2020–21 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by first-year head coach Luke Yaklich,[1] played their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Horizon League.

2020–21 UIC Flames men's basketball
ConferenceHorizon League
Record9–13 (6–10 Horizon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dee Brown (4th season)
  • Brock Erickson (1st season)
  • Will Veasley (1st season)
Home arenaCredit Union 1 Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Horizon League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wright State 16 4   .800 18 6   .750
Cleveland State 16 4   .800 19 8   .704
Detroit Mercy 10 6   .625 12 10   .545
Northern Kentucky 11 7   .611 14 11   .560
Oakland 10 10   .500 12 18   .400
Youngstown State 9 11   .450 15 12   .556
IUPUI 7 9   .438 8 10   .444
Milwaukee 7 10   .412 10 12   .455
Green Bay 8 12   .400 8 17   .320
UIC 6 10   .375 9 13   .409
Purdue Fort Wayne 6 14   .300 8 15   .348
Robert Morris 3 12   .200 4 15   .211
2021 Horizon League tournament winner

Previous season

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They 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.[2]

Offseason

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Departures

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UIC Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jordan Blount 13 F 6'8" 220 Senior Cork, Ireland Graduated, went professional overseas signing with Basket Navarra Club[3]
Godwin Boahen 22 F 5'11" 180 Senior Toronto, ON Graduated
Tarkus Ferguson 4 G 6'4" 190 Senior Belleville, IL Graduated, went professional overseas signing with Vevey Riviera Basket[4]
Marcus Ottey 1 G 6'2" 185 Senior Ajax, ON Graduated
Travell Washington 32 F 6'9" 230 Junior San Bernardino, CA

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Maurice Commander 1 G 6'0 175 Junior Chicago, IL Chattanooga
Zion Griffin 35 F 6'6 215 Junior Darien, IL Iowa State
Jalen Johnson 5 G 6'1 180 Junior Hopkinsville, KY John A. Logan College
Teyvion Kirk 4 G 6'4 185 Junior Joliet, IL Colorado State
RayQuawndis Mitchell 21 G 6'5 205 Junior Atlanta, GA Otero Junior College

Recruiting class of 2020

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Demetrius Calip II
SG
Woodland Hills, CA Taft High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Aug 3, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247Sports:     ESPN grade: NR
Brad Bowditch
G
Milton, WI IMG Academy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Aug 3, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Griffin Yaklich
SF
Joliet, IL Saline High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jun 17, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.

Roster

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2020–21 UIC Flames men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Brian Taylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Detroit, Michigan
G 1 Maurice Commander 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Chicago, IL
F 2 Michael Diggins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Las Vegas, Nevada
F 3 Jacob Wiley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Houston, Texas
G 4 Teyvion Kirk 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Joliet, IL
G 5 Jalen Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Hopkinsville, KY
F 10 Deon Ejim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So Toronto, Ontario, Canada
G 13 Demetrius Calip II 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Woodland Hills CA
G 14 Brad Bowditch (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Milton, WI
G 15 Griffin Yaklich (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Joliet, IL
G 20 Jamie Ahale 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Montrose, Australia
G 21 RayQuawndis Mitchell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Atlanta, GA
F 22 Rob Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Gary, Indiana
F 23 Braelen Bridges 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr McDonough, Georgia
F 25 Treavon Martin (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Chicago, IL
F 35 Zion Griffin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Darien, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 26, 2020

Schedule and results

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On November 25, 2020, UIC announced that fans would not be permitted to attend home games for their first two home games.[5] However, they did leave open the possibility to allow fans for future events.

