# 2022–23 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2022–23 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by third-year head coach Luke Yaklich, played their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as first-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 12–19, 4–16 in MVC play to finish in eleventh place. They lost to Missouri State in the opening round of the MVC tournament.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2021–22 season 14–16, 9–10 in Horizon League play to finish in eighth place. In the Horizon League tournament, they beat Milwaukee in the first round before losing to Purdue Fort Wayne in the quarterfinals.
The season marked the Flames' final year in the Horizon League as the school announced it would join the MVC following the season.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jamie Ahale | G | 6'5 | 205 | Senior | Montrose, Australia | Graduated |
| Damaria Franklin | G | 6'3 | 205 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Memphis |
| Zion Griffin | F | 6'6" | 215 | Senior | Darien, IL | Transferred to Tennessee State |

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Tre Anderson | G | 6'1 | 185 | Graduate Student | Tacoma, WA | Idaho |
| Toby Okani | G | 6'8 | 210 | Junior | Orange, NJ | Duquesne |
| Shaun Williams | G | 6'4 | 190 | Redshirt Senior | St. Louis, MO | Cal State Bakersfield |

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Steven Clay SG | Menomonee Falls, WI | Menomonee Falls High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Apr 18, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cameron Fens C | Dubuque, IA | Hempstead High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | Apr 18, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jalen Jackson PG | Fort Wayne, IN | Northrop High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 15, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Christian Jones PG | East St. Louis, IL | East St. Louis High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 20, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Bessanty-Aime Saragba C | Marseilles, France | Trinity Collegiate School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | N/A | Aug 19, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason

The Flames were picked to finish in 11th place in the conference's preseason poll.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Illinois Tech | W 90–52 | – | 20 – Anderson | 7 – Tied | – | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Trinity Christian | W 82–48 | 1–0 | 13 – Carter | 13 – Okani | 6 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,177) Chicago, IL |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 63–70 | 1–1 | 20 – Anderson | 6 – Fens | 3 – Anderson | Credit Union 1 Arena (3,550) Chicago, IL |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 67–60 | 2–1 | 22 – Carter | 10 – Carter | 5 – Anderson | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,019) Chicago, IL |
| November 19, 2022* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Fordham Tom Konchalski Classic | L 65–79 | 2–2 | 21 – Okani | 8 – Carter | 3 – Jackson | Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY |
| November 21, 2022* 3:00 p.m. | | vs. Stonehill Tom Konchalski Classic | W 77–71 | 3–2 | 28 – Carter | 7 – Carter | 7 – Anderson | Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY |
| November 22, 2022* 3:00 p.m. | | vs. Holy Cross Tom Konchalski Classic | W 89–66 | 4–2 | 20 – Okani | 13 – Okani | 7 – Anderson | Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY |
| November 26, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Green Bay | W 78–64 | 5–2 | 25 – Anderson | 8 – Okani | 5 – Anderson | Kress Events Center (1,200) Green Bay, WI |
| November 30, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Missouri State | L 51–66 | 5–3 (0–1) | 15 – Carter | 12 – Okani | 4 – Anderson | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,174) Chicago, IL |
| December 3, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 64–77 | 5–4 (0–2) | 18 – Carter | 12 – Okani | 5 – Anderson | Knapp Center (2,860) Des Moines, IA |
| December 10, 2022* 1:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 62–56 | 6–4 | 18 – Carter | 6 – Okani | 4 – Anderson | University Arena (1,682) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 13, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Prairie View A&M | W 70–61 | 7–4 | 16 – Okani | 6 – Okani | 6 – Okani | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,081) Chicago, IL |
| December 18, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northeastern | W 81–73 | 8–4 | 22 – Carter | 6 – Okani | 4 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,218) Chicago, IL |
| December 20, 2022* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | L 54–92 | 8–5 | 12 – Okani | 6 – Carter | 3 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (3,704) Evanston, IL |
| December 28, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 55–51 | 9–5 (1–2) | 18 – Okani | 7 – Tied | 4 – Carter | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,014) Chicago, IL |
| December 31, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 45–79 | 9–6 (1–3) | 17 – Carter | 8 – Okani | 2 – Okani | Carver Arena (4,890) Peoria, IL |
| January 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | L 71–77 | 9–7 (1–4) | 21 – Carter | 8 – Okani | 6 – Jackson | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,194) Chicago, IL |
| January 7, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 60–80 | 9–8 (1–5) | 12 – Skobalj | 7 – Carter | 4 – Anderson | Hulman Center (3,463) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 10, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Drake | L 71–76 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (1–6) | 19 – Okani | 8 – Carter | 6 – Skobalj | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,778) Chicago, IL |
| January 14, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Murray State | L 64–81 | 9–10 (1–7) | 18 – Carter | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | CFSB Center (5,417) Murray, KY |
| January 17, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | L 66–76 | 9–11 (1–8) | 29 – Okani | 11 – Okani | 7 – Jones | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,850) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 21, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Iowa | L 72–78 | 9–12 (1–9) | 27 – Anderson | 8 – Okani | 7 – Anderson | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,312) Chicago, IL |
| January 24, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | L 59–63 | 9–13 (1–10) | 19 – Carter | 6 – Okani | 4 – Carter | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,026) Springfield, MO |
| January 29, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 76–83 | 9–14 (1–11) | 25 – Carter | 10 – Carter | 5 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,240) Chicago, IL |
| February 1, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 62–68 $^{OT}$ | 9–15 (1–12) | 29 – Anderson | 4 – 4 tied | 3 – 3 tied | CEFCU Arena (3,409) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 70–61 | 10–15 (2–12) | 17 – Clay | 12 – Carter | 4 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,545) Chicago, IL |
| February 8, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 66–68 | 10–16 (2–13) | 17 – Carter | 9 – Carter | 4 – Tied | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| February 11, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Belmont | L 71–98 | 10–17 (2–14) | 21 – Jackson | 6 – Okani | 3 – Tied | Curb Event Center (2,341) Nashville, TN |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | L 60–79 | 10–18 (2–15) | 23 – Jackson | 8 – Okani | 6 – Okani | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,102) Chicago, IL |
| February 19, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 74–73 | 11–18 (3–15) | 19 – Jackson | 9 – Carter | 6 – Anderson | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,805) Chicago, IL |
| February 22, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 82–76 | 12–18 (4–15) | 22 – Carter | 8 – Carter | 6 – Anderson | Ford Center (4,085) Evansville, IN |
| February 26, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | L 65–68 | 12–19 (4–16) | 22 – Carter | 14 – Okani | 5 – Skobalj | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,502) Chicago, IL |
| Missouri Valley tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 2023 8:30 pm, MVC TV | (11) | vs. (6) Missouri State Opening round | L 57–74 | 12–20 | 14 – Carter | 8 – Okani | 4 – Skobalj | Enterprise Center (3,564) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone. |||||||||
Source