Tuesday, March 3rd, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Beeghly Center (6,500) -- Youngstown, Ohio. Television: HLN. Home Record: UIC 8-6, YSU 7-8. Away Record: UIC 7-8, YSU 4-10. Neutral Record: UIC 0-0, YSU 0-0. Conference Record: UIC 7-11, YSU 7-11. Series Record: Illinois-Chicago leads, 18-4.

GAME NOTES: The sixth-seeded Youngstown State Penguins will host the seventh- seeded Illinois-Chicago Flames this evening in first-round action of the Horizon League Tournament at the Beeghly Center. The Flames were able to close out their regular season with a 15-14 overall ledger, but the team struggled in league play, posting a mere 7-11 record against conference foes. Still, UIC heads into the postseason on fire, winning its last four matchups, including a 62-58 victory over Loyola-Chicago in the regular-season finale. As for the Penguins, they head into the postseason on a down note, having lost three of their last four games, including two in a row. The last loss for YSU, a 67-59 setback to Valparaiso, dropped the Penguins to 7-11 against Horizon teams. The Flames hold a commanding 18-4 edge over the Penguins in the all- time series, but two of those four wins for YSU have come this season.

The Flames possess one of the top scorers in the Horizon League in Josh Mayo, as the guard is averaging 16.9 ppg. Mayo's strong season earned him a spot on the All-Horizon First Team for the second consecutive season. Robo Kreps is contributing 12.1 ppg on the season, while Scott VanderMeer has been one of the top big man in the conference, posting 10.7 ppg, to go along with a conference-best 8.9 rpg. Although the team has three solid contributors on the season, the Flames come into the postseason averaging a mere 67.2 ppg, behind a meager 41.2 percent shooting effort. Fortunately the team has been able to overcome inconsistent scoring with tenacious defensive play, as UIC finished the regular season allowing just 65.5 ppg, while holding teams to just 41.1 percent shooting.

The Penguins have been up and down throughout the season, and a major indication of the team's inconsistent play is its 11-18 overall ledger. The Penguins are only producing 66.0 ppg on the year, and will lean on Kelvin Bright and DeAndre Mays. Bright is pacing the team with 11.6 ppg, while Mays is contributing 10.9 ppg, to go along with a team-high 99 assists. Mays, who is a junior, earned a spot on the All-Horizon Newcomer Team because of his solid contribution this season. The Penguins come into this matchup ice cold, having scored less than 60 points in three of their last four games, and that includes a 59 point-performance in a season-finale loss to Valpo. YSU shot just 40.0 percent from the floor and also committed 19 turnovers.

The Penguins have defeated UIC twice this season, but the Flames enter this contest red hot, while the Penguins have stumbled into postseason action. Even though the Flames are on the road, look for Mayo and company to push through to the next round.

Predicted Outcome

Illinois-Chicago 67, Youngstown State 65