NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds will look to add to the momentum gained from the program's win at Ole Miss on Saturday, when the squad hosts the UIC Flames on Tuesday evening in a 7 p.m. tip-off.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (5-6) vs. UIC Flames (4-6)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 19
Tip-Off: 7Â p.m.
Location: Normal, Illinois
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (10,200)
TV: NBC Sports Chicago / ESPN3
  Kurt Pegler, play-by-play
  Bob Morris, analyst
Radio:Â Illinois State Radio Network
   Dick Luedke, play-by-play
  Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Illinois State StatBroadcast
SETTING THE TABLE
•   Against Ole Miss, Illinois State played its second overtime game of the season, which is tied for the 14th-most overtime games in a season. The school record for overtime games in a season is seven during the 2008-09 season, in which the Redbirds went 5-2. Overall, Illinois State is 63-51 in overtime games.
•   When Illinois State cracked the 100-point barrier with 101 points against Ole Miss on December 16, which is the 101st time in program history that a Redbird men's basketball team has scored 100 or more points.
•   Illinois State junior guard/forward Milik Yarbrough etched his name in Missouri Valley Conference history on Monday, Dec. 18 when he was named the conference's Player and Newcomer of the Week in the same week. He became the 14th person to accomplish the feat since the conference started awarding Newcomer of the Week honors in 2003-04.
•   The trio of Keyshawn Evans (19.2 ppg), Phil Fayne (16.8 ppg), and Yarbrough (15.8) combine to average 51.8 points per game, which is the fifth-highest total in Missouri Valley Conference history. The total is also the ninth-highest total in NCAA Division I this season.
•   Illinois State's Division I opponents thus far in the season have a combined record of 53-24, a percentage of .688. That is the sixth-best such percentage in the country.
•   Due to the Redbirds' strong early portion of the schedule, Illinois State's strength of schedule is currently seventh in the country.
•   Muller is one of 35 head coaches across the country coaching at his alma mater, and his 108 wins has him with the 13th-most wins among that group.
•   Evans is one of just four players in Division I to rank in the top-20 in the country in three-point field goals made, three point field goals made per game, and three-point field goal percentage.
•   Illinois State's 109-71 record during Dan Muller's tenure is the best of the 13 programs that are in the state of Illinois.
•   Illinois State is 22-11 all-time on December 19.Â
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC comes into the in-state contest with a 4-6 overall record, and have won two of its last three games with wins over UW-Parkside and Dartmouth.
In the team's last game, a 76-60 win over Dartmouth on Dec. 15, the Flames led by three at halftime, before pulling away in the second half for the 16-point victory. Dikembe Dixson scored a game-high 19 points, while Dominique Matthews scored 18, and Marcus Ottey 13 off of the bench.
Jordan Blount dished out 10 assists and had a game-high four steals for the Flames, while Godwin Boahen pulled down seven rebounds, helping the hosts out-rebound the Big Green 36-to-30.
For the season Dixson leads a trio of players in double-figure scoring with 13.2 points per game. Matthews averages 11.0, while Ottey is averaging 10.8. Tai Odiase (9.1), and Boahen (8.3) are just off of the double-figure scoring pace.
Boahen leads the team with 28 assists, while Blount is close behind with 26. As a team, the Flames have 115 assists this season against 158 turnovers. Odiase has a team-high 58 rebounds, while his 32 blocked shots leads the team. Earlier this season, Odiase became the program's career-leader in blocked shots, Â and his 281 career blocks are the second-highest active career total in NCAA Division I.
EXTRA TIME
This season Illinois State has played in two overtime games, the most in a single season since 2014-15. In 2008-09 the Redbirds played in seven overtime games. Below are the top-10 single-season overtime totals in program history. All-time Illinois State is now 63-51 all-time in overtime games, including a 1-1 mark this season.
101 FOR THE 101st TIME
Against Ole Miss on Dec. 16, Illinois State scored 101 points, the first time since the opener of the 2012-13 season that the Redbirds have reached triple digits. The 100+ point effort was Illinois State's 101st triple-digit game over the history of the program.
PLAYING AGAINST THE FLAMES
Current Illinois State head men's basketball coach Dan Muller played two games as a student-athlete against UIC over his career. The first contest came during the 1996-97 season, a 78-58 Redbird victory. In that game, Muller scored six points with three assists and three rebounds in fromt of 9,000 fans at Redbird Arena.The second all-time meeting with Muller as a player and the flames came on Dec. 16, 1997, an eight-point UIC win, as Muller scored nine points with seven rebounds.
THE THREE AMIGOS
We're not talking about the legendary trio of Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short, but Illinois State's group of three are just as good. Later in the notes we talk about where Illinois State's top two scorers are the best pair of scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference. In addition to that, the three-headed monster of Keyshawn Evans, Phil Fayne, and Milik Yarbrough combine to average 51.8 points per game. Not only is that the highest trio scoring in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, it is the fifth-highest in Missouri Valley conference history.
