TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Sophomore guard Elijah Crawford scored a team-high 18 points and junior guard Ahmad Henderson II added 14 points, but UIC ran into a hot-shooting Indiana State squad that pulled away late for a 79-63 win over the Flames in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season finale for both teams on Sunday afternoon at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind. Despite the loss, UIC (17-14, 12-8 MVC) finishes the regular season with wins in 12 of its final 16 games and ties for third place in the MVC standings, its best conference finish since 2017-18, while earning a bye into the quarterfinals for the upcoming MVC Tournament (Arch Madness) in St. Louis.
Playing on its Senior Day, Indiana State (11-20, 4-16) shot just under 55 percent from the floor and 48 percent from three-point range. UIC tried to keep pace, leading for a large portion of the first half before the Sycamores closed on 12-4 run to take a four-point lead at the half. The Flames were within 49-42 on two Crawford foul shots with 11:05 remaining before ISU stretched out the margin with some timely shooting down the stretch.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Sunday's game at Indiana State can be found here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC's third-place finish is its best in four years as a Missouri Valley Conference member, and best in any league since 2017-18, when it similarly finished third in the Horizon League with a 12-6 conference record.
- Ahmad Henderson II posted his career-high (and team-leading) 23rd double-figure scoring game this season.
- Sunday marked just the fourth loss for UIC in its last 16 games, and its first double-digit setback in a regulation game since before MVC play started (Dec. 7 — 80-66 at Mid-Major No. 3 Yale). It's also just the third time all season the Flames have lost in regulation by double digits (the other being an 88-74 defeat at Robert Morris, which was receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major poll, on Nov. 26).
- Indiana State moves to 7-2 all-time in the series against UIC, including a 4-0 record in Terre Haute. The Flames and Sycamores split this year's matchups, with UIC winning 76-74 on Jan. 27 at Credit Union 1 Arena.
UP NEXT: TBD (MVC TOURNAMENT/ARCH MADNESS QUARTERFINALS)
By virtue of Sunday's results around the conference, UIC finishes tied with Illinois State and Murray State for third place in the final MVC standings with identical 12-8 records. The first tiebreaker step for seeding in the 50th annual MVC Tournament (aka "Arch Madness") is collective record against the tied group (all three schools went 2-2 against the others), with the second tiebreaker seeding the tied teams based on the NCAA NET rankings on the Monday morning after the regular season ends. Thus, the finalized tournament bracket, and UIC's seed and quarterfinal opponent won't officially be known until then (as of Sunday morning, Illinois State was at 92, Murray State at 99 and UIC at 110 in the NET rankings).
All Arch Madness quarterfinal games will be televised live on the MVC TV Network (see below) and all UIC games at Arch Madness can also be heard live and free of charge globally on the Flames Network at UICFlames.com. More information on the tournament can be found at both the UIC Arch Madness Fan Central and official Arch Madness Tournament web sites. All-session and single-session tickets in the UIC cheering section for Arch Madness are on sale through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or athleticsticketing@uic.edu.
The MVC TV Network affiliates that will cover Friday's quarterfinal include: Cedar Rapids, Iowa (KCRG 9.2 / MyNet); Ottumwa, Iowa (KYOU 15.3 / THE365); Rockford, Illinois (WIFR 23.2 / Antenna); Peoria, Illinois (WEEK 25.3 / CW+); South Bend, Indiana (WNDU 16.2 / THE365); Fort Wayne, Indiana (WPTA 21.3 / MyNet); Louisville, Kentucky (WAVE 3.2 / Bounce); St. Louis, Missouri (KMOV 32.1 / Matrix Midwest); Kansas City, Missouri (KCTV/KSMO 62.1 / MyNet); Nashville, Tennessee (WSMV 4.2 / TVSN); Memphis, Tennessee (WMC 5.3 / WMC+); Knoxville, Tennessee (WVLT 8.2 / MyNet); Paducah, Kentucky / Cape Girardeau, Missouri (WQWQ 9.2 / CBS); Bowling Green, Kentucky (WBGS 34.3 / TVSN); Davenport, Iowa (KWQC 6.3 / Cozi); Sioux City, Iowa (KTIV 4.3 / MeTV); Quincy, Illinois (WGEM 10.4 / MeTV / MyTV); Evansville, Indiana (WFIE 14.2 / MeTV); Lexington, Kentucky (WKYT 27.4 / MeTV); Springfield, Missouri (KSPR 33.3 / MeTV); Des Moines, Iowa (KCCI 8.2 / Hearst); Chicago, Illinois (WPWR / FOX 50.1); Indianapolis, Indiana (WNDY 23.1 / Circle City); Decatur/Champaign, Illinois (WAND 17.2); ESPN+
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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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