The final countdown

NO. 2 SEED IN FLAMES’ SIGHTS

(2/23/04)

The UIC Flames enter the final week of the regular season holding their destiny in their hands.

Two home wins – Thursday against Wright State and Saturday against Butler – and the Flames finish second in the Horizon League and a get a bye into the conference tournament semifinals.

UIC is arguably the hottest team in the Horizon, winning eight straight games and running its record to 20-7 overall and 10-4 in the league. The Flames are 5-0 in February and last suffered a loss on Jan. 21.

The Flames also hold the best home record in the Horizon at 9-1 and are the only team in the league with a winning road mark at 8-3.

“This is a [NCAA] tournament team right now,” said UIC athletic director Jim Schmidt, despite the team’s RPI being in the 120s. “The thing is we’re not a lock for the NIT right now. We need to be probably around 100-105 for an NIT bid.”

UIC is certainly playing like a team that should be representing the conference in the NCAA tournament.

In its last 13 games, the Flames have averaged 70.8 points offensively and have allowed just 65.5 points per contest. UIC is 11-2 in those games, and furthermore, the team has held its opponents in the 50s the last four games.

A big key to the team’s recent success has been the effectiveness of coach Jimmy Collins’ 10-man rotation. Collins starts four seniors (Cedrick Banks, Martell Bailey, Armond Williams and Joe Scott) and sophomore Justin Bowen.

The bench has emerged in the last eight contests, averaging 18.1 points. The average is even better in last five games at 23.2, including a season-high 30 against UNC-Wilmington last Saturday.

“This is what we’ve been trying to do all year,” Collins said. “You don’t just throw guys in there. You give them a little bit, a little bit until they get comfortable.”

Redshirt freshman Jovan Stefanov has slowly become the team’s sixth man, getting 20-25 minutes in recent games. His unselfish all-around play complements stars like Banks, Bailey and Williams. Against Wilmington, Stefanov’s line read: 25 minutes, seven points on 2-of-4 shooting, including 1-of-1 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.

Sophomore Elliott “Butch” Poole has provided toughness off the bench. He grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Jan. 18. In his last five games, Poole has averaged 6.2 points and 6.0 rebounds. He has shot 50 percent (9-of-18) from the field and 72 percent (13-of-18) from the free-throw line.

Senior Aaron Carr has had some solid scoring games off the bench recently, putting in 13 points at Cleveland State Feb. 14 and 14 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee Feb. 5.

Freshman Marcetteaus McGee has seen his minutes go up as the back point guard to Martell Bailey. He had a season-high seven points against Wilmington. He also flashed his athleticism last week with a soaring blocked shot of Green Bay’s Josh Lawrence, who is six inches taller.

Junior center Josip Petrusic has also added a chance of pace at the power positions, showing off an array of moves, including a jump hook and a 15-foot jumper.

UIC started the season at 9-2, but then lost three games in a row and five of eight until it began its hot streak by defeating Wisconsin-Green Bay 74-57 on Jan. 24 at the Pavilion in what was a huge statement game.

“I don’t think [Collins] gets enough credit,” Schmidt said. “It’s tough to win 20 games three years in a row.”

WRIGHT STATE PREVIEW: The Raiders, with first-year coach Paul Biancardi, are having a pleasantly surprising season with a 14-11 overall record and a 10-4 conference mark. The Flames are looking to avenge their last loss, which was to the Raiders on Jan. 21.

Things looked bleak for WSU after starting the season with a home loss to NAIA Cedarville, but the Raiders started to turn it around in league play.

WSU jumped out to a 6-1 conference mark, including home wins over Butler and UIC and a road win at Detroit’s Calihan Hall. The Raiders have come back to the pack a little bit after two losses to regular-season champ Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a home defeat at the hands of Detroit.

Everybody knew that forward Seth Doliboa and guard Vernard Hollins were among the best in the league, but no one imagined that the Raiders’ group of freshman would mature this quickly.

WSU starts three freshmen, with two more getting significant playing time. Redshirt frosh Drew Burleson starts at one forward spot and was the player that helped the Raiders beat the Flames 61-60 at the Nutter Center.

True freshmen Alex Kock (pronounced ‘Cook’) and DaShaun Wood are the other starters. Kock is an unselfish player that plays his role well, and if teams fall asleep on him, he’ll bury them with a barrage of three-pointers. Wood is a hard-nosed point guard that makes things happen on both sides of the ball.

Forward Vova Severovas and swingman Zakee Boyd come off the bench. Severovas has shown flashes of toughness in rebounding the ball, and Boyd could be a matchup problem with his 6-foot-5 frame.

Thursday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. and can be heard live on WCRX-FM 88.1 and on the internet at http://www.wcrx.net. A tape-delayed broadcast will be on Flames’ flagship station, ESPN Radio 1000 at 9:30 p.m., immediately following Bulls postgame.

GETTING THE NO. 2 SEED: The Flames can make it easy for themselves and grab the No. 2 seed with two victories this week, but there are several ways the Flames can attain that spot. The No. 2 seed gets a bye into the semifinals, while the No. 3 seed gets a bye in the second round. Seeds 4-9 play in the first round next Tuesday.

“We’d definitely like to get that bye and make our road a little easier,” Collins said.

