# 2019–20 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2019–20 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by fifth-year head coach Steve McClain, played their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Horizon League. The 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.
Shortly after the season, the school announced that head coach Steve McClain would not return as coach of the Flames. A couple of weeks later, the school named Texas assistant coach Luke Yaklich as the Flames' new coach.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2018–19 season 16–16 overall, 10–8 in Horizon League play to finish in a tie for fourth place. In the Horizon League tournament, they were defeated by Green Bay in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3, 2019* 4:00 pm | | Parkside | W 63–59 | | Credit Union 1 Arena (566) Chicago, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Olivet Nazarene | W 75–72 | 1–0 | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,003) Chicago, IL |
| November 8, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 14 Memphis | L 46–92 | 1–1 | FedExForum (15,923) Memphis, TN |
| November 13, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ball State | L 48–67 | 1–2 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,906) Chicago, IL |
| November 16, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley | L 56–65 | 1–3 | Carver Arena (5,411) Peoria, IL |
| November 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Robert Morris | W 72–62 | 2–3 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,766) Chicago, IL |
| November 23, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Mercer Boca Raton Beach Classic | L 68–72 | 2–4 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,276) Chicago, IL |
| November 26, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Canisius Boca Raton Beach Classic | L 64–94 | 2–5 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,343) Chicago, IL |
| December 1, 2019* 5:00 pm | | at Florida Atlantic Boca Raton Beach Classic Hall of Fame Bracket Semifinals | L 70–71 | 2–6 | FAU Arena Boca Raton, FL |
| December 2, 2019* 4:00 pm | | vs. San Diego Boca Raton Beach Classic Hall of Fame Bracket 3rd Place Game | W 89–83 | 3–6 | FAU Arena Boca Raton, FL |
| December 7, 2019* 3:12 pm, ESPN3 | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 62–49 | 4–6 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,594) Chicago, IL |
| December 14, 2019* 1:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | L 65–86 | 4–7 | Wintrust Arena (4,620) Chicago, IL |
| December 18, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Illinois State | L 66–67 | 4–8 | Redbird Arena (3,563) Normal, IL |
| December 20, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Irvine | W 76–67 | 5–8 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,567) Chicago, IL |
| Horizon League regular season ||||||
| December 28, 2019 3:12 pm, ESPN+ | | Cleveland State | W 71–66 | 6–8 (1–0) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,489) Chicago, IL |
| December 30, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Youngstown State | L 64–70 | 6–9 (1–1) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,210) Chicago, IL |
| January 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Green Bay | L 71–85 | 6–10 (1–2) | Resch Center (2,124) Ashwaubenon, WI |
| January 5, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | L 62–64 | 6–11 (1–3) | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,012) Milwaukee, WI |
| January 10, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Northern Kentucky | L 52–68 | 6–12 (1–4) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,858) Chicago, IL |
| January 12, 2020 3:12 pm, ESPN+ | | Wright State | W 76–72 | 7–12 (2–4) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,277) Chicago, IL |
| January 18, 2020 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | at IUPUI | W 75–66 | 8–12 (3–4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,309) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 23, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Oakland | W 80–50 | 9–12 (4–4) | Athletics Center O'rena (3,091) Auburn Hills, MI |
| January 25, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Detroit Mercy | L 69–70 | 9–13 (4–5) | Calihan Hall (1,866) Detroit, MI |
| January 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Youngstown State | W 90–83 $^{OT}$ | 10–13 (5–5) | Beeghly Center (1,596) Youngstown, OH |
| February 1, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cleveland State | W 64–62 | 11–13 (6–5) | Wolstein Center (1,170) Cleveland, OH |
| February 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Milwaukee | L 57–74 | 11–14 (6–6) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,995) Chicago, IL |
| February 8, 2020 3:12 pm, ESPN3 | | Green Bay | W 71–58 | 12–14 (7–6) | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,704) Chicago, IL |
| February 14, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Wright State | L 58–75 | 12–15 (7–7) | Nutter Center (4,261) Fairborn, OH |
| February 16, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Kentucky | W 73–43 | 13–15 (8–7) | BB&T Arena (3,545) Highland Heights, KY |
| February 22, 2020 3:12 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | W 77–72 | 14–15 (9–7) | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,040) Chicago, IL |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 84–67 | 15–15 (10–7) | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,529) Chicago, IL |
| February 29, 2020 3:12 pm, ESPN+ | | Oakland | L 66–68 | 15–16 (10–8) | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,237) Chicago, IL |
| Horizon League tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | (9) IUPUI First round | W 93–59 | 16–16 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,426) Chicago, IL |
| March 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | (5) Youngstown State Quarterfinals | W 67–61 | 17–16 | Gentile Arena (642) Chicago, IL |
| March 9, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | (4) | vs. (1) Wright State Semifinals | W 73–56 | 18–16 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,923) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 10, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (2) Northern Kentucky Championship | L 62–71 | 18–17 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,861) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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