Illinois-Chicago 11/6 9:00 ESPN+

[GoBearcats31]

Here we go!

[swilsonsp4]

I'm sure very few, if any, of us know anything about the UIC Flames, who play in the MVC. Last season, KenPom rated them #301 (of 363 D1 teams). The Flames finished 12-20.

This season, the ranking is #243 out of 362 teams (Hartford dropped to D3). They started with an exhibition two nights ago against Clayton State, a D2 school from Georgia. The Flames led by seven at the half, then pulled away for a 67-44 win. Their on-line fan base sounds familiar to a lot of other schools: "This team is worse than last year ... They play no defense ... Can't handle the press. etc."

There's probably no way to discern the quality of UIC. The Clayton State game certainly won't tell us much. The Lakers went 3-25 last season;

It's a late night affair, following the WBB game that tips at 6:00.