If UIC:

Beats WSU and Butler. Even if Wisconsin-Green Bay wins twice and ties UIC at 12-4, the Flames win the tiebreaker, due to a 2-0 season sweep of the Phoenix.

Beats WSU and loses to Butler. The Flames can get the No. 2 seed if Green Bay loses to Detroit and beats WSU. This would create a tie with UIC and UWGB at 11-5, with the Flames winning the tiebreaker based on a 2-0 season sweep of the Phoenix.

Loses to WSU and beats Butler. The Flames can get the No. 2 seed if Green Bay loses to Detroit and beats WSU. This would create a three-way tie with UIC, WSU and UWGB at 11-5, with all three teams having a 2-2 record against the others. The Flames win the tiebreaker based on a 1-1 record with Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while the others were 0-2 against the Panthers.

Loses to WSU and Butler. The Flames can not get the No. 2 seed, because WSU will have at least 11 wins and UIC just 10.

Other scenarios… If UIC:

Loses to WSU and beats Butler, and WSU beats Green Bay and Green Bay beats Detroit. WSU gets the No. 2 seed, UIC the No. 3 seed, Green Bay the No. 4. In this case, UIC and UWGB would be tied at 11-5 and the Flames beat the Phoenix twice.

Beats WSU and loses to Butler, and WSU beats Green Bay and Green Bay beats Detroit. All three would be 11-5 and UIC would win the tiebreaker and get the No. 2 seed, due to a 3-1 record against the other tied teams. WSU would be No. 3 with a 2-2 mark, and Green Bay would be No. 4 with a 1-3 mark.

Beats WSU and loses to Butler, and WSU beats Green Bay and Detroit beats Green Bay and Detroit loses to Youngstown State. This would create a tie at 11-5 with UIC and WSU. Since the teams would have split 1-1, the Flames would win the tiebreaker, since UIC was 1-1 against first-place Milwaukee and WSU was 0-2 against the Panthers. WSU (11-5) would be No. 3, Green Bay (10-6) No. 4, and Detroit (9-7) No. 5. Unless Butler goes 2-0, then Butler would be No. 5 and Detroit No. 6, because the teams split their season series and Butler beat UWM once, while Detroit was swept by the Panthers.

Loses to WSU and loses to Butler, and Green Bay beats WSU and Detroit beats Green Bay and Detroit beats Youngstown State. Not good for UIC. Green Bay and WSU would be tied at 11-5 and wins the tiebreaker due to a 2-0 record against the Raiders, so Green Bay would be No. 2 and WSU would be No. 3. UIC and Detroit would be tied at 10-6, but Detroit wins the tiebreaker against UIC with a 2-0 record against the Flames, so Detroit would move up to No. 4 and UIC would drop to No. 5.

Loses to WSU and loses to Butler, and Green Bay beats WSU and Detroit beats Green Bay and Detroit loses to Youngstown State. Green Bay and WSU would be tied at 11-5 and wins the tiebreaker due to a 2-0 record against the Raiders, so Green Bay would be No. 2 and WSU would be No. 3. UIC would be 10-6 by themselves, so it would be No. 4 and Detroit would be No. 5 at 9-7. Unless Butler goes 2-0, then Butler would be No. 5 and Detroit No. 6, because the teams split their season series and Butler beat UWM once, while Detroit was swept by the Panthers.

Loses to WSU and beats Butler, and Green Bay beats WSU and Green Bay beats Detroit. Green Bay would be 12-4 and get the No. 2 seed. UIC and WSU would be tied at 11-5, but WSU would own 2-0 record against Flames, so WSU would be No. 3 and UIC No. 4.

Loses to WSU and loses to Butler, and WSU beats Green Bay and Detroit beats Green Bay and Detroit beats Youngstown State. WSU would be 12-4 and get the No. 2 seed. UIC, Green Bay and Detroit would be tied at 10-6. Detroit would be 3-1 against the other tied teams, getting the No. 3 seed. UIC would be No. 4 with a 2-2 mark, and Green Bay would slip to No. 5 with a 1-3 mark.

Loses to WSU and loses to Butler, and WSU beats Green Bay and Green Bay beats Detroit. WSU would be 12-4 and get the No. 2 seed. Green Bay would be 11-5 and get the No. 3 seed. UIC would be 10-6 and get the No. 4 seed. Detroit would be no higher than No. 5.

Loses to WSU and loses to Butler, and Green Bay beats WSU and Green Bay beats Detroit. Green Bay would be 12-4 and get the No. 2 seed. WSU would be No. 3 at 11-5, and UIC would be No. 4 at 10-6. Detroit would be no higher than No. 5.

BANKS HONORED: Banks was named to the NABC All-District 12 Second Team. The Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year is leading the Flames in scoring for the third straight year.

Banks was one of two Horizon League players on the team as Milwaukee forward Dylan Page garnered first-team honors. The first team was: Page, Wisconsin’s Devin Harris, Minnesota’s Kris Humphries, Michigan State’s Paul Davis and Marquette’s Travis Diener. The second team was: Banks, Northwestern’s Jitim Young, Western Michigan’s Mike Williams, Wisconsin’s Mike Wilkinson, and Illinois’ Deron Williams.

UIC IN A POLL: The Flames returned to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll this week, ranking No. 21. UIC started the season No. 3 in the poll before dropping out in January.