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Horizon League Basketball: Conference tournament preview and predictions

By John Parker

Dec 22, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Oakland Golden Grizzlies forward Jalen Hayes (4) high fives guard Sherron Dorsey-Walker (30) during overtime against the Michigan State Spartans at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Michigan State won 99-93 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Oakland Golden Grizzlies forward Jalen Hayes (4) high fives guard Sherron Dorsey-Walker (30) during overtime against the Michigan State Spartans at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Michigan State won 99-93 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois-Chicago Flames head coach Steve McClain claps after a foul called against the DePaul Blue Demons during the first half at UIC Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois-Chicago Flames head coach Steve McClain claps after a foul called against the DePaul Blue Demons during the first half at UIC Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

9: UIC Flames

UIC’s youth and a coaching change made the 2015-16 season a difficult one for the Flames. The team went winless in non-conference play aside from a pair of wins over non-Division I opponents. After that, the team played every team in the Horizon League once without a win.

But the Flames showed significant growth on the second run through their conference foes. 12 days after picking up its first win in the league, UIC pulled the biggest upset of the Horizon League season when it took down eventual 3-seed Wright State. The Flames’ win wound up bumping the Raiders down into a tie for second place in the conference, and due to tiebreakers caused Billy Donlon’s team to lose the double-bye into the Horizon League semifinals.

Two days later, UIC beat Northern Kentucky to get a win streak going in Horizon League play and Wright State finished off a sweep of Valparaiso. As if it’s not bizarre enough that UIC got its second Division I win of the season against one of the league’s top teams, it actually managed to beat a team that gave borderline at-large candidate Valparaiso both of the losses in its 16-2 Horizon League record.

While it’s highly unlikely that the Flames will knock off Wright State again, the team has at least proven an ability to knock off legitimate contenders in the league. With that in mind, I think UIC will stand a better chance to pull the upset than the Vikings.

Next: 8: Youngstown State