# 2017–18 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2017–18 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by third-year head coach Steve McClain, played their home games at the UIC Pavilion as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 20–16, 12–6 in Horizon League play, to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament to Milwaukee. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Saint Francis (PA), Austin Peay and Liberty to advance to the championship game where they lost to Northern Colorado.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2016–17 season 17–19, 7–11 in Horizon League play, to finish in sixth place. They defeated Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament before losing to Milwaukee in the semifinals. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Stony Brook and George Washington before losing in the semifinals to Coastal Carolina.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Michael Kolawole | 1 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Sophomore | Rowlett, TX | Transferred to Lamar |
| K. J. Santos | 2 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Freshman | Geneva, IL | Transferred to Tallahassee CC |
| Hassan Thomas | 3 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Sophomore | Dallas, TX | Graduate transferred to Emporia State |
| Lance Whitaker | 4 | G/F | 6'4" | 210 | RS Junior | Bartlett, IL | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Kyle Guice | 22 | F/C | 6'8" | 225 | Junior | Coeur d'Alene, ID | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Josh Joiner | 25 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Walk-on; graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Naradain James | 22 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Mansfield, OH | Junior college transferred from Garden City CC |

## Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ralph Bissainthe SG | Hollywood, FL | MacArthur High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 26, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jacob Wiley PF | Houston, TX | Sam Houston High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Michael Diggins SF | Las Vegas, NV | Durango High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | |
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 25, 2017* 6:30 p.m. | | St. Francis (IL) | W 97–62 | | 21 – Odiase | 7 – Robinson | 13 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion Chicago, IL |
| November 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Olivet Nazarene Exhibition | W 107–83 | | 23 – Ottey | 7 – Blount | 13 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (542) Chicago, IL |
| Non-conference season |||||||||
| November 10, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | North Carolina Central | W 65–55 | 1–0 | 15 – Boahen | 8 – Odiase | 5 – Blount | UIC Pavilion (2,788) Chicago, IL |
| November 13, 2017* 7:00 p.m., NBCSC | | Saint Joseph's | L 82–86 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | 23 – Dixson | 9 – Odiase | 7 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (3,175) Chicago, IL |
| November 16, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Delaware State Adolph Rupp Classic | L 55–95 | 2–1 | 16 – Dixson | 7 – Blount | 5 – tied | UIC Pavilion (1,537) Chicago, IL |
| November 18, 2017* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Fort Wayne Adolph Rupp Classic | L 51–67 | 2–2 | 12 – Ottey | 10 – Odiase | 3 – Boahen | UIC Pavilion (1,947) Chicago, IL |
| November 26, 2017* 5:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 8 Kentucky Adolph Rupp Classic | L 73–107 | 2–3 | 17 – Boahen | 8 – Odiase | 2 – Ferguson | Rupp Arena (20,212) Lexington, KY |
| November 29, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Troy Adolph Rupp Classic | L 66–87 | 2–4 | 14 – Matthews | 7 – Boahen | 4 – Ottey | Trojan Arena (1,093) Troy, AL |
| December 2, 2017* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 61–85 | 2–5 | 16 – Ottey | 6 – Robinson | 2 – tied | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,024) Chicago, IL |
| December 6, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Wisconsin–Parkside | W 76–48 | 3–5 | 17 – Dixson | 9 – tied | 4 – Boahen | UIC Pavilion (1,323) Chicago, IL |
| December 9, 2017* 3:00 p.m., NBCSC | | DePaul | L 55–65 | 3–6 | 13 – Matthews | 8 – Blount | 2 – tied | UIC Pavilion (3,229) Chicago, IL |
| December 15, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Dartmouth | W 76–60 | 4–6 | 19 – Dixson | 7 – Boahen | 10 – Blount | UIC Pavilion (1,275) Chicago, IL |
| December 19, 2017* 7:00 p.m., NBCSC | | at Illinois State | L 70–71 | 4–7 | 23 – Ottey | 11 – Blount | 4 – Blount | Redbird Arena (4,062) Normal, IL |
| December 21, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | L 63–69 | 4–8 | 17 – tied | 10 – Blount | 4 – Blount | Convocation Center (889) DeKalb, IL |
