GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team will travel to Madison, Wis. tomorrow to take on in-state rival Wisconsin in their first road game of the 2021-22 season.
 
Friday, November 12, 7 p.m. – Madison, Wis. | KOHL CENTER
Green Bay vs. Wisconsin
Links: Listen Live | Live Stats | Watch Live 
 
 

SCOUTING THE BADGERS
Wisconsin is coming off a season-opening 81-58 win over St. Francis College Brooklyn at the Kohl Center on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Johnny Davis led the Badgers with 15 points and five assists. Chucky Hepburn also chipped in 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
 
The Badgers will look much different from a year ago, returning just two players that started over 15 games. Wisconsin veteran Brad Davison will look to give the team some stability early in the season. Since joining the Badgers as a freshman in 2017, Davison has started in 126 of the 130 games the program has played. Last year the guard averaged 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Another returner that saw starts a season ago is sophomore Tyler Wahl. In 2020-21, Wahl averaged 4.9 points to go along with 4.2 rebounds per game.
 
LAST MATCHUP
The last time these two teams matched up was December 1, 2020, when Wisconsin downed Green Bay 82-42. The Badgers shot 55.7-percent (34-of-61) from the field and 45-percent (9-of-20) from long range, claiming their 11th straight win over the Phoenix.
 
LAST TIME OUT
GB played host to Indiana State in their season opener at the Kress on Tuesday night, narrowly falling 81-77. The Phoenix led a majority of the game, but a strong second half helped turn the tides for the Sycamores.
 
RYAN FAMILY REUNION
Head coach Will Ryan will return to the Kohl Center for the second time as a coach since his time on the Wisconsin sideline in the early to mid-2000s. Friday night, Wisconsin will be honoring legendary head coach Bo Ryan in what is sure to be a special night for the entire Ryan family.
 
KOHL CENTER CONNECTION
As mentioned earlier, Will Ryan has spent time at Wisconsin, but he's not the only Phoenix coach to do so. Assistant coach Freddie Owens was a four-year letter winner for the Badgers. He was the co-captain of the Badgers' 2002 and 2003 regular season championship squads. Owens also served as a student-assistant coach during the 2005-06 season.
 
MANNY ON A MISSION
Junior Emmanuel Ansong played a leading role Tuesday against Indiana State, scoring 19 points while shooting 60-percent from the field, including a career-high three made three-pointers. Ansong also led the Phoenix with eight rebounds on the night.
 
IVORY IMPRESSES
In his first game for Green Bay, guard Donovan Ivory filled up the stat sheet. In 30 minutes, he scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished three assists, and registered a block and a steal.
 
MCGEE MAKING PLAYS
True freshman Kamari McGee was a sparkplug for the Phoenix in their opener, coming off the bench to score 14 points. McGee shot 6-for-13 and 2-of-5 from three-point range.
 
B1G BATTLES     
The Phoenix owns a 3-48 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, 1-25
 
Overall record: 3-48
Last win: vs. Wisconsin (12.9.09)
W, 88-84 (OT)
 
FRESH PHOENIX FACES
GB welcomes a total of eight new members to the 2021-22 squad, including five transfers.
 
Mitch Listau, a 6-4 guard, is one of those aforementioned transfers, coming to the Phoenix after appearing in 50 games for Belmont the past two seasons. In 2020-21 with the Bruins, Listau shot 35-percent from three and 42-percent from the field.
 
Randy Tucker, a 6-4 guard, spent the past two seasons with the Vincennes Trailblazers - one of the nation's top junior college programs. During his time at Vincennes, Tucker led the Blazers to a 45-12 record, including two appearances in the NJCAA Men's National Tournament. He finished his career with 404 points, 179 rebounds, and 68 assists in 42 starts.
 
Donovan Ivory, a 6-6 guard hailing from Kaukauna, Wis., comes to the Phoenix following a season with Boise State. As a senior at Kaukauna, Ivory was named first-team all-state by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and an honorable mention by the Associated Press after averaging 20.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.8 assists.
 
Forward Tutu Majok (6-8) is the fourth transfer GB added in the offseason. The Cairo, Egypt joins the Phoenix from Bossier Parish Community College where he averaged 10.5 points and 10.4 rebounds in 20 games.
 
The final transfer on the squad is guard Nate Jenkins (6-2), who spent the last two years at Iowa State. Jenkins saw action in 10 games last season for the Cyclones. He prepped at Kettle Moraine High School where he averaged 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals as a senior for the Laser.
 
The Phoenix also welcomes three true freshmen to the 2021-22 team, Kamari McGee, Cade Meyer, and Brayden Dailey. McGee, a native of Racine, Wis. prepped at Racine St. Catherine's, whom he led to the 2020 WIAA State Championship. Meyer prepped at Monroe Highschool, where he earned an All-State Honorable Mention nod. Dailey, a Cuba City native, was a three-time WBCA D4 First Team All-State selection.
 
RETURNING LEADERS
Green Bay returns four players that earned starts in the 2020-21 season, highlighted by Horizon League All-Freshman team selection Lucas Stieber as well as Emmanuel Ansong.
 
Last season Stieber was tasked with helping direct the Phoenix offense and ranked seventh in the Horizon League with 4.2 assists per game. The guard played in all 24 games for Green Bay and graced the starting lineup 17 times. Stieber also made a name for himself defensively, leading the team with 20 blocks and finishing fifth in the league with 1.0 blocks per game.
 
Ansong saw action in 19 games for the Phoenix last season, with seven starts along the way. The forward averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and .95 steals in an average of 25.8 minutes per game.
 
Japannah Kellogg III and Ryan Claflin will also look to make large contributions this season after earning starts last year. 
 
PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
Pl. School (1st-place) – Votes
1. Clevland State (30) – 502
2. Wright State (9) – 463
3. Northern Kentucky (1) – 406
4. Milwaukee (2)– 396
5. Detroit Mercy (2) – 350
6. Oakland – 340
7. Youngstown State – 214
8. UIC – 204
9. Purdue Fort Wayne – 169
10. Robert Morris – 157
11. Green Bay – 146
12. IUPUI - 85
 
 ###
 
 For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics and Green Bay Men's Basketball, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.
 
 Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix and @GBPhoenixMBB
 
 Like Green Bay Phoenix Athletics and Green Bay Phoenix Men's Basketball on Facebook.
 
 ---GreenBayPhoenix.com---