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GAME NOTES: Bragging rights in the Windy City are on the line again tonight, as the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers host the Illinois-Chicago Flames in a Horizon League battle at the Gentile Center.

The Flames have pretty much burned out these last few weeks, winning just once since New Year's Eve. The squad played on Monday night and fell to Valparaiso on the road by a score of 83-82, marking the 10th loss in the last 11 games for a team that is tied for last place in the HL standings at just 2-12.

As for the Ramblers, they are only slightly ahead of UIC, showing a record of 4-10 in conference play heading into the weekend. Loyola is another program that has fallen on hard times with just two wins in its last 11 games. Monday night saw the team fall hard against nationally-ranked Butler on the road in a 62-47 final.

Loyola won the first meeting of the season last month on the road by a score of 55-50, which means the all-time series now stands at 29-14 in favor of the Flames.

In a game that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes, the Flames picked the wrong time to be trailing against Valparaiso as they suffered the one-point loss on the road earlier in the week. Jeremy Buttell tried to keep it together for UIC with his 25 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Robo Kreps with 17 points, five boards and five assists, while Chris Buchanan added 11 points off the bench. Before fouling out, Zavion Neely and Spencer Stewart both dropped in 10 points in the lost cause. When it comes to conference games this season, the Flames have almost completely burned out, seeing as how they are shooting a woeful 36.9 percent from the field and 26.9 percent behind the three-point line, en route to just 60.4 ppg. Kreps is credited with being the leading scorer with 12.5 ppg, but the fact that he is shooting only 29.6 percent from the field and below 23 percent out on the perimeter means he is doing more harm than good right now.

Believe it or not, Loyola actually held a two-point lead on the Bulldogs at the half during their Monday night meeting, but then the defense for the Ramblers came up lame and allowed the more dominant team to move into the win column yet again. Geoff McCammon and Walt Gibler both tallied nine points, each shooting 4-of-9 from the floor, but no one on the team was able to make it into double figures as the squad shot only 35.3 percent from the floor and 2-of-15 behind the three-point line. Just like the Flames, Loyola has found conference play to be rather cruel this season as the team averages less than 60 ppg. Terrance Hill is the lone double-digit scorer for the team in those contests with his 11.0 ppg, while Courtney Stanley (7.3 ppg) does his best to direct traffic on the floor with his 60 assists.

UIC can't seem to get steady production on offense no matter who the opponent might be. And while this city battle should give the Flames a bit of a boost, it won't be enough to get them into the win column.