GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team will open up conference play and renew the I-43 rivalry when Milwaukee comes to the Resch Center on Thursday.
Thursday, December 1 – Green Bay, Wis. – RESCH CENTER
Milwaukee (5-3, 0-0 HL) vs. Green Bay (0-6, 0-0 HL)
7:00 PM | Bud Light Night | | Purchase tickets
UWGB Students: Join The Phlock | Free bus ride (pizza and shirt included)
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
The in-state matchup will be the 72nd meeting between the squads. The Phoenix sport a 40-31 record against the Panthers, including a 22-14 home record. GB dropped both matchups to Milwaukee last season, losing 63-49 at home on Jan. 5 and 54-44 in Milwaukee on Feb. 13.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Bart Lundy is in his debut season as head coach of the Panthers. Before coming to Milwaukee, Lundy was the head coach at Queens, guiding the program to seven straight NCAA Division II tournament appearances.
The Panthers feature a balanced offensive attack starting with BJ Freeman, who leads the team with 13.0 points per contest. Ahmad Rand, a 6-foot-8 forward, paces the team with 2.0 blocks per game. Justin Thomas also plays a major role, dishing out the second-most assists on the team and snatching 1.6 steals per game this season.
OFFSEASON RECAP
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
Green Bay came up short 78-64 against UIC on Saturday. Brock Heffner led the Phoenix with 19 points, while Davin Zeigler contributed eight points and two steals.
CONSISTENCY COUNTS
The Phoenix has maintained the same starting lineup throughout the first six contests. The quintet consists of guards Nate Jenkins and Davin Zeigler, forwards Brock Heffner, Cade Meyer, and Clarence Cummings III. All five average more than 23 minutes a game.
BRILLIANT BROCK
Redshirt freshman Brock Heffner was quite the spark for GB against UIC on Nov. 26. The forward set season-highs in points (19), field goals made (6), rebounds (3), and assists (2) while also tallying a steal to fill out the stat sheet. Heffner also shot ten free throws in the contest.
MAKE WAY FOR MEYER
Sophomore Cade Meyer is off to a good start this season. He is shooting 45.0 percent on 18-of-40 from the floor and is 17-of-32 (53 percent) inside the arc. Meyer is coming off a strong 2021-22 campaign in which he was named Horizon League Freshman of the Week once and was tabbed to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
KEEPING IT LOCAL
Head coach Will Ryan has amassed a total of eight players on the 2022-23 roster that are from Wisconsin. Ryan's 2021-22 squad also featured eight players from in-state, which was the highest total of in-state players since the 2009-10 season when there were seven players as such under Tod Kowalczyk.
SWISS ARMY NATE
Junior guard Nate Jenkins showed off his versatility against Queens on Nov. 18. The Delafield, Wis. native played the most minutes of any Phoenix (30) and was one of four GB players to tally eight points. He also collected a team-leading five rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal.
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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