2022–23 UIC Flames men's basketball team

The 2022–23 UIC Flames men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Chicago in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by third-year head coach Luke Yaklich, played their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as first-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference.[1] They finished the season 12–19, 4–16 in MVC play to finish in eleventh place. They lost to Missouri State in the opening round of the MVC tournament.

2022–23 UIC Flames men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record12–20 (4–16 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Will Veasley (3rd season)
  • Bill Wuczynski (2nd season)
  • C.J. Rivers (1st season)
Home arenaCredit Union 1 Arena
Seasons
2022–23 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bradley 16 4   .800 25 10   .714
Drake 15 5   .750 27 8   .771
Southern Illinois 14 6   .700 23 10   .697
Belmont 14 6   .700 21 11   .656
Indiana State 13 7   .650 23 13   .639
Missouri State 12 8   .600 17 15   .531
Murray State 11 9   .550 17 15   .531
Northern Iowa 9 11   .450 14 18   .438
Illinois State 6 14   .300 11 21   .344
Valparaiso 5 15   .250 11 21   .344
UIC 4 16   .200 12 20   .375
Evansville 1 19   .050 5 27   .156
2023 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Flames finished the 2021–22 season 14–16, 9–10 in Horizon League play to finish in eighth place. In the Horizon League tournament, they beat Milwaukee[2] in the first round before losing to Purdue Fort Wayne in the quarterfinals.[3]

The season marked the Flames' final year in the Horizon League as the school announced it would join the MVC following the season.[4]

Offseason

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Departures

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Departures
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jamie Ahale G 6'5 205 Senior Montrose, Australia Graduated
Damaria Franklin G 6'3 205 Senior Chicago, IL Transferred to Memphis
Zion Griffin F 6'6" 215 Senior Darien, IL Transferred to Tennessee State

Incoming transfers

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Transfers
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Tre Anderson G 6'1 185 Graduate Student Tacoma, WA Idaho
Toby Okani G 6'8 210 Junior Orange, NJ Duquesne
Shaun Williams G 6'4 190 Redshirt Senior St. Louis, MO Cal State Bakersfield

2022 recruiting class

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College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Steven Clay
SG
Menomonee Falls, WI Menomonee Falls High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Apr 18, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: NR
Cameron Fens
C
Dubuque, IA Hempstead High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Apr 18, 2022 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jalen Jackson
PG
Fort Wayne, IN Northrop High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sep 15, 2021 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Christian Jones
PG
East St. Louis, IL East St. Louis High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 20, 2022 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 79
Bessanty-Aime Saragba
C
Marseilles, France Trinity Collegiate School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) N/A Aug 19, 2022 
Star ratings: 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:

  • "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

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The Flames were picked to finish in 11th place in the conference's preseason poll.[5]

Roster

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2022–23 UIC Flames men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Jace Carter 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Titusville, Florida
G 1 Jalen Jackson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Fort Wayne, Indiana
G 2 Steven Clay 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G 4 Tre Anderson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Tacoma, Washington
G 5 Toby Okani 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Orange, New Jersey
G 10 Christian Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr East St. Louis, Illinois
G 15 Griffin Yaklich (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Joliet, Illinois
G 22 Shaun Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr St. Louis, Missouri
F 33 Jaden Bronwell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Fr Sandy, Utah
C 42 Bessanty-Aime Saragba 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Marseille, France
F 50 Filip Skobalj 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Belgrade, Serbia
C 54 Cameron Fens 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Dubuque, Iowa
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: August 30, 2022

