GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- Head coach Linc Darner returns to the site of his collegiate playing days on Wednesday night, with Green Bay set to open the 2019-20 regular season on the road at 23rd-ranked Purdue at Mackey Arena. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network and can be heard on 107.5 FM The Fan.

CATCH THE ACTION: Wednesday, November 6, 6 p.m. CT // West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)

Matchup: Green Bay (0-0) at #23 Purdue (0-0)

Buy Tickets: Purchase Here
Game Promotion: N/A
Giveaways: N/A

Where to Watch: TV-Big Ten Network, Online-WatchBTN (cable login required)
Where to Follow Stats: PurdueSports.com
Where to Listen: The Fan 107.5 FM WDUZ

Game Notes: Green Bay  |  Purdue

For Live in-game updates, follow the Phoenix on social media: Twitter - @gbphoenixmbb, Instagram - @gbphoenixmbb

SERIES HISTORY

• Green Bay will be visiting Purdue for the first time in 20 years, where it knocked off the Boilermakers 69-53 on Dec. 7, 1991 in the only meeting at Mackey Arena. The two teams have met three times in total, with two of those meetings coming on a neutral floor at the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 24, 1993 (74-69) and in the First Round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas (49-48). Purdue won both of those meetings, and Phoenix head coach Linc Darner played in the two meetings in 1991 and 1993.

WELCOME BACK LINC

• Phoenix head coach Linc Darner, a 1995 graduate from Purdue, played four seasons for the Boilermakers from 1990-94. Darner spent the 1994-95 season as a student assistant under legendary head coach Gene Keady. He helped lead Purdue to the 1994 Big Ten title and an appearance in the Elite Eight. He appeared in 124 career games, scored 437 points and made 95 3-pointers. Both Darner and Purdue head coach Matt Painter played in the 1991 game that saw Green Bay get the victory in West Lafayette. This will be the first time Darner has coached against his alma mater in a regular season game, having coached his Florida Southern team there in an exhibition contest in 2008.

FACING THE B10

• Looking to pull the upset, Green Bay will enter Mackey Arena looking to snap a 10-game losing skid against Big Ten opponents. GB's last win came in 2009, when it upset in-state foe Wisconsin at home in overtime. Since that win, GB has lost to Michigan State, Iowa and eight times to Wisconsin. Facing even bigger odds, Purdue has gone 29-2 against teams from the Horizon League. 

PULLING THE UPSET

• Green Bay will look to pull its first upset for a Top 25 team since it shocked No. 15 Miami in 2014. The Phoenix downed the Hurricanes 68-55 in South Beach behind a 20-point effort from Carrington Love. GB has lost five-straight games against ranked opponents since that victory, with Purdue entering the game ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25.

SEASON OPENERS

• GB has gone 2-2 in regular season openers under Darner, alternating wins and losses. Last year the team opened up with an easy victory over Wisconsin Lutheran, and this will be only the third time in the last 10 seasons that GB has opened up the regular season on the road. 

SO LONG SANDY

• With the graduation of do-it-all guard Sandy Cohen III, GB will have to replace its leader in all major categories this season. Cohen led the Phoenix in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes a season ago, and has now taken his talents to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, after trying out for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League. Even with SCIII gone, GB still returns 75 percent of its scoring a season ago and returns four out of five starters. Playing a total of 38 games last year, Darner watched players earn valuable minutes and experience down the stretch in the CIT run. He will not be easy to replace, but Darner has five seniors and four juniors to look to.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

• Opening up at Purdue begins a stretch of three out of four games on the road to kickoff 2019-20. GB will have its home-opener against UW-Stout on Nov. 9, but will follow that with trips to New Mexico (11/13) and Wisconsin (11/21) after that. GB will also play road games at Montana State, at No. 19 Xavier, at Eastern Illinois, at UCF and at Northern Illinois. The team will play 8 road games in the nonconference, compared to only five games at home.

GBonTV

• The Phoenix is scheduled to play five games on national TV this season, with a pair of games on BTN and ESPNU. GB will also play on FS2 against Xavier. Additionally, GB will play all of its home games on either ESPN3 or ESPN+, with the Legends Classic being aired on FloSports.

BASKETBALL IS BACK

• Seems like only yesterday, Green Bay finished its season with a deep run in the CIT that saw the team play into early April before falling in the CIT Championship game at Marshall. Finishing 21-17, it's the most games ever played by any Green Bay men's basketball team in its 50-year program history, and the longest a team has ever played. Prior to the four wins in the CIT, GB fell in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament to top-seeded Wright State, but after it finished 4th in the HL and earned a Quarterfinal round home game. GB will enter its 51st season in program history, and the fifth under head coach Linc Darner.

HORIZON HAPPY

• With its 10 wins last season, GB has now won 10 or more games in League play in seven of the last eight seasons, and the third time in four seasons under Darner. The team has finished fourth or higher in the HL in six out of the last seven seasons as well, earning a postseason appearance in each of those six seasons. The HL preseason poll has GB tabbed fifth, behind Wright State, NKU, UIC and Oakland.

 
SENIOR SZN

• The Phoenix boasts a strong veteran lineup in 2019-20, led by five seniors and a bevy of juniors. Seniors ShanQuan Hemphill, JayQuan McCloud, Josh McNair, Kameron Hankerson and Cody Schwartz have all played signficant minutes during their Green Bay careers, four of which started the bulk of games last season. The junior class, one of Darners first full recruiting classes, is led by PJ Pipes, Trevian Bell, Manny Patterson and Hunter Crist. Each of those players have also played significant minutes over the last two seasons, and will be leaned up again this season. Despite the departure of Sandy Cohen, GB will deploy a strong veteran side this season.

McCLOUD NINE

• JayQuan McCloud earned All-Horizon League Second Team recognition, serving as the team's returning leading scorer from a season ago. The Chicago native averaged 14.1 PPG in league play last season, playing in all 18 games and finishing with a team-high 35 made 3-pointers. Overall on the season, McCloud averaged 13.7 PPG and made 77 3-pointers, while ranking third on the team in minutes per game. He was also named to the CIT All-Tournament Team and was instrumental to the team's deep run in that postseason tournament. 

FRESHMEN FOCUS

• Arriving on the UWGB campus for this season are four freshman, two scholarship players and two walk-ons. Amari Davis and Japannah Kellogg III were recruited by Darner and his staff and both come to GB after highly-successful high school careers. Davis comes Trotwood, Ohio, where he was named Ohio Division II State Player of the Year, leading his team to the Ohio DII State Title. He averaged just over 30 points per game his senior season and was named All-State. Kellogg III led his Ames High School team to its first State Tournament appearance since 2015, earning All-State recognition and All-Area and All-League First Team. Kellogg III stands at 6-8 and can play multiple positions for GB, giving Darner a pair of standout freshmen. Walking on for the Phoenix this year will be local standout Lucas Stieber and Novi, Michigan native Jiovanni Miles. Miles grew up with fellow-Phoenix Kam Hankerson, while Stieber has the honor of being GB all-time great Tony Bennett's nephew.

###

Follow us on Twitter:  @GBPhoenixMBB.

Like Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball and Green Bay Phoenix Athletics on Facebook.