Who’s Playing
UIC Flames @ Missouri State Bears
Current Records: UIC 11-19, Missouri State 15-15
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET
- Where: Great Southern Bank Arena — Springfield, Missouri
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Missouri State is 3-0 against the Flames since November of 2022, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Sunday. The pair will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 2:00 p.m. ET at Great Southern Bank Arena. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W’.
Missouri State’s recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their third straight loss. They lost 75-74 to the Redbirds on a last-minute jump shot From Johnny Kinziger. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Missouri State in their matchups with the Redbirds: they’ve now lost three in a row.
Despite their loss, Missouri State saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. N.J. Benson, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 14 rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Benson is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he’s now pulled down 11 or more in the last three games he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of Donovan Clay, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, UIC fought the good fight in their overtime contest against the Bulldogs on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 107-105. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the defeat, UIC got a solid performance out of Toby Okani, who scored 31 points along with two steals and two blocks. As a matter of fact, that’s the most points Okani has scored all season. Isaiah Rivera was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bears dropped their record down to 15-15 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for the Flames, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost 12 of their last 15 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-19 record this season.
Missouri State strolled past the Flames when the teams last played back in March of 2023 by a score of 74-57. Will Missouri State repeat their success, or do the Flames have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Missouri State has won all of the games they’ve played against UIC in the last 2 years.
- Mar 02, 2023 – Missouri State 74 vs. UIC 57
- Jan 24, 2023 – Missouri State 63 vs. UIC 59
- Nov 30, 2022 – Missouri State 66 vs. UIC 51
