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Posted at 11:45 AM EST.

2:00 PM EST. The Flames of UI-Chicago are the hottest team in the Horizon League after five straight wins including a pair on the road over conference mainstays Oakland and UW-Milwaukee. UIC is now third in the Horizon at 8-3. While the Flames have a winning record at 13-11 overall, a closer look at their schedule reveals they have been stockpiling wins on the backs of their conference foes. The Flames played a weak non-conference schedule (ranked 224th) and went just 5-8 against that parade of cupcakes.

While this play is mostly about fading the overrated Flames, Detroit Mercy is a sneaky good foil that should provide us with some tremendous value. While UIC was struggling against weak non-conference opponents, the Titans were getting their asses handed to them on a nightly basis by Power Five schools like Virginia Tech, UCLA, and Michigan. The Titans even went up against tough mid-majors like Saint Louis and East Tennessee State. Detroit's non-conference schedule was ranked 34th out of 351 teams, and that is significant. The Titans are battle-tested, and that difficult out-of-conference schedule should serve them well in the long run.

Winning on the road isn't easy in the NCAA, but the Flames have won five straight, which should only further inflate their appeal in the market, but do not fall for those recent results. The Flames appear to be the superior squad, but spotting road points in-conference is not a high percentage play. Furthermore, this will be UIC's third straight game on the road and its fifth in its last six overall. Those miles add up and asking the Flames to be fresh again tonight after leapfrogging Oakland and UWM might a little much. The Titans have just seven wins, and though their records don't show it, these two schools are much closer in talent than these inflated points would have you believe. Scoop them up with confidence, as Detroit is capable of winning this one outright.

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