# 2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball team represents the University of Illinois Chicago during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by first-year head coach Rob Ehsan, play their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2023–24 season 12–21, 4–16 in MVC play, to finish in eleventh place. They defeated Southern Illinois, before losing to Bradley in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.
On March 10, 2024, the school announced the firing of head coach Luke Yaklich, ending his four-year tenure at the helm. On April 1, the school announced that Stanford assistant Rob Ehsan would be named Yaklich's successor.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Drew King | 0 | G | 6' 3" | 189 | Sophomore | Phoenix, AZ | Transferred to Elon |
| Isaiah Rivera | 1 | G | 6' 5" | 210 | Senior | Geneseo, IL | Transferred to DePaul |
| Steven Clay | 2 | G | 6' 4" | 185 | Sophomore | Milwaukee, WI | Transferred to Morehead State |
| CJ Jones | 3 | G | 6' 5" | 195 | Sophomore | East St. Louis, IL | Transferred to Kansas State |
| Toby Okani | 5 | G | 6' 8" | 210 | Senior | Orange, NJ | Transferred to West Virginia |
| Ethyn Brown | 10 | G | 5' 11" | 185 | Sophomore | Belleville, IL | Transferred to Quincy |
| Nathan Ojukwu | 13 | F | 6' 6" | 215 | Freshman | Boise, ID | Transferred to Northwest Florida State |
| Marquise Kennedy | 14 | G | 6' 1" | 190 | Graduate student | Chicago, IL | Exhausted eligibility |
| Griffin Yaklich | 15 | G | 6' 6" | 210 | Senior | Joliet, IL | Transferred to Roosevelt |
| Yusef Salih | 23 | G | 6' 2" | 192 | Junior | Gainesville, VA | Transferred to East Texas A&M |
| Jaden Brownell | 33 | F | 6' 9" | 230 | RS Sophomore | Sandy, UT | Transferred to Samford |
| Cameron Fens | 54 | C | 6' 10" | 255 | Sophomore | Dubuque, IA | Transferred to South Dakota |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Ahmad Henderson II | 0 | G | 5' 9" | 155 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Niagara |
| Jordan Mason | 2 | G | 6' 4" | 175 | Junior | San Antonio, TX | Texas State |
| Modestas Kancleris | 5 | F | 6' 9" | 205 | RS Senior | Kaunas, Lithuania | Cal State Bakersfield |
| Tyem Freeman | 8 | G | 6' 5" | 205 | Graduate student | Springfield, MO | Kent State |
| Koby Jeffries | 9 | G | 6' 3" | 195 | RS Senior | Olive Branch, MS | UT Martin |
| Saša Ciani | 21 | F | 6' 9" | 240 | Sophomore | Nova Gorica, Slovenia | Xavier |
| Javon Jackson | 22 | G | 6' 3" | 190 | Junior | Houston, TX | Utah State |
| Joshua Reaves | 23 | G | 6' 4" | 205 | Graduate student | Hamden, CT | Mount St. Mary's |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Jayce Nathaniel F | Buford, GA | AZ Compass Prep | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Carlos Harris III G | Chicago, IL | Curie High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Iker Garmendia F | Barcelona, Spain | Joventut Badalona | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2024 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 season |||||||||
| November 30, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Aurora | W 91–76 | | 19 – tied | 10 – tied | 7 – Jackson | Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Francis (IL) | W 91–43 | 1–0 | 21 – Jackson | 11 – Kancleris | 5 – Henderson II | Credit Union 1 Arena (594) Chicago, IL |
| November 8, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Yale | W 91–79 | 2–0 | 19 – Freeman | 11 – Ciani | 7 – Henderson II | Credit Union 1 Arena (3,102) Chicago, IL |
| November 12, 2024* 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Northwestern | L 74–83 | 2–1 | 17 – Jackson | 8 – tied | 4 – tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,492) Evanston, IL |
| November 16, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Mary's (MN) | W 117–59 | 3–1 | 21 – Reaves | 9 – Kancleris | 10 – Jackson | Credit Union 1 Arena (664) Chicago, IL |
| November 21, 2024* 10:00 a.m., BallerTV | | vs. James Madison Boardwalk Battle quarterfinal | L 81–99 | 3–2 | 17 – Henderson II | 9 – Ciani | 4 – Henderson II | Ocean Center (386) Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 22, 2024* 10:00 a.m., BallerTV | | vs. La Salle Boardwalk Battle consolation semifinal | W 96–83 | 4–2 | 19 – Skobalj | 11 – Ciani | 4 – Jackson | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 23, 2024* 12:00 p.m., BallerTV | | vs. East Carolina Boardwalk Battle consolation final | L 55–72 | 4–3 | 10 – tied | 8 – Ciani | 6 – Jackson | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| December 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | L 56–83 | 4–4 (0–1) | 14 – Jackson | 17 – Ciani | 3 – Jackson | Credit Union 1 Arena (732) Chicago, IL |