| December 23, 2017* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Trinity Christian | W 84–45 | 5–8 | 25 – Dixson | 8 – Robinson | 4 – Blount | UIC Pavilion (764) Chicago, IL |
| Horizon League regular season |||||||||
| December 28, 2017 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Wright State | L 61–65 | 5–9 (0–1) | 16 – Ottey | 7 – tied | 3 – Ottey | Nutter Center (3,397) Fairborn, OH |
| December 30, 2017 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Northern Kentucky | L 51–86 | 5–10 (0–2) | 15 – Ottey | 8 – Blount | 2 – Boahen | BB&T Arena (3,688) Highland Heights, KY |
| January 4, 2018 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at IUPUI | W 70–65 | 6–10 (1–2) | 19 – tied | 7 – Blount | 4 – Blount | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (815) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 10, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Green Bay | W 84–73 | 7–10 (2–2) | 23 – Dixson | 7 – Blount | 12 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (1,595) Chicago, IL |
| January 12, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Milwaukee | W 88–73 | 8–10 (3–2) | 22 – Dixson | 7 – Ferguson | 9 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (1,643) Chicago, IL |
| January 15, 2018 7:00 p.m., NBCSC | | Oakland | L 68–78 | 8–11 (3–3) | 13 – Dixson | 9 – Blount | 6 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (2,080) Chicago, IL |
| January 18, 2018 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Youngstown State | W 92–78 | 9–11 (4–3) | 28 – Ottey | 8 – Blount | 10 – Ferguson | Beeghly Center (1,686) Youngstown, OH |
| January 20, 2018 2:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Cleveland State | W 87–80 | 10–11 (5–3) | 18 – Boahen | 11 – Blount | 3 – Matthews | Wolstein Center (1,531) Cleveland, OH |
| January 27, 2018 3:00 p.m., NBCSC | | IUPUI | W 71–62 | 11–11 (6–3) | 18 – Ottey | 14 – Blount | 7 – Blount | UIC Pavilion (3,373) Chicago, IL |
| January 29, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | W 74–56 | 12–11 (7–3) | 19 – Ferguson | 10 – Blount | 5 – Ferguson | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,057) Milwaukee, WI |
| February 2, 2018 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Oakland | W 79–73 | 13–11 (8–3) | 19 – Odiase | 10 – Robinson | 7 – Ferguson | Athletics Center O'rena (3,182) Rochester, MI |
| February 4, 2018 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Detroit | W 78–69 | 14–11 (9–3) | 23 – Dixson | 11 – Ferguson | 3 – tied | Calihan Hall (1,113) Detroit, MI |
| February 8, 2018 7:00 p.m., NBCSC | | Youngstown State | W 100–75 | 15–11 (10–3) | 22 – Dixson | 8 – Ferguson | 10 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (2,033) Chicago, IL |
| February 10, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | L 78–86 | 15–12 (10–4) | 14 – Ottey | 7 – Odiase | 5 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (1,185) Chicago, IL |
| February 16, 2018 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Green Bay | W 83–75 | 16–12 (11–4) | 18 – Dixson | 15 – Blount | 4 – Ferguson | Kress Events Center (3,872) Green Bay, WI |
| February 19, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Detroit | W 94–87 | 17–12 (12–4) | 20 – tied | 10 – Blount | 5 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (1,206) Chicago, IL |
| February 23, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Northern Kentucky | L 72–79 | 17–13 (12–5) | 14 – Odiase | 9 – Odiase | 5 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (3,168) Chicago, IL |
| February 25, 2018 5:00 p.m., NBCSC | | Wright State | L 81–88 | 17–14 (12–6) | 19 – Dixson | 8 – Ferguson | 8 – Ferguson | UIC Pavilion (3,091) Chicago, IL |
| Horizon League tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2018 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (6) Milwaukee Quarterfinals | L 75–80 | 17–15 | 23 – Ferguson | 7 – Blount | 7 – Ferguson | Little Caesars Arena (6,771) Detroit, MI |
| CIT |||||||||
| March 14, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Saint Francis (PA) First round | W 84–61 | 18–15 | 15 – Robinson | 10 – Ferguson | 9 – Boahen | UIC Pavilion (1,137) Chicago, IL |
| March 21, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at Austin Peay Quarterfinals | W 83–81 | 19–15 | 21 – Ferguson | 9 – Ferguson | 4 – Ferguson | Dunn Center (1,121) Clarksville, TN |
| March 28, 2018* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Liberty Semifinals | W 67–51 | 20–15 | 16 – Ferguson | 9 – Robinson | 3 – Ottey | Vines Center (2,248) Lynchburg, VA |
| March 30, 2018* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Northern Colorado Championship | L 71–76 | 20–16 | 25 – Ottey | 10 – Ferguson | 3 – Ferguson | Bank of Colorado Arena (3,198) Greeley, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source: