2008 Woodie Awards
Road Rage: Men won just three games outside Illinois in '07-08
Chris Brown
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Sports
The following stat is not a misprint: UIC Men's Basketball only won three in-state games this year. Three. That does not mean that they only won three road games all year, although that stat isn't any more impressive because total road victories add up to five, but when a team cannot win on the road, there is a problem. So the question becomes, what happened to the promising team that showed glimpses of greatness early on in the season? Keeping in mind that the Flames perform better while in state and opposite while out, let us examine this question.
UIC started the season off strong with an impressive win against Bradley at the inaugural Melafusic game, winning a comfortable 84-75. The Flames showed great poise in that game, and Horizon League first teamer Josh Mayo showed us that he was ready to carry for the season with a career high 34 points. The young players looked as if they were going to be in for a strong year: Tori Boyd played 24 minutes and scored 11 points, Robert Kreps scored seven points in 19 minutes, and Spencer Stewart totaled 10 points and six assists. Even Scott VanderMeer looked ready to be at the top of the nation in blocks again, recording five. The sweet success, however, was short-lived.
After a cupcake over sister school U of I, Springfield, the Flames packed up and headed to the beautiful Virgin Islands to compete in the Paradise Jam tournament in St. Thomas. UIC came away empty-handed in the tournament, dropping three straight to the likes of Winthrop, Charlotte and Wichita State. One may not have predicted at the time, but this was a foreshadowing of how the season was to play out. But not before the Flames looked to be a promising ball club, playing at a very high level, reminiscent of the Ced Banks and Martell Bailey glory days.
The Flames returned to the states to win six of their next seven games, falling only to in-state foe Illinois State (yes you guessed it, on the road). Their most impressive game of that stretch was a victory at the Allstate Arena against a tough DePaul team, giving the Flames their first victory over a Big East team in 13 years. This game was one of the greatest achievements of the year. The team was clicking on all cylinders and they looked to finally be a noteworthy team. However after this stretch the followed up with a stretch that basically took the momentum out of their season.
UIC started the season off strong with an impressive win against Bradley at the inaugural Melafusic game, winning a comfortable 84-75. The Flames showed great poise in that game, and Horizon League first teamer Josh Mayo showed us that he was ready to carry for the season with a career high 34 points. The young players looked as if they were going to be in for a strong year: Tori Boyd played 24 minutes and scored 11 points, Robert Kreps scored seven points in 19 minutes, and Spencer Stewart totaled 10 points and six assists. Even Scott VanderMeer looked ready to be at the top of the nation in blocks again, recording five. The sweet success, however, was short-lived.
After a cupcake over sister school U of I, Springfield, the Flames packed up and headed to the beautiful Virgin Islands to compete in the Paradise Jam tournament in St. Thomas. UIC came away empty-handed in the tournament, dropping three straight to the likes of Winthrop, Charlotte and Wichita State. One may not have predicted at the time, but this was a foreshadowing of how the season was to play out. But not before the Flames looked to be a promising ball club, playing at a very high level, reminiscent of the Ced Banks and Martell Bailey glory days.
The Flames returned to the states to win six of their next seven games, falling only to in-state foe Illinois State (yes you guessed it, on the road). Their most impressive game of that stretch was a victory at the Allstate Arena against a tough DePaul team, giving the Flames their first victory over a Big East team in 13 years. This game was one of the greatest achievements of the year. The team was clicking on all cylinders and they looked to finally be a noteworthy team. However after this stretch the followed up with a stretch that basically took the momentum out of their season.
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