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020*
6:00 pm
at Northern Illinois W 65–61  1–0
 12  Tied   6  Kirk   9  Kirk  Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
November 28, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Central Michigan
UIC Basketball Invitational
W 74–72  2–0
 23  Mitchell   13  Bridges   6  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 1, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Valparaiso
UIC Basketball Invitational
W 66–50  3–0
 14  Kirk   8  Kirk   14  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 5, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Ball State L 66–68  3–1
 13  Tied   8  Kirk   6  Kirk  Worthen Arena 
Muncie, IN
December 13, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Loyola–Chicago L 66–77  3–2
 17  Kirk   9  Diggins   5  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
Horizon League regular season
December 19, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Oakland W 74–72  4–2
(1–0)
 25  Ahale   9  Howard   11  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 20, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Oakland W 90–73  5–2
(2–0)
 23  Howard   11  Kirk   11  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 26, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Milwaukee Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues [6] Klotsche Center 
Milwaukee, WI
December 27, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Milwaukee Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues [7] Klotsche Center 
Milwaukee, WI
January 1, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Detroit Mercy Cancelled due to mental health reasons [8] Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 2, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Detroit Mercy Cancelled due to mental health reasons [9] Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 8, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Purdue Fort Wayne L 89–96 OT 5–3
(2–1)
 31  Kirk   11  Diggins   6  Kirk  Hilliard Gates Sports Center 
Fort Wayne, IN
January 9, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Purdue Fort Wayne L 55–88  5–4
(2–2)
 23  Diggins   4  Tied   5  Kirk  Hilliard Gates Sports Center 
Fort Wayne, IN
January 15, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Robert Morris W 67–53  6–4
(3–2)
 16  Diggins   10  Kirk   4  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 16, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Robert Morris W 66–62 OT 7–4
(4–2)
 18  Howard   8  Tied   3  3 Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 22, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Youngstown State W 67–66  8–4
(5–2)
 15  Kirk   10  Tied   5  Kirk  Beeghly Center 
Youngstown, OH
January 23, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Youngstown State L 77–85  8–5
(5–3)
 18  Commander   7  Kirk   5  Kirk  Beeghly Center 
Youngstown, OH
January 29, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Kentucky L 68–72  8–6
(5–4)
 15  Griffin   8  Howard   5  Griffin  BB&T Arena 
Highland Heights, KY
January 30, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Kentucky L 67–69  8–7
(5–5)
 17  Bridges   8  Bridges   4  Commander  BB&T Arena 
Highland Heights, KY
February 5, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Wright State L 47–72  8–8
(5–6)
 10  Commander   7  Bridges   2  3 Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 6, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Wright State L 57–77  8–9
(5–7)
 16  Diggins   10  Kirk   2  Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 12, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at IUPUI L 69–89  8–10
(5–8)
 19  Kirk   5  Tied   6  Kirk  Indiana Farmers Coliseum 
Indianapolis, IN
February 13, 2021
11:00 am, ESPN+
at IUPUI L 81–88  8–11
(5–9)
 21  Kirk   6  Tied   5  Kirk  Indiana Farmers Coliseum 
Indianapolis, IN
February 19, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Green Bay W 61–58  9–11
(6–9)
 19  Kirk   13  Diggins   6  Kirk  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 20, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Green Bay L 59–69  9–12
(6–10)
 11  Kirk   9  Wiley   6  Commander  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
Horizon League tournament
February 25, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
(11) at (6) Youngstown State
First Round
L 58–74  9–13
 13  Kirk   7  Kirk   4  Kirk  Beeghly Center 
Youngstown, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time Zone.

Source[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Luke Yaklich Named UIC Men's Basketball Head Coach". UIC Athletics. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  2. ^ "UIC vs. Northern Kentucky - Game Recap - March 10, 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  3. ^ "Navarra signs Blount just out of college". Eurobasket. August 14, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Vevey Riviera tabs rookie Tarkus Ferguson". Eurobasket. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Flames Announce Schedule Change for Saturday". UIC Athletics. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "Flames Pause Basketball Activities, Series at Milwaukee Canceled". UIC Flames. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "Flames Pause Basketball Activities, Series at Milwaukee Canceled". UIC Flames. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  8. ^ "Flames' Series Against Detroit Mercy Canceled". UIC Flames. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  9. ^ "Flames' Series Against Detroit Mercy Canceled". UIC Flames. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". UIC Athletics. Retrieved November 26, 2020.