INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A brief road trip begins tomorrow morning for the Green Bay men's basketball team when they face IUPUI before battling in-state rival Milwaukee on Monday night.
Saturday, February 4 – Indianapolis, Ind. – INDIANA FARMERS COLISEUM
Green Bay (2-21, 1-11 HL) vs. IUPUI (3-21, 0-13 HL)
11:00 AM
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
Monday, February 6 – Milwaukee, Wis. – UWM PANTHER ARENA
Green Bay vs. Milwaukee
7:00 PM
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
Green Bay is 6-8 against IUPUI and 40-32 versus Milwaukee. All-time, the Phoenix is 2-3 in Indianapolis and took last year's contest against the Jaguars on the road, 67-41. GB and IUPUI last met earlier this year on December 5, 2022, when the Phoenix won 68-61. Zae Blake led the Phoenix that day with a season-high 20 points and three rebounds.
GB is an even .500 in the Cream City, going 15-15 in their first 30 meetings in Milwaukee. The Panthers defeated Green Bay 54-44 on February 13, 2022, in their previous contest in MKE. The Phoenix and Panthers last clashed on December 1, 2022, when MKE won 81-67. Five Panthers scored in double figures that game, led by 13 points from Ahmad Rand.
ABOUT THE JAGUARS
Matt Crenshaw, a 2004 graduate of IUPUI, is in his fourth season with the Jaguars and holds a 6-47 record.
Jlynn Counter paces the Jaguars with 14.5 points per contest, while Chris Osten grabs 5.9 rebounds per game, good for 12th in the conference.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Bart Lundy has guided Milwaukee to a 16-7 record in his first season with the Panthers. His team survived IUPUI on Thursday, winning 72-69.
Lundy's early success has been paced by BJ Freeman, the team's leading scorer, and rebounder. Freeman, a sophomore, is ninth in scoring in the HL with 16.0 PPG, while his 4.9 rebounds per contest are 17th-best in the conference.
LAST MATCHUP
Green Bay could never recover from a 4-17 start to the game and eventually fell 77-46 to Wright State on Jan. 28. Cade Meyer shot 4-of-5 from the floor en route to 10 points, and Randy Tucker also scored in double digits. Meyer was a force on the boards as well, grabbing nine rebounds.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Assistant coach Freddie Owens was named Interim Head Coach on January 24. Owens boasts over 15 years of coaching experience and had previous stops at Loyola-Maryland, College of the Holy Cross, Utah Valley State, Oregon State, and Iowa State. He was a two-year starter and four-year letter-winner at Wisconsin, where he was the co-captain of the Badgers' 2002 and 2003 Big Ten regular-season and 2004 Big Ten tournament championship teams. Owens grew up in Milwaukee and attended Washington High School.
COUNT ON CUMMINGS
Clarence Cummings III has provided consistency in his first season as a Phoenix. Cummings is shooting 45.7-percent from the field and averages 10.0 points per game, good for second on the team behind Meyer. He is also second on the team in rebounds per game (3.6). Cummings has been a mainstay on the floor for Green Bay, leading the team with 30.0 minutes per game while starting 22 of GB's 23 games.
WHAT DO YOU ZAE?
Sophomore guard Zae Blake has been a bright spot for the Phoenix in his first season with Green Bay. Despite missing two games, Blake ranks at or near the top of most statistical categories on the team, including:
- 1st in three-point percentage (20-of-44, 45.5-percent)
- 2nd in rebounds (3.6 RPG)
- 1st in assists (2.9 APG)
- 1st in steals (1.1 SPG)
- 2nd in field goal percentage (64-of-132, 48.5-percent)
- 3rd in points (8.9 PPG)
MAKIN' MEYER
Sophomore Cade Meyer has taken a second-year leap. The Monroe, Wisconsin native leads the team in field goals made and field goal percentage (96-of-164, 58.5-percent). Meyer is best at giving Green Bay second chances, racking up a team-leading 25 offensive rebounds and 71 on the defensive end. Meyer is second on the team in minutes (27.7 mpg).
HEFFNER CAUSING HAVOC
Redshirt freshman Brock Heffner has made his presence felt in his first year with the Phoenix. A transfer from Hawaii, Heffner is tied with Meyer for most blocks on the team (14) despite playing in three fewer games. From Grafton, Wisconsin, Heffner is fourth in scoring on the squad (7.8 PPG) and shoots 38.8 percent from the field.
ON THE HORIZON
After Green Bay faces Milwaukee, just six games remain on the docket. As of February 3, GB is currently the no. 10 seed, but IUPUI trails by one game. Green Bay plays four of the last six at home. The Phoenix will battle Oakland (Feb. 9), Detroit Mercy (Feb. 11), Cleveland State (Feb. 23), and Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 25) at the Kress Center.
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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