Saturday, March 1st, 8:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: U.S. Cellular Arena (10,783), Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Television: None. Home Record: UIC 11-2, UWM 9-6. Away Record: UIC 4-9, UWM 5-8. Neutral Record: UIC 0-3, UWM 0-0. Conference Record: UIC 8-9, UWM 9-8. Series Record: UW-Milwaukee leads, 29-21.

GAME NOTES: Two days removed from a crushing, last-second loss, the Illinois- Chicago Flames are set to tangle with the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers in the Horizon League finale for both squads. UIC battled back in the final minute to even things up with Wisconsin-Green Bay on Thursday night, only to watch the Phoenix win on a three-pointer in the closing seconds. With that loss, the Flames have now dropped four of their last five. A win tonight would even their conference record at .500 entering postseason play. On the other end of the floor are the Panthers, who are guaranteed a first-round home game for the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. A definite positive considering they have suffered losses in six of their last eight games. The Panthers are coming off a 68-53 win over Loyola-Chicago on Thursday night, though tonight's game will be their fourth since last Saturday. UIC cruised to a 91-73 win over UW-Milwaukee in the first week of December, although the Panthers still maintain a 29-21 lead in the head-to-head series.

UIC's Karl White knotted Thursday night's game on a three-pointer with 8.5 seconds to play in regulation, capping a seven-point rally for the Flames in the final minute. All that work went for naught, however, as UW-Green Bay's Troy Cotton turned around and drained the game-winning three-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining. Josh Mayo paced the Flames with 18 points, while Jermaine Dailey recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. White tallied 13 points off the bench. On the season, Mayo leads the team with 17.8 ppg. He is the only player averaging double figures, and he also leads the team in minutes (32.7 per game) and free-throw shooting (85 percent).

The Panthers do not rely on one particular player to carry the scoring load, but Paige Paulsen (13.8 ppg) has been the team's most consistent threat. He must be respected along the perimeter, where he is connecting on 42 percent of his opportunities. As a team, however, the UW-Milwaukee is shooting only 40 percent from the floor. It was the same story Thursday night, as the Panthers shot 40 percent but managed to win by a 15-point margin thanks to a stout defensive effort. Loyola was held to 34.5 percent shooting for the game. Paulsen teamed with guard Ricky Franklin to garner high-scoring honors, with 16 points apiece.

UIC wiped the floor with the Panthers when they last met. This time around, the Flames figure to be fired up following Thursday's heartbreaker, and they face a UW-Milwaukee team that is at the tail end of a tiring schedule.

Predicted Outcome

Illinois-Chicago 71, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 59