UIC Flames looking to maintain progress

The UIC Flames don’t have to look far to see a mid-major program that built a culture and succeeded at the highest level. Coach Steve McClain says he’d be a fool not to talk about Loyola with his players.

“I think there’s no question what Loyola does, what UMBC does, that makes every program at this level feel like any one of us could do that,” McClain said. “If you don’t talk about it, then you’re scared of expectations. I’ve never been scared of expectations. If you don’t have any, then you don’t have a very good job.”

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After this season, the Flames will have expectations of their own in 2018-19.

UIC (20-16) won 20 games for the first time since the 2003-04 team won 24. They also advanced deep into a postseason tournament for a second consecutive season, losing the final of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament 76-71 at Northern Colorado after last year’s run to the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. The Flames also finished third in the Horizon League, going 12-6.

“From a coach’s point of view, it’s great to know where we were three years ago and to know where we’re sitting today and the fact that we went from the bottom of the league to now being a team that showed we could be in the upper part of this league and fit in being in the 1, 2 or 3 spot,” McClain said. “Now the challenge is, how do you maintain it?”

One way the Flames could take the next step is to reach the NCAA Tournament. McClain didn’t shy away from that, saying making the tournament is “the ultimate goal.”

“That’s what every team is trying to achieve, so how do we learn from this experience?” McClain said. “The good part is . . . 17 wins [last season], 20 wins [this season]. Every young player in this program right now has won more than they’ve lost. We’re building the culture of what it means to play at the end of the year.”

Part of that culture appears to be resilience.

The Flames entered the last two games of the regular season with a chance to win a conference title but lost both. Then they dropped their first game in the Horizon League tournament, ending any chance of an NCAA bid. But instead of quitting on the season, the Flames responded by winning three games — two on the road — in the CIT.

McClain said the CIT “showed the toughness of this group.”

“Give the kids credit,” McClain said. “They kept their focus while we waited to see where we were going to play, and then when we got the opportunity, we took advantage of it.”