# 2023–24 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2023–24 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois Chicago in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by fourth-year head coach Luke Yaklich, played their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The team finished the season 12–21, 4–16 in MVC play to finish in 11th place. They defeated Southern Illinois in the opening round of the MVC tournament before losing to Bradley.
On March 10, 2024, the school fired head coach Luke Yaklich. On April 1, the school named Stanford assistant coach Rob Ehsan the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2022–23 season 12–19, 4–16 in MVC play to finish in 11th place. They lost to Missouri State in the opening round of the MVC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Tre Anderson | G | 6'1 | 185 | Graduate Student | Tacoma, WA | Graduated |
| Jace Carter | G | 6'5 | 210 | Sophomore | Titusville, FL | Transferred to Texas A&M |
| Bessanty-Aime Saragba | C | 6'10 | 215 | Freshman | Marseille, France | Transferred to Eastern Illinois |
| Shaun Williams | G | 6'4 | 190 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Marquise Kennedy | G | 6'1 | 190 | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | Loyola |
| Isaiah Rivera | G | 6'5 | 210 | Senior | Geneseo, IL | Colorado State |
| Yusef Sahil | G | 6'2 | 192 | Junior | Gainesville, VA | Idaho |

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nathan Ojukwu SF | Boise, ID | DME Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 31, 2023 |
| 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 31, 2023* 7:00 pm | | Clayton State | W 71–47 | – | – | – | – | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | L 58–69 | 0–1 | 20 – Okani | 11 – Okani | 3 – Okani | Fifth Third Arena (9,936) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 10, 2023* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Little Rock | W 86–71 | 1–1 | 25 – Rivera | 10 – Okani | 3 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,593) Chicago, IL |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 pm, NBC Sports Chicago | | at Loyola | W 72–67 | 2–1 | 23 – Rivera | 8 – Okani | 5 – Jones | Gentile Arena (2,659) Chicago, IL |
| November 19, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Aurora | W 99–48 | 3–1 | 14 – Brownell | 7 – Fens | 8 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,530) Chicago, IL |
| November 24, 2023* 3:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Middle Tennessee Nassau Championship quarterfinals | W 70–40 | 4–1 | 18 – Clay | 8 – Okani | 5 – Jones | Baha Mar Convention Center (213) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 25, 2023* 6:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. George Washington Nassau Championship semifinals | W 89–79 | 5–1 | 23 – Rivera | 8 – Okani | 7 – Jones | Baha Mar Convention Center (297) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 26, 2023* 6:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. UNC Greensboro Nassau Championship Final | L 57–58 | 5–2 | 14 – Rivera | 9 – Okani | 5 – Jones | Baha Mar Convention Center (407) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 30, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | L 64–69 | 5–3 (0–1) | 17 – Skobalj | 6 – Okani | 8 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,090) Chicago, IL |
| December 8, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 55–49 | 6–3 | 14 – Rivera | 10 – Okani | 4 – Jones | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,657) Jacksonville, AL |
| December 12, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Green Bay | L 68–70 | 6–4 | 15 – Okani | 10 – Okani | 3 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,265) Chicago, IL |
| December 16, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 89–68 | 7–4 | 22 – Brownell | 8 – Pickett | 11 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,329) Chicago, IL |
| December 21, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Incarnate Word | L 66–67 | 7–5 | 16 – Brownell | 11 – Pickett | 9 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,154) Chicago, IL |
| December 30, 2023 6:00 pm | | at Southern Illinois | L 50–62 | 7–6 (0–2) | 18 – Rivera | 5 – Tied | 3 – Salih | Banterra Center (7,004) Carbondale, IL |
| January 2, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 73–85 | 7–7 (0–3) | 20 – Okani | 6 – Okani | 5 – Jones | CFSB Center (4,616) Murray, KY |
| January 6, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 70–64 | 8–7 (1–3) | 24 – Rivera | 8 – Kennedy | 4 – Rivera | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,689) Chicago, IL |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | L 59–67 | 8–8 (1–4) | 13 – Clay | 6 – Okani | 4 – Okani | McLeod Center (2,922) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 13, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 59–77 | 8–9 (1–5) | 25 – Jones | 8 – Okani | 6 – Okani | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,277) Chicago, IL |
| January 17, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | L 58–73 | 8–10 (1–6) | 16 – Rivera | 8 – Okani | 5 – Okani | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,874) Chicago, IL |
| January 20, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | L 77–84 | 8–11 (1–7) | 18 – Jones | 6 – Skobalj | 8 – Jones | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,407) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | L 83–89 | 8–12 (1–8) | 24 – Rivera | 6 – Jones | 7 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,174) Chicago, IL |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 65–74 | 8–13 (1–9) | 16 – Jones | 7 – Okani | 8 – Jones | Curb Event Center (2,429) Nashville, TN |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | L 60–77 | 8–14 (1–10) | 15 – Rivera | 12 – Okani | 3 – Okani | Ford Center (3,679) Evansville, IN |
| February 3, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | L 71–74 | 8–15 (1–11) | 28 – Rivera | 11 – Okani | 3 – Okani | Credit Union 1 Arena (4,056) Chicago, IL |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | W 61–56 | 9–15 (2–11) | 13 – Jones | 11 – Okani | 3 – Jones | CEFCU Arena (4,394) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 71–65 | 10–15 (3–11) | 24 – Jones | 5 – Tied | 4 – Rivera | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,426) Chicago, IL |
| February 14, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 73–85 | 10–16 (3–12) | 27 – Rivera | 5 – Fens | 3 – Jones | Carver Arena (4,403) Peoria, IL |
| February 18, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | L 60–75 | 10–17 (3–13) | 17 – Okani | 8 – Rivera | 4 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,815) Chicago, IL |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 88–79 | 11–17 (4–13) | 25 – Rivera | 7 – Brownell | 10 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,918) Chicago, IL |
| February 24, 2024 7:00 pm, NBC Sports Chicago | | at Indiana State | L 73–88 | 11–18 (4–14) | 16 – Rivera | 6 – Brownell | 4 – Jones | Hulman Center (8,061) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Drake | L 105–107 $^{3OT}$ | 11–19 (4–15) | 31 – Okani | 12 – Rivera | 14 – Jones | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,126) Chicago, IL |
| March 3, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | L 59–69 | 11–20 (4–16) | 14 – Okani | 7 – Okani | 3 – Jones | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO |
| Missouri Valley tournament |||||||||
| March 7, 2024 8:30 pm, MVC TV | (11) | vs. (6) Southern Illinois Opening round | W 84–82 $^{2OT}$ | 12–20 | 28 – Rivera | 9 – Tied | 6 – Jones | Enterprise Center (4,435) St. Louis, MO |
| March 8, 2024 8:30 pm, MVC TV | (11) | vs. (3) Bradley Quarterfinals | L 47–74 | 12–21 | 10 – Ojukwu | 5 – Tied | 2 – Jones | Enterprise Center (5,813) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone. |||||||||
Source