GAME NOTES: The Illinois-Chicago Flames invade Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for a Horizon League matchup with the 15th-ranked Butler Bulldogs. Illinois-Chicago has lost two of its last three games to fall to 10-9 overall and 4-4 in conference action. On Thursday, the team put up a fight against Valparaiso on the road, eventually falling to the Crusaders in a 60-56 final. The Flames have played seven true road games to date, and five have ended in defeat. As for Butler, which is a perfect 7-0 at home this season, it has won its last two games to improve to 18-2 overall and 7-2 in conference. The Bulldogs have won their last two bouts, including a 63-50 decision over Loyola- Chicago on Thursday. Butler has doubled up UIC in the all-time series, leading 22-11 coming into today's clash.

Illinois-Chicago is scoring 71.0 ppg this season on the strength of its 42.7 percent shooting from three-point range. Defensively, the squad is permitting 67.8 ppg to the opposition. Josh Mayo leads the squad with 17.7 ppg, and he has knocked down a staggering 54.2 percent of his shots from behind the arc to date. Mayo is also tops with 71 assists and 24 steals, proof of his versatility. While he is the only double-digit scorer on the team, Mayo does get some help from a few solid contributors. In the loss to Valparaiso, UIC connected on only 17.1 percent of its field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes, marking the squad's worst shooting half of the season. The Flames got 16 points from Mayo, 14 from Robert Bush, and a career-high 21 rebounds from Scott VanderMeer, but the Flames still fell short on the road.

In the win over Loyola-Chicago on Thursday, Butler got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Matt Howard. Pete Campbell pitched in 10 points off the bench, and Mike Green tallied 13. The Bulldogs got the job done at the defensive end, limiting the Ramblers to 39.6 percent field goal efficiency. Opponents are only generating 57.9 ppg against Butler this season, while the Bulldogs are scoring 68.8 ppg. Green has been a tremendous all-around performer for the squad, as he is posting 15.2 ppg to go along with 6.0 rpg, 96 assists and 29 steals. Howard is averaging 13.7 points and 6.1 caroms per contest, and he is shooting a sizzling 59 percent from the floor. A.J. Graves checks in with 13.4 ppg, and Campbell rounds out a foursome of double-digit scorers with 11.5 ppg.

Butler is the clear choice in this contest. Sure, the Flames may keep things close for a while, but knocking off Green and company at Hinkle Fieldhouse is a task that no opponent has achieved thus far.