Men's Basketball 11/30/2020 10:56:00 AM

Green Bay Readies for In-State Battle with No. 4 Wisconsin

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- Head coach Will Ryan and the Green Bay Phoenix are set for a matchup with in-state rival #4 Wisconsin on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center. The game will air on the Big Ten Network with tip-off slated for 4 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
at Wisconsin // December 1, 2020
Kohl Center // Tipoff at 4PM
Watch Live on the Big Ten Network

SCOUTING THE BADGERS
THE BADGERS ROSE THREE SPOTS TO NO. 4 IN THE AP TOP 25. THIS MARKS UW'S HIGHEST RANKING SINCE BEING RANKED NO. 3 ON MARCH 16, 2015. IT'S ALSO JUST THE FOURTH SEASON IN WHICH WISCONSIN HAS APPEARED IN THE AP TOP 5. THE BADGERS RETURN THEIR ENTIRE STARTING 5 FROM THE FINAL GAME OF LAST SEASON AND BRING BACK 7 OF THE TOP 8 SCORERS OVERALL FROM A SEASON AGO. UW RETURNS 77.5% OF ITS MINUTES FROM LAST SEASON AS WELL AS 78.7% OF POINTS, 83.6% OF REBOUNDS, 86.1% OF ASSISTS, 79.7% OF STEALS AND 88.6% OF BLOCKS.

OUR REIGNING ROOKIE
SOPHOMORE AMARI DAVIS WAS NAMED THE HORIZON LEAGUE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR LAST SEASON AND ALSO EARNED AN ALL-LEAGUE THIRD TEAM NOD. DAVIS WAS NAMED TO THE PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM AND WILL LOOK TO BUILD UPON LAST YEAR'S SUCCESS.

RYAN'S RETURN
HEAD COACH WILL RYAN MAKES HIS RETURN TO THE KOHL CENTER AFTER SPENDING FIVE YEARS ON HIS FATHER'S STAFF FROM 2002-07. DURING THAT SPAN WISCONSIN AMASSED A 123-42 RECORD AND MADE FIVE TRIPS TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT, INCLUDING ONE APPEARANCE IN THE SWEET 16 AND ANOTHER IN THE ELITE EIGHT.

JEFFERSON FINDING HIS STRIDE
REDSHIRT SENIOR JOSH JEFFERSON SAW IN-GAME ACTION AT MINNESOTA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 628 DAYS. JEFFERSON SCORED 10 OF HIS 14 POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF OF LAST WEDNESDAY'S MATCHUP AS HE CONTINUED TO FIND HIS RHYTHM.

WELCOMED ADDITIONS
THIRTY-NINE OF GREEN BAY'S 69 POINTS CAME FROM PLAYER DONNING THE GREEN AND WHITE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR CAREERS IN GB'S SEASON OPENER, INCLUDING 15 POINTS FROM FRESHMAN.

B1G BATTLES
THE PHOENIX OWNS A 3-47 RECORD AGAINST CURRENT BIG TEN PROGRAMS, WITH ITS LONE THREE VICTORIES COMING AGAINST NORTHWESTERN, PURDUE AND WISCONSIN.

•             ILLINOIS, 0-1
•             INDIANA, 0-2
•             IOWA, 0-3
•             MARYLAND, 0-0
•             MICHIGAN, 0-0
•             MICHIGAN STATE, 0-7
•             MINNESOTA, 0-2
•             NEBRASKA, 0-2
•             NORTHWESTERN, 1-2
•             OHIO STATE, 0-1
•             PENN STATE, 0-0
•             PURDUE, 1-3
•             RUTGERS, 0-0
•             WISCONSIN, 1-24

OVERALL RECORD: 3-47
LAST WIN: VS WISCONSIN (12.9.09)
W, 88-84 (OT)

PIPES PRODUCTION
PJ PIPES RANKED 11TH IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE IN STEALS LAST SEASON, TOTALING 39 AND AVERAGING 1.26 PER GAME. HE ALSO RANKED 10TH IN THREE-POINTERS MADE WITH 55. PIPES ALSO FINISHED SECOND ON THE TEAM IN ASSISTS WITH 73 WHILE ONLY SURRENDERING 30 TURNOVERS.

DOMINANT DAVIS
AMARI BROKE THE PROGRAM'S FRESHMAN SCORING RECORD LAST SEASON WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY HELD BY VIRGINIA HEAD COACH AND HALL OF FAMER, TONY BENNETT. DAVIS ALSO LEFT HIS MARK FROM A LEAGUE-WIDE STANDPOINT WHEN HE ACCUMULATED 10 HL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS, BREAKING DIKEMBE DIXSON'S RECORD OF EIGHT IN 2015-16.

WELCOMING WILL RYAN
HEAD COACH WILL RYAN JOINS THE PHOENIX AFTER A YEAR AT WHEELING UNIVERSITY WHERE HE IMPROVED THE CARDINAL'S RECORD FROM 9-21 TO 14-13.

FRESH PHOENIX FACES
GREEN BAY WELCOMES A TOTAL OF 11 NEW MEMBERS TO THE SQUAD IN 2020-21 AND RETURNS ONLY TWO PLAYERS WITH IN-GAME EXPERIENCE FROM LAST SEASON.

JEFFERSON JUMPING IN
JOSH JEFFERSON, A TRANSFER FROM ILLINOIS STATE IN 2019-20, IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON AFTER SITTING OUT LAST YEAR DUE TO NCAA DIVISION I TRANSFER RULES. JEFFERSON AVERAGED 8.7 PPG WITH THE REDBIRDS AND BURIED 41 TRIPLES IN 21 GAMES.

RETURNING MINUTES
GREEN BAY RETURNS TWO STARTERS FROM LAST SEASON, SENIOR PJ PIPES AND SOPHOMORE AMARI DAVIS, WHO ALSO HAPPEN TO BE THE ONLY PLAYERS RETURNING TO THE ROSTER WHO DONNED THE GREEN AND WHITE FOR THE PHOENIX. PIPES AVERAGED 27.1 MPG AND DAVIS LOGGED 28.6 MPG, TOTALING 55.7 OF THE POSSIBLE 200 MINUTES.

RYAN'S RECORD ON STAFF
WILL RYAN JOINED HIS FATHER'S STAFF AT WISCONSIN IN 2002 AND HAS MADE STOPS AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE (2007-14), OHIO (2014-19) AND WHEELING (2019-20) BEFORE TAKING THE HELM AT GREEN BAY. HIS RECORD ON STAFF AT PREVIOUS STOPS IS AN IMPRESSIVE 352-221.

WISCONSIN: 123-42
NORTH DAKOTA STATE: 134-84
OHIO: 81-77
WHEELING: 14-13

PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
PL. SCHOOL (1ST-PLACE) – VOTES
1.    WRIGHT STATE (37) – 517
2.     YOUNGSTOWN STATE (3) – 423
3.    NORTHERN KENTUCKY (4) – 413
4.    ROBERT MORRIS – 345
5.    UIC – 312
6.    OAKLAND – 288
7.     CLEVELAND STATE – 283
8.    GREEN BAY – 253
9.    DETROIT MERCY – 185
10. MILWAUKEE – 172
11.   PURDUE FORT WAYNE – 127
12.   IUPUI - 114

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