Illinois-Chicago (8-12, 3-4) vs. Oakland (7-13, 2-5)
Athletics Center Orena, Oakland, Michigan; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Horizon foes meet as Illinois-Chicago squares off against Oakland. Both teams last saw action on Saturday. Illinois-Chicago beat IUPUI by nine, while Oakland is coming off of a 73-68 loss to Milwaukee.
SUPER SENIORS: Illinois-Chicago has relied heavily on its seniors. Tarkus Ferguson, Godwin Boahen, Michael Diggins and Marcus Ottey have combined to account for 57 percent of the team's scoring this year and 73 percent of all Flames points over the team's last five games.
RAMPING IT UP A NOTCH: The Golden Grizzlies have scored 68 points per game across seven conference games, an improvement from the 59.9 per game they recorded in non-conference play.
CREATING OFFENSE: Ferguson has directly created 41 percent of all Illinois-Chicago field goals over the last five games. Ferguson has 24 field goals and 27 assists in those games.
SIGNIFICANCE OF 72: Oakland is 0-8 when opposing teams score 72 or more points. Illinois-Chicago is a perfect 6-0 when its offense scores at least 72 points.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Flames have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland has an assist on 35 of 67 field goals (52.2 percent) across its previous three matchups while Illinois-Chicago has assists on 48 of 77 field goals (62.3 percent) during its past three games.
TOUGH DEFENSE: Oakland has held opposing teams to 67.2 points per game, the second-lowest figure among all Horizon teams.
