Youngstown State plays conference foe UIC

UIC Flames (10-14, 6-9 Horizon) at Youngstown State Penguins (16-11, 10-7 Horizon)

Youngstown, Ohio; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

LINE: Youngstown State -4.5; over/under is 144

BOTTOM LINE: Horizon foes Youngstown State and UIC square off on Thursday.

The Penguins are 10-6 in home games. Youngstown State ranks sixth in the Horizon shooting 34.0% from deep, led by Shemar Rathan-Mayes shooting 40.3% from 3-point range.

The Flames are 6-9 in conference play. UIC is 2-6 in games decided by 10 points or more.

The teams square off for the second time this season in Horizon play. The Penguins won the last meeting 66-64 on Feb. 5. Dwayne Cohill scored 21 points points to help lead the Penguins to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Akuchie is scoring 13.9 points per game and averaging 7.8 rebounds for the Penguins. Tevin Olison is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Youngstown State.

Damaria Franklin is shooting 29.5% from beyond the arc with 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Flames, while averaging 17.8 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Johnson is shooting 47.4% and averaging 13.3 points over the last 10 games for UIC.

LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 7-3, averaging 72.6 points, 30.4 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 5.2 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.7 points per game.

Flames: 4-6, averaging 71.5 points, 30.4 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 42.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.8 points.

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