MADISON, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team is ready to renew an in-state battle when they face the Wisconsin Badgers Tuesday night. It will be the 27th meeting between the squads, with the Phoenix visiting Bucky for the eighth-straight year.
Tuesday, November 15 – Madison, Wis. – KOHL CENTER
Green Bay (0-2, 0-0 HL) vs. Wisconsin (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
8:00 PM
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Green Bay is 1-26 all-time against Wisconsin, with the series dating back to December 6, 1980. The Phoenix and Badgers have met every year since 1999 except in 2018. GB's lone win came on December 9, 2009, an 88-84 overtime victory at a sold-out Resch Center. Bryquis Perine scored a career-high 22 points to help seal the win. Last season, Wisconsin won handily against Green Bay, 72-34.
ABOUT THE BADGERS
Wisconsin enters Tuesday with a 2-0 record on the season. Bucky handed South Dakota an 85-69 loss in their season opener before defeating Stanford 60-50 in the Brew City Battle last Friday, which featured the first-ever basketball games played at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Greg Gard is in his eighth season as coach of the Badgers and has led the team to six NCAA Tournament appearances.
Tyler Wahl and Chucky Hepburn are two players to watch as the pair leads Wisconsin in five out of six major statistical categories. Wahl paces the team with 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Hepburn has a team-leading 4.0 assists per game and 32.0 minutes per contest. Both average 2.5 steals per game. Defensively, seven-foot forward Steven Crowl has registered five blocks after two games and reeled in a career-high 11 rebounds against Stanford.
OFFSEASON RECAP
A lot happened during the 2022 offseason. Let's get you caught up:
April 14 - Garren Davis and Amari Jedkins are added to the roster.
May 6 - Clarence Cummings III and Zae Blake join the roster.
May 23 - Brock Heffner and Davin Zeigler join the roster.
June 6 - Jack Rose joins Green Bay.
June 29 - Adam Owens is named Director of Basketball Operations.
July 8 - Phoenix alum Keifer Sykes, Carrington Love, and Steven Baker participate in the Summerfest Alumni Charity Challenge.
July 14 - The National Association of Basketball Coaches tabs Green Bay as a recipient of the Team Academic Excellence award.
July 18 - Nearly 160 Green Bay men's basketball supporters enjoy a successful Swing and Swish Golf Outing with the team.
August 16 - The complete 2022-23 schedule is unveiled.
October 11 - the program participates in the inaugural Phoenix Phan Night.
LAST MATCHUP
The Phoenix fell to Georgetown last Saturday 92-58. The difference was an offensive outburst from the Hoyas in the second half, scoring 61 points. Clarence Cummings III led the team with 14 points, while Zae Blake chipped in with 13.
KOHL CENTER CONNECTIONS
Head Coach Will Ryan was the Badgers' Director of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator from 2002-07 and is the oldest son of Hall-of-Famer Bo Ryan, who coached at Wisconsin from 2001-2015.
Assistant Coach Freddie Owens was a two-year starter and four-year letter winner at Wisconsin, co-captaining the 2002 and 2003 Big Ten regular season and 2004 Big Ten Tournament Championship teams. Owens was also a student assistant coach from 2005-06 at Wisconsin.
Assistant Coach Brandon Pritzl's brother Brevin played at Wisconsin from 2015-2020.
Zane Short and Amari Jedkins will return to the Kohl Center since appearing at the high school state tournament in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
Greg Gard was an assistant coach under Bo Ryan from 2001-2015, working with Will Ryan from 2002-07. Gard's first game as Wisconsin's Head Coach was an 84-79 win over Green Bay on Dec. 23, 2015.
Kamari McGee transferred from Green Bay to Wisconsin in the offseason.
Max Klesmit's brother, Cal, signed his national letter of intent to play at Green Bay on November 11, 2022.
WHAT'S UP, BRO?
Zane and Donavan Short, products of Denmark, Wis., and Denmark High School, officially joined the team during the offseason. Donavan, the younger of the two brothers, committed to Green Bay on Nov. 12, 2021, while Zane joined in the offseason.
KEEPING IT LOCAL
Green Bay and Wisconsin have 15 combined in-state players on their rosters, with the Phoenix tallying eight on their roster compared to seven for the Badgers. One of the seven on the Wisconsin roster is Racine native Kamari McGee, who played the 2021-22 basketball season with Green Bay.
WHAT DO YOU ZAE?
Backup guard Zae Blake has made the most of his opportunities in the first two games. The Washington, D.C. native averages 20.5 minutes a game and has shot 69.2-percent from the floor (9-of-13), 60 percent from deep (3-of-5), and averages 11.0 points per contest, second on the team.
MR. DO-IT-ALL
Clarence Cummings III led the Phoenix in points (14), rebounds (five), and steals (three) against Georgetown. Cummings transferred to Green Bay in the offseason from State College of Florida and has made an immediate impact for GB, starting every game this season.
BLOCK HEFFNER
Brock Heffner transferred from Hawaii to Green Bay in the offseason and has racked up four of GB's six blocks this season. Heffner redshirted last season with the Rainbow Warriors and is from Grafton, Wisconsin.
NEW PHOENIX FACES
Green Bay welcomes 10 new players for the 2022-23 season.
TRANSFERS
Garren Davis (6-4, G | Clarendon College)
Clarence Cummings III (6-5, F | State College of Florida)
Zae Blake (6-1, G | Southwest Mississippi CC)
Brock Heffner (6-8, F | Hawaii)
Davin Zeigler (6-3, G | Indian Hills CC)
Ryan Wade (6-2, G | Central Michigan)
TRUE FRESHMEN
Donavan Short (6-10, C | Denmark, Wis.)
Amari Jedkins (6-7, F | Racine, Wis.)
Jack Rose (6-5, G | Bristol, Wis.)
PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
Pl. Team (1st-place votes) – Pts.
T1. Purdue Fort Wayne (17) - 394
T1. Northern Kentucky (15) - 394
3. Wright State (3) - 329
4. Oakland (2) - 321
5. Youngstown State (1) - 291
6. Detroit Mercy (2) - 268
7. Cleveland State - 188
8. Robert Morris - 163
9. Milwaukee - 132
10. Green Bay - 111
11. IUPUI - 49
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