• UIC and Indiana State will square off for the ninth time in their short series history on Sunday, with the Sycamores maintaining a 6-2 lead all-time, including a 3-0 margin in Terre Haute. Three of the past four series games have been decided by six points or fewer.
• Aside from a non-conference home-and-home series in 2001 and 2002, the Flames and Sycamores didn't begin to meet regularly until UIC joined the MVC in 2022-23.
• Indiana State won the first five Valley games between the schools before UIC earned its first-ever MVC victory over the Sycamores in their most recent encounter, 76-74 on Jan. 27, 2026, at Credit Union 1 Arena.
• In that matchup, the Flames led by 20 points late in the first half, but Indiana State worked its way back the rest of the night, eventually grabbing a pair of two-point leads in the final minute. Still, UIC didn't falter, as sophomore guard Elijah Crawford came up with a timely steal and layup with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the hosts the victory.
• UIC is making its first visit to the Hulman Center since Feb. 24, 2024 (an 88-73 ISU win).

• Indiana State saw its season get off to a strong start, with the Sycamores winning seven of their 11 non-conference games.
• Since MVC play began, ISU has battled hard, with 12 games decided by single digits, including three going to overtime (highlighted by an 81-80 OT victory at home over Belmont on Dec. 29).
• The Sycamores come in having lost six in a row, most recently a 66-55 verdict at Southern Illinois on Wednesday.
• Ian Scott leads Indiana State and ranks among the top 10 in the MVC in scoring (8th - 13.5 ppg.), rebounding (3rd - 6.6 rpg.) and field-goal percentage (.639). Xavier Hall is the Valley leader in assists (4.2 apg.), while Camp Wagner is third in the conference, averaging 2.37 made three-pointers per game.
• Head coach Matthrew Graves is in his second season at Indiana State (24-38 record) and seventh year overall (89-134 record). He is 1-1 all-time against UIC.

• UIC picked up its fourth win in five outings, and 12th in the last 15, with a 93-86 double-overtime victory over Bradley on Tuesday night in the Flames' home finale at Credit Union 1 Arena.
• UIC is 2-1 in overtime games this season and 5-1 when going an extra five minutes (or beyond) in head coach Rob Ehsan's first two seasons.
• The Flames' current 12-3 stretch is its best 15-game run at any point in any season since Jan. 4-Feb. 23, 2018, when UIC posted a similar string of 12 wins in 15 games.
• UIC's 84-46 win at Evansville on Feb. 18 was its largest margin of victory in a road game in 73 years, dating back to a 116-60 win at George Williams College on Feb. 13, 1953 (well before UIC's program elevated to NCAA Division I status in 1981-82).
• The Evansville win was UIC's largest conference victory, topping a 77-44 Horizon League win at Detroit Mercy on Jan. 18, 2003.
• The Flames welcomed one of their largest home 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.
• Eight different UIC players have led the team in scoring at least once, tying for the fifth-most unique game-high scorers in the nation this year (George Washington, Illinois State, Tarleton State and VCU have nine, while UIC is one of 10 schools who 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 (career-high 22 games) and freshman guard Andy Johnson (17). 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 19 games, starting three freshmen in guards Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr., along with redshirt forward Jayce Nathaniel in 13 of those games (and all three averaging more than 20 minutes per night). The Flames are one of four schools in the nation (Arizona, Fairfield, 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. Half (14) of the Flames' 28 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).
• With Tuesday's win over No. 24 Bradley, and last month's wins at No. 7 Illinois State and No. 10 UNI, UIC has six 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.
• UIC has come oh-so-close to victory on several occasions this year, with 11 of their 13 losses by 10 points or fewer and/or in OT, including all seven MVC losses to date (average of 5.3 ppg. vs. Belmont (2x), UNI, Murray State (2x) and Valparaiso (2x)).
• UIC has led at halftime in 14 of its 19 conference games this year and has been tied or up at the break in 20 of 30 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 clean looks each time, the 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.

Tweet #ChicagosCollegeTeam