| December 8, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dartmouth | W 69–68 $^{OT}$ | 5–4 | 17 – tied | 13 – Kancleris | 4 – Jackson | Credit Union 1 Arena (728) Chicago, IL |
| December 15, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Little Rock | W 77–69 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 | 15 – tied | 13 – Kancleris | 5 – Mason | Jack Stephens Center (602) Little Rock, AR |
| December 20, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Seattle | W 79–68 | 7–4 | 14 – Henderson II | 7 – Kancleris | 9 – Henderson II | Redhawk Center (852) Seattle, WA |
| December 29, 2024 4:00 p.m., Marquee/ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | W 73–67 | 8–4 (1–1) | 16 – Ciani | 9 – Ciani | 4 – Henderson II | CEFCU Arena (3,841) Normal, IL |
| January 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Drake | W 74–70 | 9–4 (2–1) | 17 – Mason | 5 – Ciani | 5 – Mason | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,200) Chicago, IL |
| January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 87–92 | 9–5 (2–2) | 18 – Henderson II | 8 – Jackson | 5 – Mason | Curb Event Center (1,200) Nashville, TN |
| January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | W 80–63 | 10–5 (3–2) | 18 – Freeman | 5 – Freeman | 6 – Ciani | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,406) Springfield, MO |
| January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 60–61 | 10–6 (3–3) | 15 – Mason | 11 – Ciani | 4 – Henderson II | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,896) Chicago, IL |
| January 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 97–93 $^{2OT}$ | 11–6 (4–3) | 30 – Jackson | 10 – Ciani | 5 – tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,391) Chicago, IL |
| January 18, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 81–74 | 12–6 (5–3) | 17 – Jackson | 12 – Ciani | 4 – Freeman | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,456) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 78–67 | 13–6 (6–3) | 19 – Mason | 9 – Kancleris | 5 – Mason | Ford Center (3,987) Evansville, IN |
| January 25, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | L 85–89 | 13–7 (6–4) | 23 – Mason | 6 – Freeman | 7 – Mason | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,326) Chicago, IL |
| January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bradley | W 93–70 | 14–7 (7–4) | 25 – Jackson | 9 – Kancleris | 7 – Mason | Carver Arena (5,785) Peoria, IL |
| February 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indiana State | L 83–88 | 14–8 (7–5) | 20 – tied | 10 – Kancleris | 6 – Mason | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,352) Chicago, IL |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | L 79–81 | 14–9 (7–6) | 18 – Freeman | 7 – Pickett | 5 – Jackson | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,554) Chicago, IL |
| February 8, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 67–79 | 14–10 (7–7) | 12 – tied | 5 – Freeman | 2 – tied | Banterra Center (4,321) Carbondale, IL |
| February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 53–63 | 14–11 (7–8) | 12 – Kancleris | 10 – Kancleris | 3 – Mason | CFSB Center (4,874) Murray, KY |
| February 16, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 63–58 | 15–11 (8–8) | 16 – Jackson | 8 – Kancleris | 2 – tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (875) Chicago, IL |
| February 19, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 57–74 | 15–12 (8–9) | 15 – Freeman | 6 – tied | 3 – Jackson | The Knapp Center (3,449) Des Moines, IA |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 82–77 | 16–12 (9–9) | 18 – Kancleris | 10 – Kancleris | 9 – Mason | Credit Union 1 Arena (994) Chicago, IL |
| February 26, 2025 6:00 p.m., MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 52–74 | 16–13 (9–10) | 13 – Henderson II | 6 – Ciani | 2 – tied | McLeod Center (4,098) Cedar Falls, IA |
| March 2, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 77–73 | 17–13 (10–10) | 17 – Henderson II | 13 – Kancleris | 4 – Freeman | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,200) Chicago, IL |
| State Farm MVC tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2025* 8:30 p.m., MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (11) Valparaiso Arch Madness Opening Round | L 50–67 | 17–14 | 11 – Pickett | 6 – tied | 3 – Khaled | Enterprise Center (3,849) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources: