GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coming off of a last second win at UIC on Tuesday night, the Green Bay men's basketball team has a challenge on deck tomorrow night. The Phoenix will head in to Lloyd Noble Center to take on No. 11 ranked Oklahoma at 8 p.m. CT.
 
Saturday, Dec. 16 – NORMAN, Okla. – Lloyd Noble Center
Green Bay (5-6) at Oklahoma (9-0)
8:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) 
 
ABOUT THE SOONERS
Oklahoma is off to the best start of the Porter Moser era, sitting at 9-0 to start his third season with the program. The Sooners have outscored opponents by an average of 21.9 points per game and is entering Saturday off of a 79-70 win over Arkansas last Satuday. OU shoots over 50.0 percent from the floor at 50.9 percent while holding opponents to just 38.3 percent from the floor.
 
Three Sooners average in double figures, led by Oweh Otega at 15.2 points per game. Otega has been extremely efficient from the floor, shooting 69.1 percent from the floor and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from three-point land. Javian McCollum isn't far behind, averaging 14.9 points per game to go along with 3.2 assists. OU big man John Hugley IV is a presence inside, averaging 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Green Bay men's basketball team led for a total of 0.5 seconds Tuesday night at UIC, but that was all they needed. After trailing and hanging around all night, the Phoenix got a gamer-winning tip-in from Elijah Jones, who gave the Phoenix the 70-68 lead off of a missed Noah Reynolds' layup with half a second remaining. Reynolds was key to GB staying in the game, finishing the night with a career-high 31 points in 34 minutes. The Phoenix (5-6) had two others in double figures, including a career-high 14 points from freshman David Douglas, Jr., and Jones, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
JONES TO THE RESCUE
Green Bay's Elijah Jones had a game-winning tip-in at UIC on Tuesday with just half a second remaining. The final tip-in secured him his second double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Flames. Jones is Green Bay's second-leading scorer, averaging 9.5 points per game and leads GB with 7.7 rebounds per game.
 
COUNT ON CUMMINGS
Since his return to the court on Nov. 29, Clarence Cummings III has been a big contributor for the Phoenix off. Cummings has scored in double figures in two of his five games, and is averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He has also shot well from deep, hitting on six of his 16 attempts (37.5 percent) from three. Cummings played a season-high 32 minutes in his first start of the season last time out at UIC.
 
GREEN BAY GRIT
Green Bay has prided themselves on the defensive end of the floor, holding opponents to the fewest points per game in the Horizon League at 66.4 points per game. GB also holds opponents to the lowest field goal percentage at 41.1 percent.
 
REYNOLDS ON A MISSION
Noah Reynolds has been a leader on the court for the Phoenix this season. He is currently fourth in the HL in scoring, averaging 18.5 points per game. Reynolds also leads the Horizon League in assists with 4.9 per game and a conference-best 54 total assists across 11 games. The Phoenix guard scored a career-high 31 points in GB's 70-68 win over UIC on Tuesday.
  
OFFSEASON RECAP
A lot happened during the 2023 offseason, let's get you caught up:
  
March 14 - Sundance Wicks was named the ninth head coach in Green Bay men's basketball history.
March 30 - The rest of the coaching staff is announced. Pat Monaghan, Zach Malvik, and Nic Reynolds are added as assistant coaches and Adam Owens is retained as the Director of Basketball Operations.
April 19 – Will Eames, David Douglas Jr., Preston Ruedinger, and Rich Byhre are added to the roster.
May 1 – Noah Reynolds, Elijah Jones, and Foster Wonders join Green Bay.
June 2 – Rahmon Fletcher joins the staff as the Director of Player Development.
  
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN GB
Green Bay hired Sundance Wicks as the program's next head coach on March 14, 2023. Wicks comes to the Phoenix after three seasons as an assistant coach at Wyoming. In his first season with the Cowboys, Wicks helped revamp an offense that led the Mountain West in scoring at 76.5 points per game. Prior to his time with the Cowboys, he spent two highly successful years as the head coach at NCAA DII Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Gillette, Wyo., native led the Griffons to 18 wins in 2019-20, which was the most by the program in 10 years. In his first season at the helm of the program, his team doubled their win total from the year before. In his two seasons, Wicks mentored six All-MIAA players and an NABC All-District selection. Coach Wicks' first win at Green Bay came on Thursday, Nov. 9 against St. Francis (Ill.).
  
NEW LOOK ROSTER
The Phoenix underwent a roster transformation this past offseason. Of GB's 15 rostered players, three are returners, six are transfers, and six are incoming freshmen.
  
FAMILIAR FACES
Two of Green Bay's six transfers have played for coach Wicks prior to his time in GB. Will Eames played under coach Wicks at Missouri Western State in 2019-20 when he was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and All-MIAA honorable mention. Another Phoenix that has played for coach Wicks is Wyoming transfer Noah Reynolds. Reynolds was the second leading scorer on Wyoming last year, averaging 14.5 points per game in 19 games played. 
  
PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
PL. Team (1st-place votes) – PTS.
  1. Northern Kentucky (18) - 435
  2. Milwaukee (10) - 397
  3. Wright State (12) - 392
  4. Cleveland State (1) - 362
  5. Youngstown State (3) -342
  6. Oakland - 280
  7. Robert Morris- 186
  8. Purdue Fort Wayne- 166
  9. Detroit Mercy- 132
  10. IUPUI - 116
  11. Green Bay – 96
 
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