Liberty (22-14) has advanced to the semifinals of the CIT for the first time in program history where they will face the only other Division I program nicknamed the Flames in Illinois Chicago (19-15).
While this will be the first ever meeting between the two programs, the teams’ head coaches are no stranger to one another. UIC’s head man Steve McClain was Wyoming’s head coach from 1998-2007. During his tenure with the Cowboys, he faced Ritchie McKay coached teams on 15 occasions while McKay was the head coach at Colorado State, Oregon State, and New Mexico. Overall, McKay is 8-7 in head-to-head matchups with McClain, including a 4-0 mark while head coach at Colorado State, 0-1 while at Oregon State, and 4-6 while at New Mexico.
McClain has helped lead Illinois Chicago to its first winning season since 2012-13 and the most wins the program has had since 2003-04, which is also the last time the program advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Flames finished 12-6 and in 3rd place behind Northern Kentucky and Wright State in the Horizon League.
Liberty and UIC have just one common opponent this season, as both teams lost to Fort Wayne. Illinois Chicago lost to the Mastodons, 67-51, at home on November 18th while Liberty lost to Fort Wayne, 75-64, on a neutral court on December 21. Fort Wayne also advanced to the CIT, losing to Central Michigan, 94-89, in the first round.
McClain’s squad boasts a balanced scoring attack led by 6 players that average over 8.2 points per game. 6’7″ sophomore Dikembe Dixson leads the Flames in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game. 6’2″ Marcus Ottey and 6’4″ Tarkus Ferguson make up a back court that combines for 23.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game. 6’9″ Tai Odiase averages 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, but he is best known for his 3.2 blocks per game which is 4th most in the country.
UIC defeated St Francis (PA), 84-61, and Austin Peay, 83-81, in their first two games in the CIT to advance to Wednesday’s semifinals. In the other semifinal, Northern Colorado plays host to Sam Houston State at 9pm. The two winners will advance to Friday night’s championship game at 7pm, to be televised on CBS Sports Network.
