Men’s basketball preps for league championship

Gabe Snider takes a shot. The Flames take on Cleveland State Saturday. — Photo: Steve Woltmann

The Flames, who concluded the regular season Sunday, will turn their attention toward postseason play with the 2016 Horizon League men’s basketball championship set for Saturday.

For the second consecutive year, the Flames will play the Wright State Raiders in the opening round of the conference tournament at 4 p.m. Saturday in Detroit.

During the 2015 tournament, UIC erased a 19-point halftime deficit in the first round to post a 60-57 triumph at the UIC Pavilion. The Flames went on to knock off No. 3 Oakland in the second round before falling to No. 2 Green Bay in the semifinal game.

This season’s series between UIC and Wright State saw each team post a victory at home. Despite 29 points from freshman Dikembe Dixson, the Flames fell at the Nutter Center Jan. 24, 80-66. In the rematch at the UIC Pavilion Feb. 11, UIC was strong on the defensive end as the squad held the Raiders to a field-goal percentage of .265 in the second half during a 64-59 triumph. Dixson and sophomore Tai Odiase combined to score 44 of the team’s 64 points en route to Horizon League Freshman of the Week and Co-Player of the Week honors.

The winner of Saturday’s game will face the winner of the first-round match between No. 6 Detroit and No. 7 Youngstown State in the second round at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

#MotorCityMadness features nine games, with the first six games streaming on ESPN3. The semifinal games will be televised on ESPNU, and the championship game will be on ESPN or ESPN2.

UIC lost its final regular season game versus the Milwaukee Panthers Sunday, 98-85, at UWM Panther Arena.