defeat against a team ranked in the top 15 of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll (UIC fell at No. 14 Murray State, 81-74 on Feb. 3).
  • The Flames welcomed one of their largest crowds in the past decade for the Feb. 6 Belmont game, with 3,599 fans (including 1,400 UIC students) coming through the turnstiles at Credit Union 1 Arena.
  • UIC's eight-game winning streak earlier this season (all against MVC opponents) was its longest since Nov. 17-Dec. 15, 2012, a run that included one non-Division I victory. It was also the Flames' longest conference (and entirely Division I) winning streak since Jan. 24-Feb. 28, 2004, when UIC won its final 10 Horizon League games of the season — it then won both conference tournament games, capped by a 65-62 victory at Milwaukee in the Horizon League final to earn UIC's most recent NCAA Tournament berth.
  • Sophomore guard Elijah Crawford's steal and layup with 1.8 seconds left on Jan. 27 against Indiana State marked the Flames' first buzzer-beating win since Jan. 21, 2021, when Michael Diggins' tip-in gave UIC a 67-66 road win at Youngstown State.
  • Eight different UIC players have led the team in scoring at least once, tying for the second-most unique game-high scorers in the nation this season (VCU has nine, while Arizona, Creighton, Illinois, Kentucky, Northeastern and Saint Louis also have eight).
  • 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 (20 games) and freshman guard Andy Johnson (14). 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 14 games, starting three freshmen in guards Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr., along with redshirt forward Jayce Nathaniel in 13 of those games. 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 13 times this year, with 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. More than half (12) of the Flames' 23 Division I opponents have been ranked or receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll at tipoff, including a stretch of three in a row from Dec. 7-17 (No. 3 Yale, No. 5 Belmont, No. 10 UNI).
  • UIC is in the midst of a run of three of four games against teams ranked or receiving votes in the College Insider poll (Feb. 3 at No. 14 Murray State; Feb. 6 vs. No. 4 Belmont; Feb. 15 vs. Illinois State, which is receiving votes).
  • With recent road wins at No. 7 Illinois State and No. 10 UNI, UIC has five victories over ranked mid-major squads (four vs. top-10 programs) in head coach Rob Ehsan's two seasons. Last year, the Flames defeated No. 1 Drake, No. 4 Bradley and No. 13 Yale.
  • The Flames have come oh-so-close to victory on several occasions this year, with 10 losses by 10 points or fewer and/or in OT, including all six MVC losses to date (average of 5.5 ppg. in losses to Belmont (2x), UNI, Murray State (2x) and Valparaiso).
  • UIC has led at halftime in 10 of its 14 conference games this year and has been tied or up at the break in 16 of 25 games overall.
  • Six of UIC's close losses have come against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major poll (OSU, HPU, BEL-2x, UNI, MSU-2x), 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 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 and Indiana Junior All-Star pick last year at Crown Point High School, posting 16.2 ppg., 6.7 rpg. and 3.4 apg., while helping the Bulldogs go 24-2 and make the Indiana Class 4A semistate final. He also had 12.9 ppg. and 5.9 rpg. in the summer 2025 club season with Indiana Elite 3SSB (3Stripes Select Basketball).
  • Earlier this year, head coach Rob Ehsan was selected as a "Chicagoan You Should Know" by Ankin Law, one of the premier firms in the Chicagoland area.


UP NEXT: ILLINOIS STATE
UIC will be back home Sunday when it plays host to Illinois State in a 2 p.m. (CT) matinee at Credit Union 1 Arena. It will be Alumni Day, as the Flames welcome back several of their all-time greats who will be honored during a halftime ceremony. In addition, it will be UIC's annual Coaches vs. Cancer Game, with members of the Flames' staff wearing special sneakers painted by some of the pediatric cancer patients at UI Health.

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