GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team is returning home for a pair of games at the Resch Center, starting with Oakland on Thursday at 6 p.m. Oakland currently sits a half-game ahead of the Phoenix for first place in the HL.

Alumni Day will follow on Saturday when GB hosts Detroit Mercy at noon. Included in the Alumni Day festivities are jersey retirement ceremonies for Phoenix legends Tom Anderson, Ron Ripley, and Dennis Woelffer. Fans can purchase tickets for the games HERE.

Thursday, Jan. 25 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Resch Center – Make-A-Wish Night / Youth Jersey Giveaway
Oakland (12-8, 7-2 HL) at Green Bay (12-9, 7-3 HL)
6:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats | History
  
Saturday, Jan. 27 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Resch Center – Alumni Day / Festival Foods Day / Mental Health Awareness Day presented by FCCU
Detroit Mercy (0-20, 0-9 HL) at Green Bay (12-9, 7-3 HL)
12:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats | History
  
ABOUT THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
The league-leading Oakland Golden Grizzlies are coming to Green Bay on a six-game win streak. That six-game streak has included wins over Youngstown State (twice), Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Northern Kentucky. Oakland is 5-5 on the road this year.

Preseason First Team selection Trey Townsend leads Greg Kampe's squad averaging 17.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from three. Two other threats for Oakland are Blake Lampman and Chris Conway, who average 12.2 and 10.7 points per game respectively.

ABOUT THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy has struggled in 2023-24, sitting at 0-20 heading into their Thursday matchup at Milwaukee. The Titans are led by Jayden Stone and Marcus Tankersley. Stone pours in 19.9 points per game to go with 5.8 rebounds while Tankersley scores 15.2 points per game and pulls down 4.0 rebounds.

HISTORY VS OAKLAND
Green Bay is 14-13 all-time against Oakland, with a 10-5 record at home. Oakland has won four straight, with GB winning the three before that. Oakland won the first matchup between the two teams this season on January 6, 79-73. The Phoenix will look to slow down Trey Townsend, who led the Golden Grizzlies in that previous matchup with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
 
HISTORY VS DETROIT MERCY         
Green Bay is 36-31 in the all-time series against Detroit Mercy, snapping a three-game skid against the Titans earlier this year with a 69-51 win in Detroit. Foster Wonders led GB that day with 14 points and Preston Ruedinger chipped in with 11.

LAST TIME OUT
The Green Bay men's basketball team's three-game win streak came to an end Saturday night as the Phoenix fell at Northern Kentucky, 74-52. Elijah Jones led the Phoenix with 11 points. Marcus Hall added seven points and 10 rebounds from the bench, and Noah Reynolds chipped in with nine points and four assists. Marques Warrick led the Norse with 21 points and three rebounds. GB struggled to get going from the field Saturday, shooting 35.2 percent compared to NKU's 53.1 percent.
 
A GREEN BAY SWEEP
Last week, the Horizon League announced the Under Armour #HLMBB weekly awards and the Green Bay men's basketball team won both awards. Noah Reynolds was named Player of the Week, and David Douglas Jr. was named the Freshman of the Week. It is the second time each player has won the respective award this season. The last time Green Bay swept the Player of the Week awards was Jan. 2, 2018, when Sandy Cohen III was named Horizon League Player of the Week and P.J. Pipes earned Freshman of the Week.

Noah Reynolds had another outstanding week, leading Green Bay to a 2-0 week and a share of first place in the Horizon League. Across wins over IUPUI and Cleveland State, Reynolds averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 59.1 percent from the field, 54.5 percent from three, and 90.5 percent from the free throw line. The Peoria, Ill., native was especially strong against Cleveland State, scoring 32 points to go with five assists. Reynolds is the only Horizon League player to score 30+ points three times this season.
 
David Douglas Jr. scored a career-high 26 points in Green Bay's 68-58 win over IUPUI. Douglas hit six threes in the contest, which was the second time the freshman has hit 5+ threes in a game this season. Douglas is the only freshman in the Horizon League to hit 5+ threes in a game this season. The Yorkville, Ill., native has also scored in double figures in six of his last nine games.

FRESHMAN DUO
The other half of the Green Bay freshman duo, Marcus Hall, made sure the Horizon League Freshman of the Week award stayed in Titletown for another week. Hall continues to be a key contributor for the Phoenix. In one of the toughest road trips in the Horizon League, at Wright State and Northern Kentucky, Hall averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. Hall was huge in Green Bay's first win at Wright State since 2014, knocking down four of his five attempts from three to finish with 12 points and five rebounds. In the second game of the trip, he scored seven points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. The Schofield, Wis., native was efficient from the floor, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from three point range. Hall joins YSU's Gabe Dynes as the only freshman in the HL to pull down 10 rebounds in a game.  

MOVING UP THE RANKS
After ending last season as #362 in the NCAA NET rankings, the Phoenix now sits at #203 with a 10-9 Division I record.

WINNING ON THE ROAD
Winning on the road in the Horizon League this season has been a challenge. Home teams in HL games this season have a 33-17 record. The top eight in the Horizon League hold a 29-5 record at home.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
In ten conference games this season, Green Bay has had five players averaging over 8.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way at 21.0 points per game, while Elijah Jones (9.4), Foster Wonders (9.1), Preston Ruedinger (8.4), and David Douglas Jr. (8.0) have also made an impact. GB is outscoring their opponents 73.6 to 68.5 in HL play.
 
GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix has prided itself on the defensive side of the ball all year long. GB allows the fewest points per game at 67.1. GB is three points better than the second-place team, Youngstown State, who allows opponents to score 70.3 points per game. They also rank near the top of the HL in opponent FG% (2nd, 42.7%), opponent 3FG% (1st, 30.2%), and combined opponent rebounds (1st, 31.5).
  
REYNOLDS SQUARED
Green Bay is one of two schools in the country that have a brother duo as a coach and a player. Assistant coach Nic Reynolds and Phoenix lead guard Noah Reynolds are brothers. UConn's Mamadou Diarra (Director of Player Development) and Hassan Diarra (senior guard) are the other duo.
  
EFFICIENT ELIJAH
Another standout for Green Bay this season has been Elijah Jones, who is seventh in the HL in rebounding at 6.5 rebounds per game and second in scoring on GB's roster at 9.0 points per game. Jones is one of the most efficient players on GB's roster, shooting 64.0 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from three. Jones is shooting 73.9 percent from the field in HL games.
 
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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