# 2020–21 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by first-year head coach Luke Yaklich, played their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Horizon League.

## Previous season

They finished the season 18–17, 10–8 in Horizon League to play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League tournament, they defeated IUPUI, Youngstown State, and top-seeded Wright State to advance to the championship game. There they lost to Northern Kentucky.

## Offseason
### Departures

UIC Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jordan Blount | 13 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | Cork, Ireland | Graduated, went professional overseas signing with Basket Navarra Club |
| Godwin Boahen | 22 | F | 5'11" | 180 | Senior | Toronto, ON | Graduated |
| Tarkus Ferguson | 4 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | Belleville, IL | Graduated, went professional overseas signing with Vevey Riviera Basket |
| Marcus Ottey | 1 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Ajax, ON | Graduated |
| Travell Washington | 32 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Junior | San Bernardino, CA | |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Maurice Commander | 1 | G | 6'0 | 175 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Chattanooga |
| Zion Griffin | 35 | F | 6'6 | 215 | Junior | Darien, IL | Iowa State |
| Jalen Johnson | 5 | G | 6'1 | 180 | Junior | Hopkinsville, KY | John A. Logan College |
| Teyvion Kirk | 4 | G | 6'4 | 185 | Junior | Joliet, IL | Colorado State |
| RayQuawndis Mitchell | 21 | G | 6'5 | 205 | Junior | Atlanta, GA | Otero Junior College |

### Recruiting class of 2020

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Demetrius Calip II SG | Woodland Hills, CA | Taft High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Aug 3, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Brad Bowditch G | Milton, WI | IMG Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 3, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Griffin Yaklich SF | Joliet, IL | Saline High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jun 17, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020. ||||||

## Schedule and results

On November 25, 2020, UIC announced that fans would not be permitted to attend home games for their first two home games. However, they did leave open the possibility to allow fans for future events.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 6:00 pm | | at Northern Illinois | W 65–61 | 1–0 | 12 – Tied | 6 – Kirk | 9 – Kirk | Convocation Center DeKalb, IL |
| November 28, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan UIC Basketball Invitational | W 74–72 | 2–0 | 23 – Mitchell | 13 – Bridges | 6 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| December 1, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Valparaiso UIC Basketball Invitational | W 66–50 | 3–0 | 14 – Kirk | 8 – Kirk | 14 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| December 5, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | L 66–68 | 3–1 | 13 – Tied | 8 – Kirk | 6 – Kirk | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN |
| December 13, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 66–77 | 3–2 | 17 – Kirk | 9 – Diggins | 5 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| Horizon League regular season |||||||||
| December 19, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Oakland | W 74–72 | 4–2 (1–0) | 25 – Ahale | 9 – Howard | 11 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| December 20, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Oakland | W 90–73 | 5–2 (2–0) | 23 – Howard | 11 – Kirk | 11 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| December 26, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Klotsche Center Milwaukee, WI |
| December 27, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Klotsche Center Milwaukee, WI |
| January 1, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Detroit Mercy | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| January 2, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Detroit Mercy | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Cancelled due to mental health reasons | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| January 8, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Purdue Fort Wayne | L 89–96 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 (2–1) | 31 – Kirk | 11 – Diggins | 6 – Kirk | Hilliard Gates Sports Center Fort Wayne, IN |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Purdue Fort Wayne | L 55–88 | 5–4 (2–2) | 23 – Diggins | 4 – Tied | 5 – Kirk | Hilliard Gates Sports Center Fort Wayne, IN |
| January 15, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Robert Morris | W 67–53 | 6–4 (3–2) | 16 – Diggins | 10 – Kirk | 4 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| January 16, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Robert Morris | W 66–62 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 (4–2) | 18 – Howard | 8 – Tied | 3 – 3 Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| January 22, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Youngstown State | W 67–66 | 8–4 (5–2) | 15 – Kirk | 10 – Tied | 5 – Kirk | Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Youngstown State | L 77–85 | 8–5 (5–3) | 18 – Commander | 7 – Kirk | 5 – Kirk | Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH |
| January 29, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Kentucky | L 68–72 | 8–6 (5–4) | 15 – Griffin | 8 – Howard | 5 – Griffin | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Kentucky | L 67–69 | 8–7 (5–5) | 17 – Bridges | 8 – Bridges | 4 – Commander | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wright State | L 47–72 | 8–8 (5–6) | 10 – Commander | 7 – Bridges | 2 – 3 Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| February 6, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wright State | L 57–77 | 8–9 (5–7) | 16 – Diggins | 10 – Kirk | 2 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| February 12, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at IUPUI | L 69–89 | 8–10 (5–8) | 19 – Kirk | 5 – Tied | 6 – Kirk | Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN |
| February 13, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | at IUPUI | L 81–88 | 8–11 (5–9) | 21 – Kirk | 6 – Tied | 5 – Kirk | Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN |
| February 19, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Green Bay | W 61–58 | 9–11 (6–9) | 19 – Kirk | 13 – Diggins | 6 – Kirk | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| February 20, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Green Bay | L 59–69 | 9–12 (6–10) | 11 – Kirk | 9 – Wiley | 6 – Commander | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| Horizon League tournament |||||||||
| February 25, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (11) | at (6) Youngstown State First Round | L 58–74 | 9–13 | 13 – Kirk | 7 – Kirk | 4 – Kirk | Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone. |||||||||
Source