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2022*
7:00 pm
Illinois Tech W 90–52 
 20  Anderson   7  Tied        Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
Regular season
November 7, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Trinity Christian W 82–48  1–0
 13  Carter   13  Okani   6  Jones  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,177)
Chicago, IL
November 11, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN
Loyola–Chicago L 63–70  1–1
 20  Anderson   6  Fens   3  Anderson  Credit Union 1 Arena (3,550)
Chicago, IL
November 14, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN
Jacksonville State W 67–60  2–1
 22  Carter   10  Carter   5  Anderson  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,019)
Chicago, IL
November 19, 2022*
4:00 p.m., ESPN
vs. Fordham
Tom Konchalski Classic
L 65–79  2–2
 21  Okani   8  Carter   3  Jackson  Rose Hill Gymnasium 
Bronx, NY
November 21, 2022*
3:00 p.m.
vs. Stonehill
Tom Konchalski Classic
W 77–71  3–2
 28  Carter   7  Carter   7  Anderson  Rose Hill Gymnasium 
Bronx, NY
November 22, 2022*
3:00 p.m.
vs. Holy Cross
Tom Konchalski Classic
W 89–66  4–2
 20  Okani   13  Okani   7  Anderson  Rose Hill Gymnasium 
Bronx, NY
November 26, 2022*
6:00 pm, ESPN
at Green Bay W 78–64  5–2
 25  Anderson   8  Okani   5  Anderson  Kress Events Center (1,200)
Green Bay, WI
November 30, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN
Missouri State L 51–66  5–3
(0–1)
 15  Carter   12  Okani   4  Anderson  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,174)
Chicago, IL
December 3, 2022
5:00 p.m., ESPN
at Drake L 64–77  5–4
(0–2)
 18  Carter   12  Okani   5  Anderson  Knapp Center (2,860)
Des Moines, IA
December 10, 2022*
1:30 p.m., ESPN3
at Western Michigan W 62–56  6–4
 18  Carter   6  Okani   4  Anderson  University Arena (1,682)
Kalamazoo, MI
December 13, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN
Prairie View A&M W 70–61  7–4
 16  Okani   6  Okani   6  Okani  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,081)
Chicago, IL
December 18, 2022*
1:00 pm, ESPN
Northeastern W 81–73  8–4
 22  Carter   6  Okani   4  Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,218)
Chicago, IL
December 20, 2022*
8:00 pm, BTN
at Northwestern L 54–92  8–5
 12  Okani   6  Carter   3  Tied  Welsh–Ryan Arena (3,704)
Evanston, IL
December 28, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN
Illinois State W 55–51  9–5
(1–2)
 18  Okani   7  Tied   4  Carter  Credit Union 1 Arena (2,014)
Chicago, IL
December 31, 2022
1:00 pm, ESPN
at Bradley L 45–79  9–6
(1–3)
 17  Carter   8  Okani   2  Okani  Carver Arena (4,890)
Peoria, IL
January 4, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
Belmont L 71–77  9–7
(1–4)
 21  Carter   8  Okani   6  Jackson  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,194)
Chicago, IL
January 7, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Indiana State L 60–80  9–8
(1–5)
 12  Skobalj   7  Carter   4  Anderson  Hulman Center (3,463)
Terre Haute, IN
January 10, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
Drake L 71–76 OT 9–9
(1–6)
 19  Okani   8  Carter   6  Skobalj  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,778)
Chicago, IL
January 14, 2023
3:00 pm, ESPN3
at Murray State L 64–81  9–10
(1–7)
 18  Carter   5  Tied   3  Tied  CFSB Center (5,417)
Murray, KY
January 17, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN
at Valparaiso L 66–76  9–11
(1–8)
 29  Okani   11  Okani   7  Jones  Athletics–Recreation Center (1,850)
Valparaiso, IN
January 21, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Northern Iowa L 72–78  9–12
(1–9)
 27  Anderson   8  Okani   7  Anderson  Credit Union 1 Arena (2,312)
Chicago, IL
January 24, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Missouri State L 59–63  9–13
(1–10)
 19  Carter   6  Okani   4  Carter  Great Southern Bank Arena (3,026)
Springfield, MO
January 29, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN
Bradley L 76–83  9–14
(1–11)
 25  Carter   10  Carter   5  Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena (2,240)
Chicago, IL
February 1, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Illinois State L 62–68 OT 9–15
(1–12)
 29  Anderson   4  4 tied   3  3 tied  CEFCU Arena (3,409)
Normal, IL
February 4, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
Evansville W 70–61  10–15
(2–12)
 17  Clay   12  Carter   4  Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,545)
Chicago, IL
February 8, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Southern Illinois L 66–68  10–16
(2–13)
 17  Carter   9  Carter   4  Tied  Banterra Center 
Carbondale, IL
February 11, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Belmont L 71–98  10–17
(2–14)
 21  Jackson   6  Okani   3  Tied  Curb Event Center (2,341)
Nashville, TN
February 15, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
Indiana State L 60–79  10–18
(2–15)
 23  Jackson   8  Okani   6  Okani  Credit Union 1 Arena (2,102)
Chicago, IL
February 19, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN
Valparaiso W 74–73  11–18
(3–15)
 19  Jackson   9  Carter   6  Anderson  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,805)
Chicago, IL
February 22, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Evansville W 82–76  12–18
(4–15)
 22  Carter   8  Carter   6  Anderson  Ford Center (4,085)
Evansville, IN
February 26, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN
Southern Illinois L 65–68  12–19
(4–16)
 22  Carter   14  Okani   5  Skobalj  Credit Union 1 Arena (2,502)
Chicago, IL
Missouri Valley tournament
March 2, 2023
8:30 pm, MVC TV
(11) vs. (6) Missouri State
Opening round
L 57–74  12–20
 14  Carter   8  Okani   4  Skobalj  Enterprise Center (3,564)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time Zone.

Source[6]

References

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  1. ^ "UIC Officially Welcomed to Missouri Valley Conference" (Press release). UIC Flames. August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "Flames Push Past Panthers in #HLMBB Championship Opener". uicflames.com. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "Furious Fight Falls Short for @UIC_MBB". uicflames.com. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Wheeler, Wyatt D. "University of Illinois Chicago to join Missouri Valley Conference in 2022-23". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  5. ^ MVC. "Murray State picked 8th, SIU 3rd in MVC preseason rankings". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  6. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". UIC Athletics. Retrieved September 22, 2022.